It is apparent that the liberal majority is as pathetic as it's forebears when it comes to kissing up to big money. Some time ago, Congress managed to take any hope of relief for homeowners out of the new mortgage bill when they stripped away the provision to allow bankruptcy judges to lower mortgage payments. God forbid that the banks, who have gotten so fat at the government larder, should share their relief with the common homeowner.
"That issue is a dead letter," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Banking Committee.
Democrats voting against the measure were: Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Robert Byrd (W.Va.), Byron Dorgan (N.D.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Tom Carper (Del.) and Specter.
Maxine Waters complained that the banking industry should not be allowed to block the bill. “They’ve owned this Congress way too long,” said Waters (D-Calif.).
Republican reaction was as typical as could be expected : Republicans were opposed to the provision in the Judiciary hearing, saying it will drive up future mortgage rates and encourage homeowners to file for bankruptcy to lower their mortgages. Asking the Grand Old Party to help the common man is like asking Bristol Palin for advice on abstinence.
“Americans undoubtedly want solutions to the foreclosure crisis,” said Rep. Lamar Smith (Texas), the top Republican on the committee. “But I do not believe they want solutions that amount to absolving borrowers of their personal responsibility.” As opposed to corporate responsibility, of course.
Sen. Dick Durbin in a rare moment of candor recently, "And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place."
Now word that Democrats are aiding and abetting the opposition to President Obama's plan to strip corporations of their off shore tax havens. The administration wants to prevent corporations from claiming tax deductions on overseas investments until they pay U.S. taxes on the profits, and reverse a Clinton-era rule known as “check the box,” which allows companies to easily shift income into Caribbean or European tax havens. A recent Government Accountability Office study reports that 83 of the 100 largest US corporations have subsidiaries in foreign tax havens such as the Cayman Islands or Bermuda.
Joseph Crowley, a House Democrat on the Ways and Means committee thinks the provision might hurt Citigroup, one of his key constituents. Sen. Max Baucus wants to sentence it to the final death of "further study". Even longtime GOP whipping girl, Senator Barbara Boxer is opposed. A spokeswoman for Boxer said that any tax overhaul should not lead to “unintended consequences.”
Republican Charles Grassley said he supports cracking down on tax abuse. “Out of fairness, corporate taxpayers generally shouldn’t pay pennies on the dollar compared to the rest of Americans.” Good for Chuck, a square shooter.
Many opponents of the President's plan are using scare tactics about job loss to fight the bill. But the fact is that large multinationals should not have lower tax rates than working Americans. While the issue of double taxation needs to be explored, many of the arrangements between these countries and their sheltering hosts are quite cozy.
"Anybody has a right to evade taxes if he can get away with it"
J. Pierpoint Morgan
A link to how corporations use offshore tax havens.
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