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The Life in The Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable

The most famous dysfunctional family of 1990s television enjoyed, by today’s standards, an almost dreamily secure existence. Updated at 11:10 a.m. ET on February 8, 2021.

Billionaire Bezos and the Warehouse Workers

We have just learned that the median salary of employees at Amazon.com Inc. is $28,446, excluding its chief executive officer and founder, Jeff Bezos. That pitiful number raises an intriguing question: Is Amazon a high-paying tech company or a low-wage retailer?

Bloomberg: Fifty Years of Tax Cuts for Rich Didn’t Trickle Down, Study Says

Tax cuts for rich people breed inequality without providing much of a boon to anyone else, according to a study of the advanced world that could add to the case for the wealthy to bear more of the cost of the coronavirus pandemic.

The kids aren’t alright: How Generation Covid is losing out | Free to read

When Mary Finnegan, 27, and her sister Meg, 22, left their Brooklyn apartment to return to their parents’ home in March, they took enough clothes to last two weeks. Their stay stretched into months.

The economy as we knew it might be over, Fed Chairman says

The Covid-19 pandemic brought the economy to a screeching halt, and while it has started its long road to recovery, the economy we knew is probably a thing of the past, said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday.

Borrowed time: Climate change threatens U.S. mortgage market

U.S. taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars in climate-related property losses as the government backs a growing number of mortgages on homes in the path of floods, fires and extreme weather.

Pandemic Insolvency: Why This Economic Crisis will be Different (updated)

Avinguda Meridiana, normally one of Barcelona’s busiest gateways

The typical US worker can no longer afford a family on a year's salary, showing the dire state of America's middle class

The American economy may be booming, but its middle class is struggling.

Could the oil price war push the fracking industry into financial crisis?

Fracking for oil and natural gas has remade the global energy industry in America’s favor. But, much of the industry’s growth has been fueled by mountains of cheap debt and unrealistic forecasts. Might the entire enterprise be a financial crisis in the making — especially with an impending price war?

78 Environmental Rules on the Way Out Under Trump

Since his first days in office, President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority.

Koch Brothers Are Cities' New Obstacle to Building Broadband

Susan Crawford is a professor at Harvard Law School and the author of The Responsive City and Captive Audience. The three Republican commissioners now in power at the FCC voted this week to erase the agency's legal authority over high-speed Internet providers.

New Grist in Tax-Cut Debate Is $800 Billion Buyback Estimate

Flush with cash from President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul and bathing in more earnings than they know what to do with, U.S. companies are embarking on a buyback binge of historic dimension. How big will it be? JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The US Is The Most Overworked Country In The Developed World. Here's How We'll Change That

Studies show that Americans work longer hours and have more stress-related illnesses than their European and Japanese counterparts. Some of this is due to stagnant wages and outdated overtime laws, but some of the problem is embedded into, particularly in technology and finance jobs.

Amazon paid no US income taxes for 2017

Thanks to a complex system of credits and deferment, Amazon won't pay any federal income taxes after topping $5.6 billion in income in 2017. The Seattle-based online retailer will end up paying out roughly $769 million in taxes for the year, but $724 million of that will be in foreign taxes.

Huge Military Budgets Make Us Broke, Not Safe

We’re all tense. Hearing about our fellow citizens in Hawaii scrambling around, looking for a place to hide from a nuclear bomb, will do that to you. So will contests between two unstable world leaders over the size of their nuclear buttons.

The Psychology of Inequality

In 2016, the highest-paid employee of the State of California was Jim Mora, the head coach of U.C.L.A.’s football team. (He has since been fired.) That year, Mora pulled in $3.58 million. Coming in second, with a salary of $2.

How to Prepare the Next Generation for Jobs in the AI Economy

Most of us regard self-driving cars, voice assistants, and other artificially intelligent technologies as revolutionary. For the next generation, however, these wonders will have always existed.

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‘I hope I can quit working in a few years’: A preview of the U.S. without pensions

Fewer companies are offering traditional plans. Here’s how it went for one set of retirees.

Wells Fargo Accidentally Admits the Truth: The Republican Tax Bill Has No Connection to its $15 Minimum Wage

Sucking up to Donald Trump is tricky business. On Wednesday Wells Fargo announced that it was raising its minimum wage thanks to the passage of the Republican tax bill: That press release is a little vague.

7 ways rich people can game the Republican tax plan, explained by a tax expert

For many, the 37 percent top rate is just the beginning. The Republican-controlled Congress is poised to pass a tax bill riddled with ambiguities, loopholes, and giveaways.

Right-wing Groups Plan to Spend Millions to Convince Americans GOP Tax Scam Is Actually Good for Them

While recent polling indicates that the majority of Americans oppose the GOP tax plan signed by President Donald Trump early Friday, Politico reports right-wing groups are planning a multimillion-dollar campaign to promote the deeply unpopular new law.

The Trojan Horse in the Tax Bill

Congressional Republicans have finally done it: Both the House and Senate passed tax legislation. The bill has now headed to President Trump’s desk for his signature. Most dissection of the plan has focused, for obvious reasons, on the way it changes our tax bills.

You Cannot Be Too Cynical About the Republican Tax Bill

The rush to enact the tax bill was designed to mask — as a break for the middle class — what is in fact a $1.4 trillion package of benefits for key donors and lobbyists, the richest members of Congress, President Trump, his family and other families like his.

Rick Perry’s fake grid crisis just got undermined by more grid experts

NERC sees reliability challenges, but no crisis and no need for giant piles of coal. Energy Secretary Rick Perry wants to bail out coal and nuclear plants.

House Gives Final Approval to Sweeping Tax Overhaul

WASHINGTON — The House, forced to vote a second time on the $1.5 trillion tax bill, moved swiftly to pass the final version on Wednesday, clearing the way for President Trump to sign into law the most sweeping tax overhaul in decades.

Only 24 percent of Americans think the GOP tax plan is a good idea, NBC/WSJ poll says

Congressional Republicans are fulfilling President Donald Trump's wish for a pre-Christmas tax-cut in the face of strong public resistance, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has found.

The Republican tax bill is a disaster for income inequality

The tax plan was already unequal. The version Trump will sign into law is even more so. Republicans have managed to take a tax plan that was already tilted heavily toward corporations and the wealthiest Americans and shift the balance even further in favor of the rich.

The Tax Bill; Making America More Unequal Than Ever

“While most other nations, and all of the major international institutions…have acknowledged that extreme inequalities in wealth and income are economically inefficient and socially damaging, the tax reform package is essentially a bid to make the U.S.

'Government for Sale': In Dead of Night, Senate GOP Passes Tax Bill Only Their Donors Can Love

Following months of relentless lobbying, backroom scheming, self-dealing, and brazen lying, Senate Republicans finally rammed through their $1.5 trillion tax bill by a party-line vote of 51-48 in the dead of night Wednesday, all but clearing the legislation's path to President Donald Trump's desk.

Republican Tax Bill Passes Senate in 51-48 Vote

WASHINGTON — Republicans took a critical step toward notching their first significant legislative victory since assuming full political control, as the House and Senate voted along party lines on Tuesday and into early Wednesday to pass the most sweeping rewrite of the tax code in decades.

Yes, America, There is a Class War, and You Just Lost It

The Republican Party did not just overhaul the tax code and they did not cut “your” taxes. They engineered a coup against the middle and working classes and they threw enormous amounts of public money to private billionaires and multi-millionaires.

The GOP Tax Bill and the Crisis of American Democracy

It just so happened that during the week that Republicans rammed a $1.5 trillion tax bill through Congress without a single Democratic vote, Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, was finishing up a fact-finding mission to the United States.

Home Depot just showed who will gain the most from corporate tax cuts

This week, Home Depot announced that it is using $15 billion to buy back shares of its own stock, a move that will reward shareholders including chief executive Craig Menear.

