WE NEED TO BE UNITED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST FASCISM AND REPRESSION
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Creeping Authoritarianism.
Back Talk
Y'all enjoying the war?
Appall-o-Meter
With "economic stimulus," Republicans reward their most loyal constituents.
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Arrested Development
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Truth Before Freedom
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In Person
Diane Wilson: An unreasonable woman.
Art and lies.
Words for an Afterlife
Tahar Djaout's Last Summer of Reason.
Art and Shadow
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Salman Rushdie does New York.
Lost in Transit
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The Corrections of Jonathan Franzen.
The Lonely Tribune
Victor Serge's revolution.
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November 21, 2001
Corporate Payoffs
With “economic stimulus,” Republicans reward their
most loyal constituents.
Washington—Corporate lobbyists pulled off one of the most remarkable raids
on the public treasury in American history when, just days after the September
11 terrorist attacks, they grabbed $15 billion in federal payments and loan
guarantees for the airline industry. So with that precedent fresh in mind, it’s no surprise the lobbyists are
back at the trough. The Brooks Brothers Brigades are crowding the steps of Congress,
clutching records of campaign contributions paid, to return for the big prize:
$16 billion in tax refunds to the nation’s largest and most profitable
corporations. The economic stimulus bill that House Republicans rammed through their chamber
in late October is now moving rapidly toward a vote; at press time, the Senate
was likely to vote on the package immediately after Thanksgiving. Rarely since
the war-profiteering scandals of World War I has Congress seen such a blatant
attempt by business to use international turbulence as an excuse to redistribute
wealth upward. If passed by the Senate and signed by President Bush, the GOP
stimulus plan would restructure tax policy to end the alternative minimum tax—a
rule placed on the books after a series of Reagan-era business tax cuts to ensure
that corporations make minimal contributions to the public treasury. Eliminating the law, according to an analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice,
would mean that “some of these corporations will be able to pay little
or no U.S. income tax, forever.” Worse, besides eliminating the alternative
minimum tax for the future, the GOP “stimulus bill” includes a proposal
to refund every cent that corporations have paid since 1986 under the alternative
tax rule. The payouts to profitable corporations would be dramatic, and include
rebates totaling billions of dollars to the likes of IBM, Ford, GM and GE. Huge
payouts would also go to energy firms closely tied to President Bush and Vice
President Cheney: hundreds of millions to ChevronTexaco, Enron, Phillips Petroleum
and CSM Energy alone. And remember the airlines that collected $15 billion in
federal aid in September? They would get even more under the GOP stimulus plan:
United Airlines and American Airlines are slated for handouts of $371 million
and $184 million each. The elimination of taxes and direct payouts are just the beginning of a bill
thick with benefits for corporations—including a tax break for U.S. businesses
operating abroad. How much will the tinkering with taxes on overseas income
help corporations? They’ll start by saving a cool $21 billion, and the
benefits will just keep adding up as the years—and the foreign investments—go
on. Why would congressional Republicans continue to fight for the scheme even after
much of the media have exposed the worst excesses of the legislation? Here’s
a hint: According to Public Campaign, Enron gave $2.4 million in campaign contributions
in 2000, General Electric contributed $1 million, and Ford popped $780,000 into
various campaign funds. The list goes on. Thus, with only a single Senate vote separating them from an end to long-term
tax responsibilities, the corporations are pressing hard for a repayment on
their investments—er, contributions. For big business, securing free money
and freedom from taxation is job one—even in a time of terrorism, anthrax
and war. As Sen. Robert M. La Follette explained when he fought the profiteers
of World War I, “Wealth has never yet sacrificed itself on the altar of
patriotism.” The Republican plan goes so far, however, that it has finally awakened Senate
Democrats from their long bipartisan slumber. Chastened by their constituents
for failing to stand up for working Americans in a time of economic decline,
Democrats now seem prepared to fight. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and other
Democrats first backed a modest $73 billion stimulus plan that provided some
tax cuts but also extended unemployment benefits for out-of-work Americans,
helped hard-pressed farmers and offered a measure of the public investment needed
to shore up the sagging economy. After Republican maneuvering, the plan didn’t make it off the floor, despite
having the support of 51 senators. While the Democratic plan fell far short
of the level of investment needed to genuinely stimulate the economy, it was
superior to a package of tax breaks for vast corporations. As New York Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton notes, “If there is any dollar that will be spent
immediately into our economy, it is unemployment insurance.” What is the GOP counter to that argument? They have, of course, questioned
the patriotism of senators who might choose to serve the interests of the vast
majority of Americans. “You don’t override the president at a time
like this,” warns Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico). And they are charging
Democrats with dividing an otherwise unified America. “What we’re
going to see (from Senate Democrats) is almost a class warfare on the issue
of the stimulus bill,” says Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska). Will Senate Democrats engage in class warfare? We can only hope. If they do
use their majority status to block the GOP plan, they will simply be mounting
an all-too-rare defense of the working Americans they should have been representing
in the fight over the airline bailout, and every battle since. John Nichols is the author of Jews for Buchanan: Did You Hear the
One About the Theft of the American Presidency? (The New Press). |
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WE NEED TO BE UNITED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST FASCISM AND REPRESSION
In These Times is committed to remaining fiercely independent, but we need your help. Donate now to make sure we can continue providing the original reporting, deep investigation, and strategic analysis needed in this moment. We're proud to be in this together.
