DAILY NEWS
Register to vote, ready for Boeing, deadbeat corporations…
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
ELECTION 2016
► In today’s NY Times — An ugly campaign, condensed into one debate (editorial) — The word “debate” loses its meaning when one candidate is serious and the other is a vacuous bully.
ALSO at The Stand — There’s no debate who deserves our vote (by Jeff Johnson)
► From CNBC — Trump brags about not paying taxes: ‘That makes me smart’ — Donald Trump said he’s “smart” by not paying income taxes — and argued that if he did, the money would be “squandered.” Trump’s jaw-dropping statements came after Hillary Clinton launched a fiery attack on the Republican presidential nominee for breaking a four-decade tradition of White House aspirants releasing their federal income tax returns.
ALSO at The Stand — Tax-free Trump says his returns are ‘none of your business’
► In today’s Olympian — Gov. Inslee a fixer or a mess maker? Candidates for governor debate — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee sought to cast his record as one of fixing problems Monday, while his Republican challenger Bill Bryant aimed once again to convince voters they need a new leader. “We’re also fixing problems for families,” the governor said, needling Bryant for his opposition to raising the statewide minimum wage.
EDITOR’S NOTE — We thought about linking to The Seattle Times coverage of the gubernatorial debate, but frankly, they’ve called their own journalistic integrity into question with their decades-long quest to put a Republican into the governor’s office. The Times twice endorsed Republican Dino Rossi for governor in 2004 and 2008 because “Democrats have been in control of the governor’s mansion a long time.” Then in 2012, the Times took it a step further, not only endorsing Republican Rob McKenna for governor, but also actively campaigning for him by giving him free advertising space. So we’ve decided to steer clear of their coverage of this race.
AEROSPACE
IAM District 751 President Jon Holden expects Boeing will return to the union for new concessions and givebacks, along with another contract extension, if and when it decides to launch the New Mid-range Aircraft. This could happen as early as next year, or in 2018, for entry into service in 2024 (when the current contract expires) or 2025. Extending the contract beyond these dates well in advance will provide for stability and assurance to customer the NMA won’t get caught up in a new strike. Says Holden:
► From Bloomberg — Airlines back climate plan that could cost them $24 billion — Trade groups representing United, Boeing and other industry leaders are pushing nations to support the United Nations proposal, which would require companies to offset their emissions growth by funding environmental initiatives.
LOCAL
► In today’s Bellingham Herald — Faculty strike looms at Bellingham Technical College amid contract negotiations — Classes at Bellingham Technical College could be canceled about a week after they started if contract negotiations between the faculty union and the college don’t gain traction. The union, the Bellingham Education Association, voted on Sept. 13 to begin striking if a resolution with the college was not met by the end of Tuesday, Sept. 27. Fall classes at the college began Sept. 20. At the center of the talks are three concerns union members have: teachers’ workloads, classroom safety and compensation.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Microsoft contractor laying off workers in unionized unit — The Temporary Workers of America said 15 of about 20 unionized employees of Lionbridge Technologies will be laid of this week, with the rest of the jobs cut at the end of October.
► From The Stranger — State AG charges Trump fanboy Tim Eyman over ‘shoddy accounting,’ improper reporting — Eyman’s group, Voters Want More Choices, has created multiple political committees to advocate for initiatives limiting taxes. In an announcement of the charges Monday, Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office said those committees’ “shoddy accounting practices” and improper disclosure their funding and spending violated state law.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
► In today’s LA Time — Wells Fargo faces ‘top-to-bottom’ Labor Department review for possible workplace violations — The Labor Department has launched a “top-to-bottom review” of how Wells Fargo & Co. treated employees as it pushed the aggressive sales quotas that led to the bank’s fake-accounts scandal.
► In today’s NY Times — Wells Fargo workers claim retaliation for following rules — As the bank deals with the fallout of its fake account scandal, two lawsuits claim workers were fired or demoted for acting ethically when they fell short of unrealistic sales goals.
NATIONAL
► From Reuters — Chicago teachers’ union votes to authorize strike — The Chicago Teachers Union said on Monday that its members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, setting the stage for a potential work stoppage as soon as mid-October.
► From AP — Greece’s unions rail against powerful new privatization fund — Greek labor unions are organizing strikes and protests against a plan to place major state assets under the control of a new privatization fund that will be headed by bailout creditors.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
Corporate profits are way up, and corporate taxes are way down. In 1952, corporate profits were 5.5 percent of the economy, and corporate taxes were 5.9 percent. Today, corporate profits are 8.5 percent of the economy, and corporate taxes are just 1.9 percent of GDP.
Corporations used to contribute $1 out of every $3 in federal revenue. Today, despite very high corporate profitability, it is $1 out of every $9.
As of 2015, U.S. corporations had $2.4 trillion in untaxed profits offshore. Another study, looking at S&P 500 companies, found they held $2.1 trillion as of 2014. This roughly five-fold increase from $434 billion in 2005 stems largely from anticipation of a tax holiday.
The U.S. Treasury will lose $1.3 trillion over 10 years — about $126 billion a year — due to the deferral of taxes on offshore profits.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Meanwhile, we can’t afford to have clean water in Flint, to hire more airport security personnel to reduce lines, to repair/replace crumbling roads and bridges, to provide accessible health care for our veterans… and the list goes on. Remember that the next time the local media fawns all over Microsoft for donating a couple million dollars for STEM education (to train their workforce). You and I are being forced to pick up their slack and pay higher taxes because, like Donald Trump, they are cheating America and refusing to pay their fair share.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.