Donald Trump’s Holiday Gift to America: A Fundamental Crisis

In a commencement speech years ago, author David Foster Wallace told this story: Two young fish are swimming along, and they pass an older fish swimming the other way. The older fish says, “Morning, boys, how’s the water?” The two young fish swim on for a while.

The Tax Bill Shows the G.O.P.’s Contempt for Democracy

The Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is notably generous to corporations, high earners, inheritors of large estates and the owners of private jets. Taken as a whole, the bill will add about $1.

The 10 Step Scheme for One-Sided Class War

1. Scream about the debt and deficit. 2. Shrink revenue by slashing taxes for the already palatial elite. Summarily dismiss all concerns about the debt and deficit, because, well, the debt and deficit don't really matter. Plus, tax cuts for the rich grow the economy anyway. Or maybe not.

How Republicans misled the American public on their tax bill

From misleading statements to downright lies: three ways Republicans broke commitments on their tax bill. Republicans have made a lot of promises on their tax bill.

Tax Bill: A Nightmare Before Christmas?

The GOP tax bill sailed through the House today with 227 members of Congress voting yes and 203 voting against the bill. Every single Democrat voted no and 12 Republicans crossed the aisle to join them. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill later today, where it’s expected to pass as well.

Late Add To Tax Bill Benefits Real Estate Investors

Back in September, Donald Trump asked Americans to “believe me” when he said he wouldn’t benefit from the tax bill. You didn’t believe him, did you? Hope not because Donald Trump is about to make out like a bandit. Why? For one, a tax deduction was preserved for owners of golf courses.

Warren and Sanders: Who Is Congress Really Serving?

WASHINGTON — Over the past year, Republicans have made their priorities clear. Their effort to repeal Obamacare would have left tens of millions of people without health insurance.

Why Republicans are ignoring public attitudes on the tax plan

At this point, the debate over whether the American mainstream supports the Republicans’ regressive tax plan is over. Surveys have been consistent for months: the public just isn’t buying what the GOP is selling.

Donald Trump to drop climate change from list of national security threats

Donald Trump is to remove climate change from the global threats listed in his National Security Strategy, due to be released on Monday.

Trump budget slashes federal aid for rail, long-distance Amtrak routes

The $16.2 billion budget represents a 13 percent reduction over fiscal year 2017.

Populist Plutocracy and the Future of America

Trump has consistently sold out the blue-collar, socially conservative whites who brought him to power, while pursuing policies to enrich his fellow plutocrats. What might he do to keep the "base" on his side? President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Pensacola Bay Center on Dec.

Top Republicans are already talking about cutting Medicare and Social Security next

The idea of cutting popular programs in an election year has vulnerable Republicans asking, why not infrastructure?

The Republican tax bill got worse: now the top 1% gets 83% of the gains

In its last year, the bill raises taxes on more than 53 percent of Americans. By 2027, more than half of all Americans — 53 percent — would pay more in taxes under the tax bill agreed to by House and Senate Republicans, a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center finds. That year, 82.

The Republican Tax Bill Codifies a New Gilded Age

The Republican tax bill is a throwback to the Gilded Age. Since the Reagan administration, economic policy in the United States has been gradually regressing to the age of robber barons.

The Triumph of the Oligarchs

The Republican tax plan to be voted on this week is likely to pass. “The American people have waited 31 long years to see our broken tax code overhauled,” the leaders of the Koch’s political network insisted in a letter to members of Congress, urging swift approval. Please.

This Tax Bill Is a Trillion-Dollar Blunder

Last month a Wall Street Journal editor asked a room full of CEOs to raise their hands if the corporate tax cut being considered in Congress would lead them to invest more. Very few hands went up. Attending was Gary Cohn, President Donald Trump's economic adviser and a friend of mine.

The Republican tax bill is an American betrayal

The American people voted for populism. They got plutocracy. According to a poll from Public Policy Polling, 57 percent of Americans now approve of the Affordable Care Act. Only 29 percent approve of the GOP’s tax cuts.

Corker’s controversial flip on tax plan raises awkward questions

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) had been consistent throughout the debate over the Republican tax plan: if the GOP proposal added to the deficit, he couldn’t vote for it.

Tax Bill: John Cornyn Says Tax Cut Potentially Benefiting Bob Corker Was Part Of Effort To Secure Votes For Passage

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the majority whip, on Sunday said a tax provision, which could personally enrich key Republican lawmakers, was added to the final tax bill as part of an effort to “cobble together the votes we needed to get this bill passed.

Study: Fracking Can Stunt the Growth of Your Baby

The practice of drilling into the ground to release natural gas—known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking—first made national headlines in 2011 when drinking water taps in fracking towns in Pennsylvania began catching fire because flammable methane was seeping into water supplies.

GOP’s List of Economists Backing Tax Cut Includes Ghosts, Office Assistants, Ex-Felons, and a Sprinkling of Real Economists

Touting support for their tax cut legislation, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, released a letter this week signed by 137 economists who say they strongly endorse the Republican legislation before Congress.

'You Better Learn Our Lesson'

The regretful Republicans of Kansas have a message for the tax-cutting Republicans of Congress: Don’t follow our lead.

Colorado home-sellers could see a big bill as the result of a lesser-known change in GOP tax proposals

Years of rapid home price appreciation along the northern Front Range will leave homeowners in the region more vulnerable to changes in the tax code now before Congress.

Lawmakers backed by donations from Big Cable cheered on the FCC’s vote to kill net neutrality

The leading voices cheering on the FCC took the most money from ISPs. What a coincidence! On Wednesday, 107 members of Congress signed a letter to FCC Chair Ajit Pai in support of his efforts to kill net neutrality.

Commuters lose transit, parking, biking benefits in tax bill

WASHINGTON — Count commuters among the losers in the Republican tax bill that the House and Senate are expected to vote on next week.

Zinke reprimanded park head after climate tweets | TheHill

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Hard Times in Trump Country

Jamie Stewart voted for Donald Trump, but she thinks the president is a “jackass.” She doesn’t really love to talk about what he’s doing or why she voted for him. MASON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA“They should take his phone away from him,” she says.

Schumer promises a Senate vote on overturning FCC's net neutrality repeal

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Friday that he intends to force a vote on a bill that would preserve Obama-era net neutrality rules, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to repeal this week.

Man Explains The Actual Dangers Of Net Neutrality Being Killed Off In Detailed Twitter Rant

Nov. 18 2019, Updated 2:36 p.m. ET Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to overturn net neutrality laws. The vote was split along party lines.

Everything you need to know about the GOP’s final tax plan in 3 charts

Rarely, maybe once or twice in most presidencies, do bills like this come along: one that could profoundly affect every American person and business for decades. On Friday evening, Republicans released what they say is the final version of their “Tax Cut and Jobs Act.

Trump's Own Treasury Admits Republican Tax Plan Won't Pay for Itself

After months of pressure from watchdog groups, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, led by Trump-appointee Steve Mnuchin, has released a one-page analysis of the Republican tax bill.

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Scam I Am: Why Is the G.O.P. Rushing This Tax Abomination?

So, it seems that Republicans are responding to the devastating defeat in Alabama – which is part of a sustained pattern of underperformance in special elections, demonstrating that bad polls reflect reality, not bad polling, by … doubling down on a massively unpopular tax plan, whose main focus

With Billions at Stake in Tax Debate, Lobbyists Played Hardball

WASHINGTON — As the largest tax rewrite in decades powered through Congress, lobbyists found themselves sprinting to keep up and find ways to persuade, influence or cajole the small group of lawmakers empowered to tweak language in the final version of the joint Senate and House bill.

Republican officials say targeting welfare programs will help spur economic growth

But some economists say America's social safety net is too small to play a major role in constraining economic growth.

