President Obama looks to be going all in with a campaign against economic inequality

[bigtree]

from Sahil Kapur at TPM: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/kruegers-inequality-speech-seals-obamas-2012-inequality-message.php


If a speech Thursday morning by one of his top economists is any indication, President Barack Obama is going all in with the 2012 re-election message of stemming the rise in income inequality and reforming a system that’s increasingly perceived to be rigged in favor of the rich.

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Alan Krueger rattled off a flurry of statistics illustrating the rise of inequality and its connection to the shrinking middle class. He blamed it on economic policies tilted to favor top earners — including income tax reforms (presumably during the Bush era) and the “drastic cut in the estate tax.”

“I think it is clear that we can’t go back to the type of policies that exacerbated the rise in inequality and threatened economic mobility in the first place if we want an economy that builds the middle class,” Krueger told a packed room at the Center for American Progress . . .

Central to the message is that inequalities in the system are “jeopardizing our tradition of equality of opportunity,” as Krueger put it.

“If we had a high degree of income mobility we would be less concerned about the degree of inequality in any given year. But we do not,” he argued. “Moreover, as inequality has increased, evidence suggests that year-to-year or generation-to-generation economic mobility has decreased.”


read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/kruegers-inequality-speech-seals-obamas-2012-inequality-message.php

[FreakinDJ]

1. Not 1 word about Corp Tax Loopholes that Outsource American Jobs

thanks for the Lip Service

[emulatorloo]

2. He has been talking about that

[FreakinDJ]

9. When - show me the transcripts

He talked about it over 18 months ago - wasn't backed by congress and turned tail and ran from the issue

I need to see some comfortable shoes and a "Backbone" at this point

[bigtree]

12. so you have some evidence, anything, to show

. . . that he 'ran' from the issue you raised? You've made the point. Back it up with some proof.

[woo me with science]

19. You say he's on it

Tell us what he's doing. This article says nothing.

[bigtree]

22. you don't want to know

you're just baiting and stomping on the Obama campaign message any way you can think of in as many threads as you can manage to ply posters with your deliberate and calculated cynicism. You're not to be taken seriously. If I am to take you seriously I'd say you're just another individual determined to see this President defeated and let it go at that.

[FreakinDJ]

25. Your post is disruptive and baiting

I asked to see the transcripts of what the previous poster claimed and you basically did the same thing to me

In a speech last year, Obama said called the old rules "loopholes" that "actually rewarded corporations for shipping jobs and profits overseas."

"Even a lot of America's biggest corporations agreed that this loophole didn't make sense, agreed that it needed to be closed, agreed that it wasn't fair," Obama said in a speech. Obama said that John Boehner, then the Republican leader and now the Speaker of the House, "wants to reopen this loophole."

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/sep/07/service-employees-international-union-committee-po/republicans-closing-corporate-tax-loopholes/

Ball is in your court Sir

[bigtree]

29. this doesn't show that the President 'ran' from anything

If anything, it says that the President actually achieved a positive change in the law . . .

from your link:

In 2010, Obama signed a bill into law that provided economic aid to states. So that the bill didn't add to the deficit, it also changed rules on foreign profits for companies.

Basically, the United States government taxes companies on foreign profits, which not all countries do. But companies don't have to pay taxes on foreign profits until they bring the profits back to this country. So companies tend to keep the money with their foreign subsidiaries as long as possible. But companies also get U.S. tax credits for taxes they pay to foreign governments. Some companies figured out how to game the system by keeping their profits overseas while still claiming a tax credit for taxes paid to foreign governments. The new rules say companies can't claim the foreign tax credit until they bring the profits back to the United States.

That's a pretty big step in the direction of changing what you're complaining about. It's certainly NOT a case of the President 'running' from anything, so I call bullshit on your argument.

According to the link YOU provided, the President not only has talked about changing the loopholes which allow companies to take money out of the country with out any benefit for the U.S., he's actually done something about it.

[FreakinDJ]

32. MINOR Rule change that didn't provide any relief from Outsoursing

you'll also want to provide a link if you want to be taken seriously

[bigtree]

36. it's from the link you posted

and, your beef is misplaced if you're blaming the President for inaction on this tax matter. That's the responsibility of Congress. Tax legislation is going to originate (by law) in the House of Representatives; the republican-held House. They are the ones who are initially standing in the way of a change in the tax law.

The other obstacle is in the Senate where the 'filibuster' rule is still in place and allowing republicans to effectively block progressive tax initiatives like the recompense on money going out of the country.

This isn't a legitimate complaint against President Obama.

[FreakinDJ]

38. Sitting back and Waiting to see what happens - does not a Leader make

[bigtree]

39. that's just not supported by any facts

certainly not by any you've presented here

[FreakinDJ]

40. process of social influence

Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task".[1]

Theories
Leadership is "organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal". The leader may or may not have any formal authority. Students of leadership have produced theories involving traits,[2] situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values,[3] charisma, and intelligence, among others.

