[Mr_Canada]

OnTheIce wrote:

So is it the fault of the company or the government that allows such actions to take place?

Both. Mind as well be the same thing sometimes.

[rickc]

andyt wrote:

40% of all corporate profits in the US come from the financial industry. No wonder they are in trouble. It used to be 15%. Wonder what it is for Canada? Romney is a perfect example of what's wrong. He's created nothing, just made money from money, and for that he pays a lower tax rate than working people.

Why do you think that he has created nothing? All those millions of Dollars that he earned are capital gains. Most of it from ownership of stocks in corporations. Corporations use that money to expand their operations, build new factories, hire more people,etc. I have no problem with the capital gains tax rate being 15%. Most of us who invest think it should be less. We already paid taxes on the money when we earned it. Now we gamble it in the stock market. If we win, the government has their hand out wanting a cut of the action. If we lose its tough shit. We can only write off $3000 a year in losses. $3000 is nothing. That could be a matter of minutes on any day that the market is open. We have higher tax rates on short term capital gains. The fact that he is in the 15% bracket means that he is not day trading. These are long term capital gains. Corporations benefit from the money they get from selling shares. Corporations pay taxes on their profits [one of the highest corp.tax rates in the world]. I would argue that Romney is creating a lot.

[rickc]

Prof_Chomsky wrote:

OnTheIce wrote:

Damn I hate it when a guy runs a business, makes a bunch of money and invests it wisely, all while donating millions to charity.

What an asshole.

Google how he made that money... much of it was largely the result of a loop hole introduced by Reagan in the 80's which allowed employee pension funds to be declared as a company asset during mergers and acquisitions. In one case alone Bain pocketed over 250 million in "fees" for effectively destroying a working company worth under 30 million if you left out the employee pension fund. Essentially they pocketed the entire (formerly protected) pension fund for thousands of workers that they EARNED over lifetimes of labour and left the workers with nothing.

... but I guess that's ok since he pays that exorbitant 15% tax rate and gives around the same amount to his church every year... and the country wouldn't have been better off at ALL had the workers kept their pensions, paid their standard 34% tax rates, and not had to go on social assistance paid for by every other person lucky enough to have a job...

Can you name this company? Pension funds are suppossed to be guaranteed, like savings accounts in a bank. You state that the workers were left with nothing. I would like some more info on this company: name, timeframe, etc.

One problem I have with your post is that you state that the workers who were let go were paying a standard 34% tax rate. A single person in the States has to earn over $174,000 to be in the 33% tax bracket. A single person has to earn over $83,000 to be in the 28% tax bracket. Not too many American workers fit into those brackets.

[CanadianJeff]

rickc wrote:

andyt wrote:

40% of all corporate profits in the US come from the financial industry. No wonder they are in trouble. It used to be 15%. Wonder what it is for Canada? Romney is a perfect example of what's wrong. He's created nothing, just made money from money, and for that he pays a lower tax rate than working people.

Why do you think that he has created nothing? All those millions of Dollars that he earned are capital gains. Most of it from ownership of stocks in corporations. Corporations use that money to expand their operations, build new factories, hire more people,etc. I have no problem with the capital gains tax rate being 15%. Most of us who invest think it should be less. We already paid taxes on the money when we earned it. Now we gamble it in the stock market. If we win, the government has their hand out wanting a cut of the action. If we lose its tough shit. We can only write off $3000 a year in losses. $3000 is nothing. That could be a matter of minutes on any day that the market is open. We have higher tax rates on short term capital gains. The fact that he is in the 15% bracket means that he is not day trading. These are long term capital gains. Corporations benefit from the money they get from selling shares. Corporations pay taxes on their profits [one of the highest corp.tax rates in the world]. I would argue that Romney is creating a lot.

If your seriously going to argue trickle down economics then be ready for the wave of reality to hit you pretty darn hard in the face.

[BartSimpson]

Company controlled pension funds are legally defined as a corporate asset anymore because when the fund is short the company is obliged to make up the shortfall.

In any case, most of the concern over corporate pensions is moot because I can't think of a private firm with a stated benefit pension fund anymore. They've almost all switched to 401(k) plans and profit sharing plans.

[bootlegga]

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

Regina wrote:

Charity...............begins at home.

Wellllll, I should clarify that to be fair. I don't necessarily expect someone that's on the lower end of the income scale to not take the deduction if they made any charitable donations.
But for those that already have more than enough to live the rest of their lives on, taking the deduction is pretty assholish IMO.

+5