Republican Senator to Ajit Pai: Ending Net Neutrality ‘Would Cause Immediate Harm’

Thursday morning Senator Susan Collins wrote a strong letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging him to delay today’s vote to repeal net neutrality protections, becoming the first Republican Senator to directly urge him to postpone the vote.

Top .001% Making 636% More Since 1980, But GOP Tax Scam Will 'Turbocharge Inequality'

A new report released Thursday finds that economic inequality has soared in nearly every country around the world, with the United States' income and wealth gaps widening to a particularly extreme degree compared to European and other countries.

This Map Shows the Largest Employer in Every State

Take a look at this map. What’s the first thing that catches your eye? If your reaction was “Wow, Walmart controls A LOT of the country,” you’d be right. This map shows the largest private employer in every state in the U.S., and Walmart is tops in an incredible 22 states.

The Republican Tax Bill Provides Huge Benefits to People Who Don’t Work. But Only if They’re Rich.

After decades of chastising the idle, Republicans are pushing a tax bill that specifically advantages rich people who don’t work. But they aren’t applying that standard for poor people.

“An orgy of serious policy discussion” with Paul Krugman

The Nobel Prize-winning economist on deficits, net neutrality, tax reform, single-payer, a UBI, and much more. When this election is finally over, I'm planning to celebrate with an orgy of ... serious policy discussion. Won't it be great?

Hedge Funds Are Increasingly Turning to AI—and That Might Be a Problem

Financial firms have generally been slow to accept artificially intelligent stock pickers. They have already invested billions collectively to bring in quantitative analysts, who do major number crunching as well as develop powerful non-AI algorithms.

Standing Rock Protest Groups Sued by Dakota Access Pipeline Company

If you want to experience 2017 in a nutshell, check out the billion-dollar lawsuit filed by an oil and gas company against Greenpeace and other environmental groups for their roles in the Standing Rock protests.

Meet the Small Town Farmers Who Stand to Benefit From Repealing the Estate Tax

On Thursday, House Republicans released their long-awaited plan to cut taxes by $1.5 trillion over ten years. If that bill becomes law, President Donald Trump and his children stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars.

The US Military Is the Biggest ''Big Government'' Entitlement Program on the Planet

(Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout) Grassroots, not-for-profit news is rare -- and Truthout's very existence depends on donations from readers. Will you help us publish more stories like this one? Make a one-time or monthly donation by clicking here. The US economy is caught in a trap.

The "Dollar General" Economy - News & Guts Media

What’s really going on out in America’s heartland? It’s a question we are constantly looking to answer. If you believe what’s being tweeted by Donald Trump, times have never been better.

The Great American Single-Family Home Problem

BERKELEY, Calif. — The house at 1310 Haskell Street does not look worthy of a bitter neighborhood war. The roof is rotting, the paint is chipping, and while the lot is long and spacious, the backyard has little beyond overgrown weeds and a garage sprouting moss.

The three ultra-rich families battling for control of the Republican party

Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesRebekah, Robert, and Diana Mercer in 2014.From our Obsession“America First”By White House correspondentPublished Last updated on November 16, 2018This article is more than 2 years old.

This Is How Many Billions of Dollars Each of the 15 Richest Families in America Will Save If We Repeal the Estate Tax

There are many ways in which the $1.4 trillion tax cut bill that Senate Republicans passed early Saturday morning—and the House’s version of the bill, which passed on November 16—disproportionately benefit America’s wealthiest citizens, and specifically the Trump family.

The richest 1 percent now owns more of the country’s wealth than at any time in the past 50 years

Income inequality is bad enough, but wealth inequality is way worse.

Column: U.S. Republicans sharpen knives for retirement program cuts

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Traditionally, U.S. politicians avoid talking about cutting Social Security and Medicare close to election time. Midterm elections are around the corner, but Republicans are making no secret of their plans to go after these critical retirement programs.

Trump’s richest friends are asking for changes to the GOP tax plan, and he’s listening

At a private fundraiser in New York, some of the president’s longtime friends raised concerns about how the GOP plan would affect them.

Apple could get a staggering $47 billion windfall from the tax bill

Even Tim Cook has explained this won’t boost investment. Richard Waters and Tom Braithwaite at the Financial Times ran the numbers yesterday and found that the Republican tax plan’s largest single winner is going to be Apple, which stands to reap a windfall of about $47 billion.

Trump Wants You to Tip Restaurant Owners, Not Servers

If the Trump administration has its way, the tip you leave your waiter or waitress could end up in the pocket of the restaurant owner instead of the person who served you.

Ronald Reagan tried deep corporate-tax cuts before. They didn’t work

Reuters/Gary CameronDeja vu all over again.By ReporterPublished This article is more than 2 years old.

Republican Senators Scribbled Personal Perks Into Tax Bill

Representative Paul Tonko (D-New York) is furious about a secret addition to the Senate approved tax bill, and he is not alone.

Millions of Kids Are About to Lose Their Health Insurance Because Congress Won’t Do Its Job

In September, Congress let expire the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a bipartisan-backed program that covers millions of low-income kids whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.

10 Reasons to Revive the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign

When profit motives “are considered more important than people,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once declared, it’s time for the nation to “undergo a radical revolution of values.”

Déjà Voodoo … Economics

Republicans’ proposed tax reform is a bigger gift to corporations and the ultra-rich than most had anticipated.

White House Says Cutting Meals on Wheels Is ‘Compassionate’

President Trump’s new budget would increase defense spending by $54 billion — while slashing funding for medical research, climate science, public housing, education, aid to the indigent, infrastructure, and many, many other things.

The Senate GOP Accidentally Killed Some of Its Donors’ Favorite Tax Breaks

On Friday, Senate Republicans rewrote the American tax code over lunch — and passed their (partially handwritten) legislation around 2 a.m. the following morning. Mitch McConnell never subjected his blueprint for restructuring the world’s largest economy to a single hearing.

It’s More Than Just a Monument

Trump’s decision to cut more than 1 million acres from Bears Ears could permanently crimp the presidency’s ability to protect public land. They are known, in almost every local indigenous language, as “Bears Ears,” and when you look at photos, you can see why.

Author of GOP Tax Plan Says Children’s Health Insurance Program Is Held Up “Because We Don’t Have Money Anymore”

The lead author of the Senate Republican tax plan, Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch of Utah, said the federal government no longer has the money to fund the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. CHIP is an $8 billion program.

Sen. Rob Portman is wrong on GOP tax bill - it will hurt Ohioans: editorial

Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio has been talking up the GOP tax plan like crazy. Too bad he's got his talking points all wrong. The bill will hurt Ohioans and particularly middle-class Ohioans. No talking points can alter that.

The AARP Just Hit the GOP with a Crippling Blow, It’s On!

The last group the GOP wants to make enemies with is the far-reaching AARP. Republicans are currently working on their disastrous tax bill that the CBO says could add $1.4 trillion to the deficit and slam poor Americans.

Hatch claims poor people don’t deserve government help because “they won’t help themselves”

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is defending a children’s health care program he helped create, but if the federal deficit balloons by at least $1 trillion as predicted under the Republican tax plan he’s authored and shepherded through the Senate, programs for the elderly and the poor will likely

A Congressional Assault on Graduate Education

Modestly salaried, willingly overworked, and gifted with a penchant for detecting campus seminars with free food, graduate students serve as the bedrock of research at higher education institutions.

GOP senator says it’s hard to fund $14 billion children’s health care program — then advocates for $1 trillion tax cut

This week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) helped push a tax bill through the Senate that will cost about $1 trillion.

The Republican tax bill will exacerbate income inequality in America

America’s rich have gotten richer for decades, while the middle class and poor have seen meager gains. Since the mid-20th century, the top 1 percent have more than doubled their share of the nation’s income, from less than 10 percent to more than 20 percent.

