Free market ideologues fabricate some of the most preposterous yarns trying to justify their assertion of corporate greed over public need.
\nConsider their far-fetched of laissez-fairyland tale that by allowing corporate giants to dodge the billions of tax dollars they owe to our country, the top executives of those corporations will plow that money into new jobs, products and services for the common good. The ideologues assure us innocents that this is the “magic of the marketplace.”
\nBut remember: Magicians don’t perform magic; they perform illusions. In this case, since the law does not require<\/i> that such tax windfalls be invested for the public good, they aren’t. Instead, the corporate barons simply pocket the money.
\nA diligent watchdog group, Institute for Policy Studies, recently documented this by analyzing financial data of 35 enormously profitable giants, including Tesla, T-Mobile and Duke Energy. Over a four-year period, these 35 lavished pay of $9.5 billion on their honchos. Even for giants, that’s an extravagant payout. Where’d the money come from? Tax dodging. Combined, these outfits paid zero in federal taxes and even extracted nearly $2 billion in refunds.
\nTo rationalize this handout, free market ideologues claim that corporations are just like ordinary taxpayers, merely taking a few legal deductions to lower their tax bill. But, wait \u2014 tax laws aren’t handed down on stone tablets, applying equally to everyone. When’s the last time Congress asked you to help write one law? Instead, America’s tax code is an arcane work of gobbledygook literally written in back rooms by corporate lobbyists \u2014 which is why powerful corporations get special breaks to evade taxes and you don’t.
\nTo see through such corporate scams and help end this corruption, connect with the Institute for Policy Studies: ips-dc.org.
\nHOW MANY DEAD FIREFIGHTERS DOES IT TAKE TO BAN ASBESTOS?
\nIf your home or business is suddenly being engulfed in flames, you count on a quick response from the fire department. But who rushes to aid firefighters when so many of the burning buildings they enter are contaminated with chrysotile asbestos \u2014 a cancer-causing product so deadly that it’s banned in over 50 countries? So far, no one.
\nThis nasty toxic (widely used in construction materials, car parts and even water systems), infiltrates lungs and kills some 40,000 Americans a year, especially firefighters. For the last 30 years, victims, health advocates and others have been pushing to stop using the deadly stuff \u2014 but chemical profiteers and the politicians they pay kept defeating these efforts.
\nIn 2016, though, Congress finally empowered the Environmental Protection Agency to ban it.
\nGreat! But that same year, Donald Trump happened. With his usual deep analysis, concern for workers and respect for science, he mindlessly proclaimed asbestos “100 percent safe,” even declaring that the movement to ban it was “led by the mob.” Thus, his EPA did nothing … and deaths continued.
\nThen came Joe Biden, and \u2014 Hallelujah! \u2014 EPA has now announced that it is “finally slamming the door” on manufacturing, importing and using chrysotile asbestos. When? Twelve years from now.<\/i> What? Yes, that’s a very sloooow-motion slamming. Biden wanted the ban to take effect in two years, but industry lobbyists screeched. So, our government chose not to “rush” to aid firefighters and others who’ll be killed by this policy of putting corporate profits over their lives.
\nRemember this whenever political hucksters demand that you vote to eliminate “regulatory burdens.” Burdens for whom \u2014 asbestos peddlers or firefighters? And beware: Here comes Trump again, promising to eliminate public regulations if he’s elected. Really? Who will benefit from that?
\nTo find out more about Jim Hightower and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.
\n Photo credit: Jay Heike at Unsplash<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
– Free market ideologues justify corporate greed over public need by fabricating stories about how tax windfalls will be invested for the common good, but in reality, the money is simply pocketed by corporate executives.
\n– The Institute for Policy Studies analyzed financial data of 35 profitable corporations, including Tesla, T-Mobile, and Duke Energy, and found that they paid zero in federal taxes and received nearly billion in refunds over a four-year period.
\n– Asbestos, a cancer-causing product banned in over 50 countries, continues to be used in the U.S., causing the deaths of thousands of Americans each year, especially firefighters. Despite efforts to ban it, the EPA under Trump did nothing, but under Biden, a ban is set to take effect in twelve years due to industry lobbying.
\n– Political hucksters who push to eliminate regulations may be putting corporate profits over public safety, as seen in the case of asbestos. Trump has promised to eliminate regulations if elected again, raising concerns about who will benefit from such actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1521,122,4766,2149,492,3492,924,186,695,1107,2577,1625,4764,4736,295,2369,3502,166,358,1987,118,415,210,1991,28,756,455,2628,4448,4428,1222,1806,1065,4505,4765,1183,805,618,841,380,2687,4100,1774,962,444],"class_list":["post-6624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-1521","tag-aid","tag-asbestos-ban","tag-ban","tag-biden","tag-bill","tag-buildings","tag-business","tag-cancer","tag-car","tag-concerns","tag-construction","tag-corporate-greed","tag-corporate-profits","tag-corruption","tag-data","tag-deaths","tag-donald-trump","tag-energy","tag-environmental-protection","tag-fire","tag-government","tag-health","tag-industry","tag-jobs","tag-joe-biden","tag-magic","tag-money","tag-protection","tag-regulations","tag-safety","tag-services","tag-tax","tag-tax-breaks","tag-tax-dodging","tag-taxes","tag-tesla","tag-top","tag-trump","tag-us","tag-victims","tag-visit","tag-vote","tag-water","tag-zero"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n