Corporate Welfare
- Thread starter turbolapp
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They're laying off teaches because of the money they're losing to GE...so they're out. Affiliates and seniors are fair game though.
The game is exactly the point.
GE... I'm actually impressed with their mad tax and lobbying skillz.
Their official response is that they lost a shitload with GE Capital so that's how they wrote off all those profits.
I think America is starting to get (somewhat) hip to the fact that lobbyists, and more to the point the laws that allow lobbying, are public enemy #1.
I'm not naive enough to think that corporate giants are going to stop paying off congressmen any day soon, (because it's congressmen who would have to change the law) even if every last american knows about it... But seriously, how long can this go on?
Can anyone see a way to stop that particular piece of evil without a full-on revolution?
I'm not naive enough to think that corporate giants are going to stop paying off congressmen any day soon, (because it's congressmen who would have to change the law) even if every last american knows about it... But seriously, how long can this go on?
Can anyone see a way to stop that particular piece of evil without a full-on revolution?
Separate issues.. the feds don't hire teachers. But this is still shitty. Get rid of all forms of welfare, corporate and personal.
Agreed, but a bigger fix for what's broken would be to end lobbying for good... If Corporations couldn't control congress then we could have a pretty cool country.
The poor in general, really.... especially since they're the ones who can most easily afford it.
You know this is the only topic that my mother (extreme right wing republican) and I agree on, politically. Which makes me think that most Americans would probably agree.
However I don't ever see it happening, you've got the lawmakers who rely on this funding for their political campaigns and then you've got the lobbyists who would all lobby to keep lobbying alive :-/
All I know is - that's an awesome pick-up line. "What's up girl, I ain't trying to brag or nothing, but I paid more taxes last year than General Electric."
lobbying and corporate financing of politicians is a serious cause of many problems, this being just one
I agree. Lobbying of politicians is indeed a cause of many problems. But it's not the root cause of the GE event. Nor is it a root cause of most problems people complain about.
Here's an example:
Suppose you suffer a pulmonary embolism. A clot forms in your leg, breaks off, travels to your lungs, and clogs a pulmonary artery. Arguably, the clot is a cause of the PE. Thus, addressing the clot directly (busting it, dissolving it, etc.) will resolve the problem.
For the short run. But doing so doesn't address the root cause of the PE. That is, what caused the hypercoagulability of the blood in the first place? Why did the clot form? What caused it to break off, and travel to the lungs?
Eliminating lobbyists is like eliminating the clot. The underlying problems will persist. Another arterial blockage will occur. And eventually, it will probably kill the patient.
Except the underlying issue is greed, and that's not going anywhere. Therefore you have to prevent this type of crony capitalism because it's counterproductive for our current economic system. Is there a way to do that without regulation?
GE needs the money to buy all those Chevy Volts from Government Motors and other nonsense.
"Recently, President Obama selected General Electric ( GE - news - people ) CEO Jeffrey Immelt to chair his Economic Advisory Board. GE is awash in windmills waiting to be subsidized so they can provide unreliable, expensive power.
Consequently, and soon after his appointment, Immelt announced that GE will buy 50,000 Volts in the next two years, or half the total produced. Assuming the corporation qualifies for the same tax credit, we (you and me) just shelled out $375,000,000 to a company to buy cars that no one else wants so that GM will not tank and produce even more cars that no one wants. And this guy is the chair of Obama's Economic Advisory Board?"
Chevy Volt: The Car From Atlas Shrugged Motors - Forbes.com
"Recently, President Obama selected General Electric ( GE - news - people ) CEO Jeffrey Immelt to chair his Economic Advisory Board. GE is awash in windmills waiting to be subsidized so they can provide unreliable, expensive power.
Consequently, and soon after his appointment, Immelt announced that GE will buy 50,000 Volts in the next two years, or half the total produced. Assuming the corporation qualifies for the same tax credit, we (you and me) just shelled out $375,000,000 to a company to buy cars that no one else wants so that GM will not tank and produce even more cars that no one wants. And this guy is the chair of Obama's Economic Advisory Board?"
Chevy Volt: The Car From Atlas Shrugged Motors - Forbes.com