Republicans Did the Same Thing in Oklahoma They Want to Do Nationally, and Democrats Swept Special Elections as a Result

If you’re a Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma, you’re used to having pretty good job security. More than 70 out of 101 seats in the House of Representatives are controlled by the GOP; of the Senate’s 48 members, all but nine are Republicans.

Heading Toward Tax Victory, Republicans Eye Next Step: Cut Spending

As the tax cut legislation passed by the Senate early Saturday hurtles toward final approval, Republicans are preparing to use the swelling deficits made worse by the package as a rationale to pursue their long-held vision: undoing the entitlements of the New Deal and Great Society, leaving governme

Special Giveaways in Tax Cut Bill Benefit Family Members and Colleagues of Key GOP Senators

The tax plan before Congress, though sold as broad legislation to reduce rates and end favoritism in the tax code, contains targeted provisions designed to benefit special interest groups, many of which maintain close ties to senior Republican lawmakers.

Republicans Only Circulated Their 500-Page Tax Bill Hours Before the Vote. Read It Here.

On Friday, Republican lawmakers spent hours scrambling to rewrite its sweeping overhaul of the tax code. Now, it appears that the new 479-page bill is finally circulating, nevermind that it’s just hours before the Senate is expected to vote on it.

Republicans Will Cut Social Security and Medicare After Tax Plan Passes, Says Marco Rubio

Update | Florida Senator Marco Rubio admits that the Republican tax cut plan, which benefits corporations and the wealthy, will require cuts to Social Security and Medicare to pay for it.

Why the UN is investigating extreme poverty … in America, the world's richest nation

The United Nations monitor on extreme poverty and human rights has embarked on a coast-to-coast tour of the US to hold the world’s richest nation – and its president – to account for the hardships endured by America’s most vulnerable citizens.

“The hypocrisy is astounding”: this tax bill shows the GOP’s debt concerns were pure fraud

Republicans are proving themselves nihilists. There is a long-running, almost metaphysical, argument about the GOP’s deficit hawkery. One school of thought holds that it has always been pure cynicism.

UPS Imposes 70-Hour Week

UPS has imposed new work rules that could force exhausted drivers to work up to 70 hours a week during peak. Drivers deserve a strong union response, not another Hoffa surrender. UPSers are already working brutal peak season hours and delivering record volume.

This Isn't Tax Policy. It's A Shakedown By The Monied Interests

I have seen a lot in my life, but I don’t recall ever seeing anything like this. It’s a rushed hack job just to give the President and the GOP big donors a “win” when tens of millions of Americans stand to lose in the form of higher taxes.

The Republican tax bill is not just immoral. It is an act of violence

Donald Trump and leaders in Congress are on the verge of enacting one of the most immoral pieces of legislation in our nation’s history.

A Historic Tax Heist

With barely a vote to spare early Saturday morning, the Senate passed a tax bill confirming that the Republican leaders’ primary goal is to enrich the country’s elite at the expense of everybody else, including future generations who will end up bearing the cost.

Senators’ pet projects added at last-minute into tax bill

WASHINGTON — In last-minute changes to the Republican tax bill, an array of senators’ wish-lists were added to the bill, including a unique tax exemption for a small Christian college in Michigan and a carve-out for cruise ships docking in Alaska.

GOP refuses to learn the lessons of Kansas’ failed tax experiment

Shortly after the 2012 elections, with Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s (R) radical economic experiment already underway, then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.

Trump’s Treasury Dept finds itself facing a new investigation

It now appears he may have been lying, not just about the timing, but about the work itself.

Republicans are breaking four big promises in the Senate tax bill

First Read is your briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

How the Senate tax bill affects rich and poor, in three charts

Just in time for a potential full Senate vote, we now have significantly more data about what exactly the Senate tax overhaul would do, and whom it would affect. In particular, we want to look at the latest numbers from the Congressional Budget Office.

A Republican Tax Proposal Would Make Academia Even Whiter

While a House Republican proposal to tax the tuition waivers of graduate students may not be among the highest-profile Trump-era assaults on people of color, it represents a serious threat to racial equality.

The GOP Plan Is the Biggest Tax Increase in American History, By Far

The tax bill moving its way through Congress is routinely referred to as a $1.5 trillion tax cut. And, in some ways, that’s true: On net, it would reduce the amount of taxes collected by the Treasury by about $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

Senate GOP tax bill passes in major victory for Trump, Republicans

The bill greatly benefits corporate America and the wealthy while delivering mixed blessings to everybody else.

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GOP senator says tax cuts must be followed by 'structural changes to Social Security and Medicare'

Senate Republicans started the clock for a final vote on their tax plan Wednesday evening, but among the unresolved demands from GOP waverers is a provision to prevent the bill from adding up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years.

Republicans’ Tax Lies Show the Rot Spreads Wide and Runs Deep

On Thursday morning, The New York Times revealed that Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, has been lying for months about Republican tax plans.

The Tax Bill’s Automatic Spending Cuts

Get the Upshot in your Inbox MARGOT SANGER-KATZA law to keep the deficit from growing larger requires cuts to federal spending if the tax bill passes and Congress takes no further action.

I’m a Depression historian. The GOP tax bill is straight out of 1929.

Republicans are again sprinting toward an economic cliff.

Sen. Rob Portman is just one of the Republican hucksters on the tax bill: Brent Larkin

Republicans who run the country now are giving them a raw deal. Roosevelt pretty much delivered.

By Reducing the Income of Poorer Americans, the Senate Tax Bill May Worsen Health Outcomes

The Senate will vote this week on a Republican proposal that reduces taxes by $1.5 trillion over the next decade, with the biggest tax cuts going to the richest Americans.

The Internet Is Dying. Repealing Net Neutrality Hastens That Death.

The internet is dying. Sure, technically, the internet still works. Pull up Facebook on your phone and you will still see your second cousin’s baby pictures. But that isn’t really the internet.

The Senate Is Rushing to Pass Its Tax Bill Because It Stinks

As more senators show signs of sacrificing their principles and embracing the Republican tax bill for minor and nebulous concessions, it bears looking more closely at the process that produced this terrible legislation and some of its lesser-known provisions.

AARP: 5.2 million seniors could see taxes increased by GOP bill

Millions of senior citizens could see tax increases under the Senate version of the GOP's tax-reform plan, according to an analysis from the AARP. In an article published Wednesday on the group's website, the AARP's vice president and policy director argue that 1 in 5 seniors, about 6.

Taxes and growth – a cautionary graph

The Trump Administration claims that the tax cut going through the House and Senate will significantly boost the overall growth rate of the U.S. economy by so much that it will pay for itself through increased revenues. Take that assertion with a grain – or perhaps a barrel – of salt.

Comcast hints at plan for paid fast lanes after net neutrality repeal

For years, Comcast has been promising that it won't violate the principles of net neutrality, regardless of whether the government imposes any net neutrality rules.

This City Hall, brought to you by Amazon

A review of some of the bids to woo Amazon’s HQ2 to other cities and states shows it’s not all about the money. In some cases democracy itself is a bargaining chip. There’s rising worry that corporations are taking over America.

Big Money Rules

Diane Ravitch is a historian of American education. Her most recent book is Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools. (January 2021)

The Biggest Tax Scam in History

Donald Trump likes to declare that every good thing that happens while he’s in office — job growth, rising stock prices, whatever — is the biggest, greatest, best ever. Then the fact-checkers weigh in and quickly determine that the claim is false.

