cbphoto said:
"Corporations in the US pay some of the highest taxes in the world... 40%..." please share that source with the rest of us.. think last year GE paid something like 2.7%
You're right, I was wrong. It is not one of the highest in the world. Now that Japan has lowered its corporate tax, the US has THE highest corporate (I forgot to write that there) tax rate in the world! Thanks for correcting me.
Anyway, you must not be known for your financial research skills.
On US Corporate Tax:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/27/pf/taxes/corporate-taxes/index.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/us-corporate-tax-rate_n_1392310.html
To briefly understand why they end up paying less:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/23/news/international/corporate_taxes/index.htm?iid=EL
GE's effective tax rate last year was 38.3% (2011):
Read the SEC filing (form 10K) on why they paid the tax rate they paid:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/40545/000004054512000016/ge10k.htm
Just keep in mind that effective tax rate is different than actual tax rate.
As for what Bush did, or didn't do, I'm not an American so I don't care.
What I do know for a fact is that the global economic crises is not because of lack of regulation or solely the fault of banks. The government intervention (because of their housing programs -- good thing Argentina is going down that road too) was one of the biggest factors. Second, the
perceived government backing for any loans written (seeing that Fannie Mae started as a government agency) by the banks.
Its true the bundling of those loans as securites by the banks to rid themselves of any risk whatsoever was another huge factor but just the bundling of loans didn't do anything, it was those who bought those securities too. You know, the idiots who wanted to ride the wave.
Then there were the regular people (the ones who no one ever mentions, but the ones who started the crisis by failing to make their mortgage payments, particularly those whom the NINJA loans were given to) who knew the government would take care of them even if they failed to make their payments. They could just declare bankruptcy and that would be that.
Its easy to blame the big bad corporations (many times its all for good reason too that they are blamed) but this one was not just their fault. This one is on all who took part in the housing bubble in one way or another. The government being one of the biggest players.
I guess all of what I said wouldn't matter to those who see the covers of Newsweek and Time magazines and think "Oh, Obama The One, with a Halo around His head, will save us from the big bad corporations." You keep living in your dream.
And on this note, those who think Bush and his policies were pro-business and "yay for Bush" or "Miss him yet?" You are just as delusional as Obama worshippers. You haven't had a pro business government in decades because that would actually mean the government having to relinquish some of its powers, not grab a bunch more!