Early history
The search for the characteristics or traits of leaders has been ongoing for centuries. History's greatest philosophical writings from Plato's Republic to Plutarch's Lives have explored the question "What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader?". Underlying this search was the early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted in the characteristics that certain individuals possess. This idea that leadership is based on individual attributes is known as the "trait theory of leadership".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership

Your not winning too much support are you

ever wonder why ??

[bigtree]

41. I'm not running for anything

. . . as for my candidate, he's doing just fine.

[bigtree]

3. so you have a full transcript of the speech?

[woo me with science]

5. So what's the plan

Article says nothing.

[Whisp]

8. and he didn't say a word about

child pornography either. or the literally hundreds of other important issues we all face.

what a 'looser'

[CJCRANE]

44. IIRC the President set up a seminar on "insourcing" (bringing jobs back) recently

It was reported right here on the DU in the last few days.

[FreakinDJ]

46. I don't think it will have much effect if at all

Unless we start to address the "Structural Problems" in our corporate tax code. And it is not any 1 single provision of the Corporate Tax Code that is at fault but the entire premise it is built upon.

The US insistence to "Go it alone" with taxing foreign profits has had an effect worldwide because for so long the USA was the world's major consumer. We really need to change to a Territorial System that treated all good entering the country from foreign and domestic corporations equally

[Romulox]

4. Tomorrow's "ponies". nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. hehehe

[TransitJohn]

6. I think it's a good strategy for him.

And he's savvy and cynical enough to pull it off, too.

[kestrel91316]

7. Fine. Just be sure to follow up the big talk with ACTION, Mr. President.

You have had the bully pulpit for 3 years. Time to start using it.

[TransitJohn]

11. Put on your walking shoes and see you at the barricades and all that.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

20. Yup, talk is cheap, ESPECIALLY in an election year --

and your base has become disenchanted.

Action, Mr. President. Show us that you mean it.

[hang a left]

31. that,s right Kestrel!

Hoping for my change.

[Enrique]

10. he hasn't been all in until now?

how dare TPM suggest such a thing.

[Kingofalldems]

13. Romney called, he wants the President in the 'quiet room'.

[ladjf]

14. Let us hope that he will stay this course. nt

[woo me with science]

18. What course?

[bigtree]

21. let's see

let's just spend all of our time posting facts, figures, statements to satisfy your taunting, baiting campaign here against the President.

Oh, wait. Let's not. Let's just accept that you're determined to run this President down in practically each and every post you make and let it go at that.

[woo me with science]

23. C'mon, don't get nasty. You posted an article that says

Obama will build his campaign on income inequality.

Your link says nothing about how he plans to do this. Please enlighten us. What is the plan...

[bigtree]

24. pm

tpm

they wrote the article. Maybe they can tolerate your baiting.

[emulatorloo]

47. Edit: Woo Me, I apologize for posting the snark I posted here earlier today.

Last edited Fri Jan 13, 2012, 11:06 PM - Edit history (1)

I was really cranky about something else, and I should not have taken it out on you. I'm sorry about what I wrote and I hope you will accept my apology.

[AtomicKitten]

26. boom

[immoderate]

15. Did he realize he's a Democrat?

--imm

[bigtree]

17. he never been anything other

. . . than a Democrat.

[immoderate]

30. But has he realized that?

Enough to act? The Candidate Obama always has good things to say. President Obama, it seems, doesn't listen to him.

--imm

[bigtree]

34. I admit

I like the President's economic proposals more than I like what Congress ultimately does with them. It has taken a mass protest to get these legislators attention. I don't believe the main problem has ever been the President and his initiatives. Congress has the responsibility for allocating our money and debating his proposals. They've acted like they could just stall until this election. I think they're going to feel a backlash for that.

I do think pressure behind this election is going to bend the legislature toward our Democratic initiatives and toward the President's as well. It's still going to be a challenge to get them working together. If we achieve that, we will move toward fixing much of what's been broken and given away to those who don't need or deserve it.

[immoderate]

35. I would like to see other than Wall Street bankers on his staff.

--imm

[whatchamacallit]

27. Now if he'd only carry that campaign into actual policy

we'd have something.

[woo me with science]

28. I asked about policy above.

Now the content-free swarm begins. again.

It is a real shame, what DU is becoming.

[socialist_n_TN]

33. Well I guess lip service is better than nothing..........

No not really. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but I DO want to see some action if it's nothing else but firey, rabble rousing speeches.

Hell, all I've EVER really asked from Obama is to use that bully pulpit on issues that I care about and that he's said he supports too. Even if you lose, you're considered a fighter, NOT a compromiser.

And lest anyone talk about having to "get things done", it's better to do nothing than pass and sign a bad bill.

[ProSense]

37. Good

Maybe some people will buy into Obama's statements like they do Ron Paul's propaganda.

[Fire Walk With Me]

42. So he wants to parrot #Occupy ideology while accepting coporate donations?

(drums fingers...bites down exceedingly colorful response...)

NOT MY PRESIDENT:

[Scurrilous]

43. K & R

[kentuck]

45. Smart politics.

This is what the OWS is about. What better way to get them involved in the next election?

Do they want to sit on the sideline and put this "vulture capitalist" in the White House? Even if the "occupiers" don't vote, that's a lot of voices speaking against Mr Romney.