Odds Are, Russia Owns Trump

Three months ago, The Washington Post reported that even as Donald Trump ran for president, he pursued plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Senate Republican tax plan hurts the poor while cutting taxes for the rich, CBO finds

The Senate Republican tax plan would harm the poor while slashing taxes for the rich, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office published Sunday. The CBO found that negative impact for Americans earning less than $30,000 a year begin as soon as 2019.

Senate GOP tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, CBO finds

A new Congressional Budget Office study shows large, harmful impacts to families earning $30,000 or less from the Senate GOP tax bill.

Timed toilet breaks, impossible targets and workers falling asleep on feet: Brutal life working in Amazon warehouse

Alan Selby went undercover at the firm's Tilbury warehouse in Essex where ambulances are regularly called and where workers face the sack if they fail to pack at least two items per minute Alone in a locked metal cage, 10 feet from my nearest colleague, a robot approaches from the shadows and thrust

Republicans Are Laser-Targeting Enemies in Their Tax Bill

The plan would impose a 1.4 percent excise tax on college endowments at private universities….double the standard individual tax deduction, meaning much weaker incentives for charitable contributions to colleges….end student loan interest rate deductions….

How bad is income inequality? Millennials may be the new peasants.

Unless you're one of a fortunate handful of people, it may surprise you to learn that the world's economy has not only recovered from the global financial meltdown of 2008, but has grown 27% since then, to $280 trillion, according to a new report from Credit Suisse Research Institute.

Why We Need to Confront the Billionaires’ Paradise

It’s time to “strike back” against the undemocratic and unequal state of our own country and the Western world. Boats and yachts sit in the water as houses dot the hillside along Hamilton Harbour on Nov. 8, 2017 in Hamilton, Bermuda.

GOP Tax Bill Is The End Of All Economic Sanity In Washington

No doubt many of you read the above headline and immediately started to tweet that the GOP tax bill can't be the end of economic sanity in Washington because there never was any to begin with. First...please do tweet that, and link to this post when you do.

The Nationalist’s Delusion

Trump’s supporters backed a time-honored American political tradition, disavowing racism while promising to enact a broad agenda of discrimination. THIRTY YEARS AGO, nearly half of Louisiana voted for a Klansman, and the media struggled to explain why.

Poll: Economists Unanimous That Debt Would Balloon Under GOP Tax Plan

Republicans have been selling their tax overhaul plan as a major booster for the U.S. economy. In fact, they have argued that it would grow the economy so much that cuts would largely pay for themselves. But on both counts, top economists are doubtful.

Hot Spot for Tech Outsourcing: The United States

For years, American companies have been saving money by “offshoring” jobs — hiring people in India and other distant cubicle farms. Today, some of those jobs are being outsourced again — in the United States.

The GOP tax plan just got another brutal review

The new analysis from the Urban Institute's and Brookings Institution's Tax Policy Center found that by 2027, 28% of Americans would see an increase in their tax burden due to the tax code overhaul proposed in the TCJA.

Why is Donald Trump launching a withering attack on nonprofits?

Not so long ago, conservative thinkers and Republican leaders were strong champions of private charity. George HW Bush talked about a “thousand points of light”, while his son created a new White House office to engage nonprofits.

Musicians, You’re About to Lose Your Tax Deductions

Musicians have been asking me if the new tax bill passed by the House yesterday will have any impact on us. Yes, the legislation, if passed in the Senate, will greatly reduce the ability of professional musicians to deduct many of the expenses we incur in our work.

Our Elites Still Don’t Get It

John Bowlby is the father of attachment theory, which explains how humans are formed by relationships early in life, and are given the tools to go out and lead their lives.

House GOP tax plan would increase taxes for graduate students by roughly 400 percent

"It would be devastating."

House Republican: my donors told me to pass the tax bill “or don’t ever call me again”

Chris Collins is saying the quiet part loud. The House Republican tax overhaul has already made a lot of enemies.

Done

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How to Pay Taxes (NOT!) Like Donald Trump

Imagine if you, like President-elect Donald Trump, didn’t have to pay a nickel to support the government he’s now preparing to lead. Trump, who has refused (unlike every other presidential candidate in recent history) to release his tax returns, made his last known payment to the IRS in 1977.

Teachers spend nearly $500 a year on supplies. Under the GOP tax bill, they will no longer get a tax deduction.

Teachers benefit from a $250 tax deduction that would be eliminated under the tax reform bill.

Column: The GOP tax plan is filled with petty cruelties aimed at the vulnerable and the middle class. Here’s a list

House Republicans’ determination to slash tax deductions for taxpayers and homebuyers in blue states has commanded most of the public’s attention since the unveiling of the GOP’s tax bill Thursday.

Divorce penalty? Tax reform could shrink alimony for ex-spouses

Alimony payments mandated by divorce agreements could lose their beneficial tax treatment. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, unveiled on Thursday, includes a provision to kill the deduction that taxpayers get for making such payments to an ex-spouse.

I've spent months covering Republican tax policy. This bill is way worse than I expected.

The party had some legitimately good ideas. They’re not in this bill. I’m not the target audience for the Republican tax bill.

As Trump Proposes Tax Cuts, Kansas Deals With Aftermath Of Experiment

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is notorious for what is known as the Kansas experiment, a bold effort to assert the power of limited government. In 2012, the Republican governor pushed reforms through the state Legislature that dramatically cut income taxes across the board.

Republicans say they can’t figure out how to not cut taxes for the rich

It’s really not very hard. Both as a candidate for president and again as recently as mid-September, Donald Trump promised that his tax program wouldn’t help rich people “at all.” His Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin vowed as much in January.

Emoluments Hearing Hints At What May Be At Stake: Trump's Tax Returns

If there's one thing President Trump's critics want from him, and he refuses to give up, it's his tax returns. The returns didn't come up during Wednesday's hearing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

Financial industry worried GOP tax plan will change 401(k)s

Financial industry groups and Democratic lawmakers are concerned that Republicans’ forthcoming tax-reform bill could make a big change to the taxing of retirement funds.

The G.O.P. Is No Party for Honest Men

President Trump and Mitch McConnell speaking to reporters on Monday.Credit...Tom Brenner/The New York TimesAccording to a new CBS News poll, almost 60 percent of the American public believes that the current Republican tax plan favors the wealthy.

Tax-cutting House Republicans suddenly worry about the deficit when Puerto Rico needs help

Why 69 Republicans didn’t vote for Puerto Rico aid. A full-blown humanitarian crisis is still underway in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island last month. More than 80 percent of the island is still without electricity, there’s a daily shortage of 1.

Math Suggests Inequality Can Be Fixed With Wealth Redistribution, Not Tax Cuts

In the last 30 years, income inequality has grown at a rate that hasn't been seen since just prior to the Great Depression. As Occupy Wall Street sought to remind us, the top 1 percent of the US earns 40 times more than the bottom 90 percent on average.

The Koch brothers (and their friends) want President Trump’s tax cut. Very badly.

NEW YORK — The message from the billionaire-led Koch network of donors to President Trump and the Republican Congress it helped to shape couldn’t be more clear: Pass a tax overhaul, or else. As the donors mixed and mingled for a policy summit at the St.

The Decline of the Midwest's Public Universities Threatens to Wreck Its Most Vibrant Economies

And there could be far-reaching consequences for the national economy too.

Too poor to vote: how Alabama’s ‘new poll tax’ bars thousands of people from voting

Randi Lynn Williams assumes she will never be able to afford to vote again. The 38-year-old resident of Dothan, Alabama, lost her right to vote in 2008, when she was convicted of fraudulent use of a credit card.

Here’s Where Your Tax Dollars for ‘Defense’ Are Really Going

Here’s a question for you: How do you spell boondoggle? The answer (in case you didn’t already know): P-e-n-t-a-g-o-n.

https://www.axios.com/americas-fractured-economic-well-being-2488460340.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=AX1&utm_content=textshort&utm_term=politics?utm_goal=traffic

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Anti-pop-tax hired guns pay $11 an hour for workers to 'educate' Cook County voters on repeal

Nestled between a hair weave shop and Chinese fast-food joint in a South Side shopping center is a narrow storefront with a cardboard placard inside a glass door.

Millionaire Trump Adviser Says Americans Can 'Buy A New Car' With $1,000 Tax Cut

President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser — Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs president worth an estimated $266 million — appears to be completely clueless about what the average American family spends on a car, vacation or home improvement project.

Trump says tax plan to nearly double standard deduction

President Trump on Tuesday said that Republicans' forthcoming tax plan will include "nearly doubling" the standard deduction and increasing the child tax credit. "We will cut taxes tremendously for the middle class.

Republicans Outline Biggest Tax Code Overhaul In A Generation

Updated at 5:00 p.m. ET President Trump and GOP congressional leaders have outlined their plan for the most sweeping overhaul of the federal tax code in more than three decades.

Taxpayers billed $1,092 for an official’s two-night stay at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club

An invoice from the president’s Palm Beach property surfaces, showing that the government was charged for someone to spend the weekend.

Irma Won’t “Wake Up” Climate Change-Denying Republicans. Their Whole Ideology Is on the Line.

He gathered his cabinet at Camp David and said there was no time to waste. With Hurricane Irma set to potentially devastate huge swaths of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, now was the time, he said, to rush through massive … tax cuts. Yes, that’s right.

Enter the World's Most Competitive Economy

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Our Broken Economy, in One Simple Chart

The poor and middle class used to see the largest income growth. Note: Inflation-adjusted annual average growth using income after taxes, transfers and non-cash benefits.

American – $539: Detroit – Rome, Italy. Roundtrip, including all Taxes

This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.

Republicans Will Let America Burn While Holding Out for Tax Cuts

Some prominent Republicans are getting more vocal in their criticism of Donald Trump. Yet from the other side of their mouths, they continue to push for tax "reform" amid the growing chaos.

A bold new plan promises to fix middle-class wage stagnation

In the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, incomes for the poor and middle class grew faster than those of the rich. Then, in the 1970s and 1980s, something changed. In recent decades, the typical American has seen their income grow by 1 percent per year, often less, barely keeping up with inflation.

Donald Trump Knows Nothing About Health Care, Taxes, or Trade

Politico has gotten hold of a transcript of Donald Trump’s interview with the Wall Street Journal a few days ago. It started out with a question about the Republican health care bill: MR. BAKER: What have you been doing, Mr. President, sort of behind the scenes?

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2014/09/05/sugar-price-supports-have-hidden-costs-for-economy-consumers?context=amp

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The 2 most popular critiques of basic income are both wrong

At first blush, basic income — a proposal where every American gets a regular stipend from the government, just for being alive — sounds like a radical, even absurd, idea.

Noncompete Pacts, Under Siege, Find Haven in Idaho

Downtown Boise, Idaho. While most states have been moving toward making it easier for workers to switch employers, Idaho went the other direction.Credit...

Death spiral? Obamacare insurers may be having ‘best year’ yet under ACA

New data on the improving finances of the nation’s individual insurers are calling into question repeated Republican claims that Obamacare marketplaces are collapsing under the Affordable Care Act.

In the knowledge economy, we need a Netflix of education

With 4.6 billion pieces of content produced daily, it might seem that our hunger for knowledge should be satisfied — but information production and distribution is not the same as consumption and it’s not as simple as just putting information out there.

Climate Change Will Lead to the Largest Transfer of Wealth in the Country's History

A groundbreaking study estimates the real economic consequences that climate change would bring to the U.S. by the end of the 21st century. Economic disparity will grow, hitting the American South the worst, while the country’s wealth will shrink.

Here's Why You Can File Bankruptcy on Everything but Your Student Loans

At $1.3 trillion, the student loan debt crisis has eclipsed both credit card and auto loan debt to become Americans’ second largest outstanding payment, behind only mortgage debts. However, an individual can discharge all of these types of debt by declaring bankruptcy save for student loans.

Column: How much do the poor actually pay in taxes? Probably more than you think.

Editor’s Note: Makers versus takers. It’s the cliche dividing line between those of us who contribute to the economy and those who supposedly leach off it. The assumption is simple and stark. The former pay taxes; the latter don’t, and live off those who do.

It Could Be 10 Times Cheaper To Take Electric Robo-Taxis Than To Own A Car By 2030

A new report predicts that we’re on the edge of an incredibly rapid transition to an entirely new transportation system–where it will be so much cheaper and easier to not own a car, you’ll get rid of it as soon as you can.

Blockchains Could Add Trillions of Dollars to the Global Economy

Imagine if the entire global economy could run simply on connected smartphones: no cloud, no servers,no central power, no government. This capability is coming, like it or not.

7 of top 10 occupations in Ohio are low-paying

CLEVELAND — Seven out of the top 10 occupations in Ohio are now low-wage jobs, according to a recently released report. In 2000, four out of the top 10 were low-wage jobs, the analysis, based on U.S. Labor Department and other government data, showed.

This small business owner says he can’t survive a Republican plan to tax imports

Tee Miller’s clothing shop in Georgetown, South Carolina, survived the city’s worst fire since 1841, a massive blaze that received national media attention and nearly leveled an entire city block on the historic waterfront.

Trump to propose big cuts to safety net in new budget, slashing Medicaid and opening door to other limits

The president will deliver his most detailed look at how he wants to change government.

http://www.epi.org/publication/employers-steal-billions-from-workers-paychecks-each-year-survey-data-show-millions-of-workers-are-paid-less-than-the-minimum-wage-at-significant-cost-to-taxpayers-and-state-economies/#epi-toc-1

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What Congress can learn from Kansas’s failed tax experiment

If President Trump and his supporters want to know how his proposed tax cuts will play out, they should look at what’s happened in Kansas since 2012. That year, Gov. Sam Brownback pushed through aggressive tax cuts very similar to what Trump wants Congress to do.

37 top economists all say Trump's tax plan won't pay for itself

More than 35 American economists surveyed last week disagree with a basic element of President Trump’s proposed tax plan: whether it will pay for itself.

House GOP Health Plan Eliminates Two Medicare Taxes, Giving Very Large Tax Cuts to the Wealthy

The House GOP health plan would repeal, starting in 2018, two Medicare taxes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that fall only on high-income filers: the additional Hospital Insurance (HI) payroll tax on high earners and the Medicare tax on unearned income.

Child poverty in the US is a disgrace. Experts are embracing this simple plan to cut it.

Most rich countries besides the US have hit on a surprisingly simple approach to reducing child poverty: just giving parents money. This idea, known as a child benefit or child allowance, exists in almost every EU country as well as in Canada and Australia.

Almost everything Republicans get wrong about the economy started with a cocktail napkin in 1974

Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, American Enterprise exhibitionThe Rosetta stone of Reaganomics.From our Obsession“America First”By ReporterPublished Last updated on August 11, 2018This article is more than 2 years old.

The end of capitalism has begun

The red flags and marching songs of Syriza during the Greek crisis, plus the expectation that the banks would be nationalised, revived briefly a 20th-century dream: the forced destruction of the market from above.

You have reached your free article limit for the month - The New York Times

YOU HAVE REACHED YOUR FREE ARTICLE LIMIT FOR THE MONTH.

US has regressed to developing nation status, MIT economist warns

America is regressing to have the economic and political structure of a developing nation, an MIT economist has warned. Peter Temin says the world's’ largest economy has roads and bridges that look more like those in Thailand and Venezuela than those in parts of Europe.

Bill would block porn on new phones, computers unless consumers pay a tax

Lawmakers in about a dozen states are considering a bill that would block pornography from all new phones and computers unless consumers pay up. Backers of the porn tax plan to introduce it on the federal level this month.

Secretary Zinke Announces $34.9 Billion Added to U.S. Economy in 2016 due to National Park Visitation

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, during National Park Week, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced that 2016's record visitation of 331 million visitors at America’s 417 National Park Service sites contributed $34.9 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016 – a $2.9 billion increase from 2015.

Likeliest Outcome of Tax Reform is a Deficit-Financed Tax Cut for the Rich That Will Expire in a Decade

Undeterred by their failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Republicans look set to move on to the next item in Paul Ryan’s “Better Way” agenda—tax reform.

Tom Cotton gets BOOED for defending Trumps tax returns

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I’m an American living in Sweden. Here’s why I came to embrace the higher taxes.

I’m an American living in Sweden. Here’s why I came to embrace the higher taxes. I was visiting the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, a 23-island archipelago in Lake Superior, when suddenly I found myself pining for Stockholm.

New poll shows what Americans really think about taxes: the rich should pay more

Democrats are unified, the GOP divided on the issue. Americans’ top concern about the tax code is that they want corporations and wealthy individuals to pay more taxes. Even among rank-and-file Republicans, soaking the rich is at least moderately popular.

DeVos dials back consumer protections for student loan borrowers

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday withdrew a series of policy memos issued by the Obama administration to strengthen consumer protections for student loan borrowers.

These 5 hilariously ridiculous rules are why our tax system favors the rich.

But, oh boy, does it ever not work that way. Examples of stupendously wealthy people paying hilariously low percentages of their income in taxes aren't hard to track down.

What does the federal government spend your tax dollars on? Social insurance programs, mostly

It’s springtime, which means the start of the budgeting process for Congress and a mad dash for many Americans to file their income taxes. That makes it a good time to look at the federal government’s spending habits in a broader context than just this year’s battles.

Oil leak discovered after 'impact' at Hilcorp platform in Cook Inlet

Hilcorp Alaska on Saturday discovered a crude oil leak from an undersea pipeline connecting two production platforms in western Cook Inlet. The oil leak is on the west side of the inlet and is unrelated to the company's ongoing natural gas leak on the eastern side of the basin near Nikiski.

Osborne’s huge tax giveaway starts for rich – as the poor are hit

The richest will reap 80% of the rewards from the tax and benefit changes that start to come into effect this week, while the poorest will become worse off, according to detailed analysis by the Resolution Foundation.

Black and Hispanic Communities Are Spending Almost Half Their Incomes on Rent

Rents have been rising faster than wages since 2011 with rent affordability declining in black and Hispanic communities.

Trump’s Climate Rollback Will Hurt the Economy, Not Help It

Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle President Obama’s climate legacy and policies. The White House claims that these actions will help the economy in general, and coal workers in particular. It’s wrong.

$2,183,552: Donald Trump’s Annual Tax Cut from ACA Repeal

The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a health care bill that would take away insurance from 24 million Americans in 2025—the same year that it would give a tax cut of $57,570 to the average household making more than $1 million per year.

The Gig Economy Celebrates Working Yourself to Death

Last September, a very twenty-first-century type of story appeared on the company blog of the ride-sharing app Lyft. “Long-time Lyft driver and mentor, Mary, was nine months pregnant when she picked up a passenger the night of July 21st,” the post began.

New Evidence that Poor Americans Pay the Highest Taxes and Get Little of the Safety Net

Before taxes on the rich are cut and social programs decimated, uninformed conservatives should consider who really benefits from U.S. tax laws and assistance programs. When ALL forms of taxes and income are considered, poor Americans pay higher tax rates than the richest 1%.

Trump’s 2005 Tax Bill Doesn’t Mean the Tax System Is Working

On January 17, 1969, Treasury Secretary Joseph W. Barr presented Congress’s Joint Economic Committee with a project years in the making: the first list ever compiled of all the tax code’s loopholes and exemptions.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-03-15/republicans-keep-repeating-the-same-tax-mistake

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The Republican health care bill’s uninsured penalty punishes the poor way more than the rich

The bill also gives less generous tax credits to low-income Americans than Obamacare did. One group that will really lose out with the Republican health care bill to repeal and replace Obamacare: the poor.

Donald Trump's sons' secret service protection on business trips could cost millions for US taxpayers

Protecting Donald Trump’s immediate family is costing American taxpayers millions and his sons' business travels are quickly racking up the bill.

Caterpillar Is Accused in Report to Federal Investigators of Tax Fraud

For years, federal investigators have been scrutinizing Caterpillar’s overseas tax affairs with no resolution to the examinations of the complex maneuvers involving billions of dollars and one of the company’s Swiss subsidiaries.

The Indoor Garden That Can Feed an Entire Neighborhood

There’s a lot to appreciate about the Swedish company IKEA.

The GOP’s Obamacare Replacement Is Just a Gigantic Tax on Women

After seven years of grandstanding and hand-wringing, this is the best Republicans could come up with? The GOP answer to the Affordable Care Act was unveiled only yesterday, and it’s already about as big a hit as New Coke.

The GOP health bill is a $600 billion tax cut — almost entirely for the wealthy

Most analysis of the American Health Care Act, the new House Republican plan for repealing and replacing Obamacare, has focused on the fact that it will take away health insurance from millions of Americans, including, eventually, millions of poor, elderly, and disabled Americans currently on Medica

GOP Plan Targets Poor, Sick, Elderly While Providing Tax Cuts for Wealthy

The American Healthcare Act (AHCA), unveiled by House Republicans Monday night, dismantles (pdf) major provisions of the ACA, or Obamacare, and puts in place a system of age-based tax credits for individuals to buy insurance. It would "end Medicaid as we know it," as per Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.

The Republican health plan fixes a problem Paul Ryan feels passionately about

It cuts marginal tax rates for low-income families — by giving them less health care. One feature of the American Health Care Act — Paul Ryan’s proposed alternative to the Affordable Care Act — is that, relative to Obamacare, it helps the poor less and the middle class more.

Uber and Airbnb are not the future of capitalism

If you read articles about the sharing economy — and there have been hundreds of them over the past decade — you’ll often see a line that refers to “sharing economy companies such as Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft.

https://www.thenation.com/article/our-political-economy-is-designed-to-create-poverty-and-inequality/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

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Is Donald Trump Really Worth Some Tax Cuts?

Our story so far: President Trump got good reviews for his speech to Congress on Tuesday, and that made him happy. Then it all blew up thanks to revelations the next day that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had met twice with the Russian ambassador during the campaign.

Secret GOP Obamacare Replacement Throws Millions Off Of Health Care And Raises Taxes

We now know the reason why Republicans tried to keep their Obamacare replacement bill a secret. The leaked bill would take away health care for millions of Americans and taxes health insurance. Politico reported on the secret House Republican plan: The latest draft, dated Feb.

The Next Step in the Trump-DeVos Plan to Send Taxpayer Money to Religious Schools

During his address before a joint session of Congress earlier this week, President Donald Trump paused to introduce Denisha Merriweather, a graduate student from Florida sitting with first lady Melania Trump. Merriweather “failed third grade twice” in Florida’s public schools, Trump said.

Democrats now describe Trump’s unshared tax returns as a matter of national security

Congressional Democrats are hoping that growing concerns about Russian interference in American politics might get them a peek at President Donald Trump’s tax returns. Trump refused to release his tax returns during the campaign because, he said, he was undergoing an audit.

Taxpayers fund a first-class congressional foreign travel boom

Most taxpayers will never pay $10,000 in flights for an overseas trip, but in the year prior to the 2016 election, taxpayers paid for 557 such trips that each cost more than $10,000 for a member of Congress or a staffer.

Standing Rock deployments cost Wisconsin taxpayers over $90 thousand a day

It turns out that EMAC deployments are not only opportunities for law enforcement to study up on counter-demonstration tactics, but are also pretty expensive.

https://thinkprogress.org/229-house-republicans-just-voted-to-keep-trumps-tax-returns-secret-a6843e9a6260#.vddhz3lnv

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Mexico Just Told U.S. ‘We Don’t Need You’! Guess Who’s Waiting To Step In?

Donald Trump is in the midst of scoring a real diplomatic coup. He’s driving Mexico straight into the arms of China.

Trump Waste Of Taxpayer Money Sets A New Record With 4th Weekend Trip To Florida

President Trump will once again spend the weekend at his Florida private club, as his 4th straight taxpayer funded trip will set a record by spending more money on travel in a month than former President Obama spent in a year.

Hero tuba player trolls entire KKK march with doofy music

Despite the fact that it’s 2015, over the weekend the KKK marched down the streets of South Carolina, towards its statehouse, to show support for the confederate flag, a supposed symbol for the backwards heritage of idiot cowards nationwide.

Trump's Family Trips Cost Taxpayers Nearly As Much In A Month As Obama's Cost In A Whole Year

Donald Trump's regular jaunts to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida appear to be costing taxpayers a small fortune.

Trump deportation threats to constrict already-tight job market, could cost economy $5 trillion

President Donald Trump's sweeping crackdown on immigrants in the country illegally will strain an already tight U.S. job market, with one study suggesting that removing all of them would cost the economy as much as $5 trillion over 10 years.

Why Kansas’ Fiscal Implosion Is Bad News for Trump

An ambitious effort by a Republican governor to drastically cut his state’s taxes is crumbling—and that’s a bad omen for Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress who are hoping to slash tax rates at the national level.

Taxpayer-Funded Horror at Standing Rock

UPDATE: Ten people were arrested, and one protester was injured during confrontation with North Dakota police during evictions Wednesday. Forty-six more were arrested Thursday in a police sweep of the main protest camp.

Trump To Cut Funding For PBS While His Family’s Lavish Lifestyle Costs Taxpayers $300m Per Year

The widely-popular Federal programs account for less than 0.0625% of the total budget. Security for the Trumps in the White House, Trump Tower, and Mar-a-Lago is estimated to cost more than the entire proposed budget for the NEA in 2017.

Bill Gates Says Job Stealing Robots Need to Pay Taxes

It’s possible that robots will take over some human jobs. In fact, it seems like it could be only a matter of time before they do. Increasing automation will lead to massive job displacement, and less people working means less employed citizens paying taxes.

The Shady Way the Rich Avoid Paying Their Fair Share in Taxes

The 2016 presidential election featured a lot of talk about our tax system—and especially about making the rich pay their fair share.

Trump, Cabinet could avoid millions in taxes thanks to this little-known law

Federal ethics laws would allow top officials to not pay taxes on investment profits.

Trump family trips cost taxpayers $11.3m in one month – almost as much as Obama’s cost in a year

Donald Trump’s family’s trips have cost taxpayers nearly as much in a month as Barack Obama’s cost in an entire year. The US President’s three visits to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida since his presidential inauguration, combined with his sons’ business trips, reportedly cost $11.3m (£9.

Trump’s Lavish Lifestyle Is a Drain on Taxpayers — and a Gift to Democrats

Americans voted for Donald Trump for a wide variety of terrible reasons. Some thought that the government should be run like a business.

Trump family’s elaborate lifestyle is a ‘logistical nightmare’ — at taxpayer expense

From the White House to Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago and beyond, local and federal governments stretch to meet the demands.

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Non-Partisan Congressional Tax Report Debunks Core Conservative Economic Theory-GOP Suppresses Study

This article is more than 8 years old.

American Tax Dollars Are Already Helping Trump Make Money

Early last month, two weeks before he’d watch his father be sworn in as president, Eric Trump travelled to a seaside town in Uruguay to help sell condos that bear his family’s name.

House opens door for transfer of federal lands: Will Trump play ball?

Emboldened by the change of administration, GOP lawmakers are quietly making moves that would permit a potentially vast transfer of federal land to states and other entities. President-elect Donald Trump and his pick for Interior secretary, Rep.

Paul Ryan, GOP Eye $23B In Food Stamp Cuts In 2017 Budget

In the ongoing battle to reach a consensus over the 2017 Congressional budget, cuts to food stamps are on the table in a big way. House Republicans, including Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., are eyeing $23 billion in cuts to food stamps in the next decade, Roll Call reported.

http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/aca-repeal-would-lavish-medicare-tax-cuts-on-400-highest-income-households

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Final tally: Obama created 11.3 million jobs

The final tally is in: 11.3 million new jobs were created under President Obama. The president is claiming a big victory on getting Americans back to work again.

Entrepreneurs—Not Coal Or Factories—Will Save The Middle-American Economy

Despite his promises, Trump can't bring back millions of basic manufacturing jobs when robots can do the same work cheaper. And coal jobs—which have been declining for decades—are unlikely to come back when natural gas and renewables are also now cheaper.

Hacking the Attention Economy

For most non-technical folks, “hacking” evokes the notion of using sophisticated technical skills to break through the security of a corporate or government system for illicit purposes.

How Community Land Trusts Can Fix Detroit’s Foreclosure Mess

Shavone Travick’s house means everything to her. The rooms are full of memories: the night when her daughter dressed up for high school prom, the good times when she cooked smothered pork chops for the family.

Ohio is 10th for high-tech work in U.S.

Ohio has the 10th most high-tech jobs in the nation, according to a recent report from a Washington-based group that advocates for science and technology policy.

Study: Obamacare repeal means a $197,000 tax cut for the 0.1 percent

Repealing Obamacare wouldn’t just end health coverage for 20 million people. It would also mean a significant tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. These tax figures are important for understanding why Republicans are so committed to Obamacare repeal.

http://www.ohio.com/editorial/editorials/they-cut-taxes-and-now-a-recession-1.732897

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Killing the estate tax would put billions in the pockets of Trump and his administration

President-elect Donald Trump campaigned hard on the ways in which he was going to help the middle class. But it’s the 0.2 percent of the country that pay the estate tax who are counting on him to get done what others could not: kill the “death tax.”

Elon Musk thinks universal income is answer to automation taking human jobs

Tech innovators in the self-driving car and AI industries talk a lot about how many human jobs will be innovated out of existence, but they rarely explain what will happen to all those newly jobless humans.

Struggling White Voters Who Helped Elect Trump Are Headed for Some Serious Pain

Donald Trump ran on a series of impossible promises, but enough people believed he could deliver on them that he won the Electoral College. His supporters are in for what might be the rudest awakening in recent political history. 1

The 2016 election pitted booming cities against stagnant rural areas

The 2016 election was a virtual tie, with Hillary Clinton narrowly winning the popular vote, while Donald Trump won just enough states for a majority in the Electoral College.

27 charts that will change how you think about the American economy

The US economy is changing — and not always in the ways people expect. Fewer people are working in the manufacturing sector, yet we're producing more manufactured goods than ever.

High-income Americans pay most income taxes, but enough to be ‘fair’?

Tax-deadline season isn’t many people’s favorite time of the year, but most Americans are OK with the amount of tax they pay. It’s what other people pay, or don’t pay, that bothers them.

A New Wrinkle in the Gig Economy: Workers Get Most of the Money

The arresting images on Stocksy.com are far from the standard fare found on many stock photography sites. Colorful portraits, unexpected compositions and playful shots greet visitors.

25 Free Chrome Extensions To Make You An Incredibly Productive Person

Webster’s defines productivity as "the quality or state of being productive." Helpful, no? While sometimes it’s hard to actually define what it means to be productive, most of us know productivity when we see it and, better yet, when we feel it coursing through our own veins.