July 8, 2021

Joe's doing his best with Corporate Taxation. It's not easy.

It's a complex issue.

I'm going to summarize and then link you to a boring, sleep inducing article from the Treasury that I PROMISE will make you the smartest person in the room re: Corporate Taxation.



There IS NO Mr. Apple to whip out his checkbook and scratch out a 2 Billion dollar check every year.

So what IS Apple? Apple is a legal entity, a Corporation.

Who owns it? Well, lots of people. You see, Apple is broken into 16.7 Billion tiny pieces called SHARES. Each share is worth around $140. (In fact, I traded some APPL stock personally this week).

Some people own LOTS of Apple stock, like Tim Cook who owns 837k shares or Arthur Levinson who owns 4.6 million shares.

Some people own a LITTLE Apple stock. With retail trading apps like Robinhood, WeBull and others, millions of people own a slice of Apple.

Hidden owners of Apple stock? Large governmental investment funds have money in Apple. One such fund is CALPRS, the California State pension fund. As recently as a couple years ago they owned 10-15 million shares of Apple. CALPRS uses income from these investments to pay benefits to Librarians, Teachers, Police officers and Social workers. Does your 401k hold some Apple?



Who pays Corporate Taxes?

That question is so significant that there's a "book-phrase" for it. It's called Corporate Tax Incidence.

So what's the answer? I've read about the topic and frankly, no one knows. Seriously. They can't come to agreement. Here's what some experts believe.

For every 1% of increased Corporate Income Tax, wages are suppressed 0.5-1%.

Consumer Prices Rise.

Shareholders lose money.

Corporate Employees lose jobs, benefits or salary.



Deep Dive.

Why can't a Corporation just take money out of their profit and pay their taxes?

Because Corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders, even before their employees. That's the LAW.

Shareholders, like Tim Cook, Me and the retired Librarian living next door expect Apple to remain profitable and maximize the value of my ownership of the company.

So the Corporation will always adjust it's balance sheet to pay taxes. They have multiple ways of offsetting increases in Corporate Taxes:

Increasing the cost to the consumer for their product or service. Read iPhones, gasoline or a new Ford.

Reducing Employee wages or benefits.

Allow their profitability to suffer, allowing stock prices to drop.


The Corporation will strive to make a profit. Corporate Taxation will be treated as just another business expense. In Apples case, like the cost of Labor or copper or IC's.



Another problem with Corporate Taxation, Corporations are mobile in a free and open market. That means a Corporation can be HQ'd overseas and pay less US Corporate Taxes.

For a LONG time, Countries have been reluctant to talk about universal Corporate Tax rates because a lower tax rate is considered an advantage for a Country, attracting Corporate HQ's and their capital.

But Joe is making a serious push at a Global Corporate Tax which would HELP with the issue. Makes you wonder why no one else every tried??

Is it possible? Will nations globally agree to a fair and equal tax footing? Personally, I doubt it.





Note, I'm expecting some to verbailze:

"Hey WarGamer, fuck the rich and fuck the Corporations. They need to pay their fucking Bill!!!"



You're right. The rich need to pay.

Tim Cook, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg WANT us to be talking about Corporate Taxes. Sure, it's a headache for them but it doesn't affect their own wallet, not much at all.

When you say Apple needs to PAY because they're so profitable you're saying "All 16.7 Billion shares of Apple stock, owned by 100's of millions of people need to pay"

Really? My retired Librarian neighbor needs to pay? Or the Genius at the Apple store in the mall? He needs to pay?

What you're really getting at is... Tim Cook and Levinson need to pay because they own BILLIONS Of dollars of Apple. And you CAN'T get your hands on their money with Corporate Taxation.

Bottom line:

Wealth Tax Now.

One time 5% and 1% annually.

Oh and here's the great article:

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/tax-analysis/Documents/WP-101.pdf

July 7, 2021

Federal Judge declines to block portions of GA election law.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/561888-judge-declines-to-block-parts-of-georgia-election-law

A federal judge in Georgia declined to strike down portions of the state’s controversial voter law ahead of run-off elections slated for next week.

The decision from U.S. District Judge Jean-Paul “J.P.” Boulee, a Trump appointee, did not weigh in on some of the most controversial aspects of the law, nor did it strike down a portion of the statute that changes the deadline for requesting absentee ballots. It also did not a provision on election observation.

The Georgia law passed in March along party lines imposes restrictions that voting rights groups say will fall most heavily on minorities. The measure sets new voter ID requirements for absentee ballots, limits drop boxes and even prohibits passing out food and water to those waiting in line to vote.





GOTV.

July 7, 2021

Giggle at Trump's legal action against Social Media at your own peril...

At least ONE SCOTUS JUDGE agrees with him.

This is NOT a joke and has broad consequences.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/04/09/justice-thomas-sends-a-message-on-social-media-regulation/

Justice Thomas is keyed into much of the ferment among conservatives who feel that tech companies are biased against their perspective. They point to the deplatforming of President Trump in January, following the Capitol Hill riot by his supporters, as a paradigmatic case of political discrimination against the conservative point of view.


Note: As always, when I link to Brookings... they're the best. I've been a supporter for years and I highly recommend them as a primary source for political analysis.

July 7, 2021

The crazy thing about Lindell and all the Crazies... there's LITERALLY no mechanism

No mechanism to bring Trump back.


Even IF...

IF large scale cheating was proven without a reasonable doubt, there's no Constitutional way to change a President.

Even if the CCP is on video printing millions of Biden/Harris ballots in Beijing, there's STILL no mechanism.

I hesitate to even call this fantasy. Good Fantasy should have enough attention to reality that it's believable.

Simply put, it's either INSANITY or (more likely) part of a greater scheme to rile up the Base for '22.

Whoever came up with the phrase "The Big Lie" should be commended because it's a perfect analogy and just as dangerous.

July 6, 2021

Equality and Safe communities in the USA are "roadblocked" by the US Constitution.

We have the planet's oldest surviving Democratic Government, set into place and secured by a founding document, the Constitution.

That document also protects inherent racism, inequality and perpetuates gun violence.

Notice all the great Social Democracies in Europe? They all have (more) modern organizational founding documents.

Of course, this is just an exercise in navel gazing, because the only way the Constitution can be changed or abolished and re-written is with a nearly unanimous public... or a dissolution of the nation.

Thoughts?

https://news.utexas.edu/2020/07/06/time-to-update-the-language-of-the-constitution/

The United States Constitution protects rights and liberties, but its own language undermines the promise of equality it proclaims. Its gendered and racist words stand in the way of true reconciliation in this divided country and have no place in any modern society. It is time to update the Constitution to reflect America’s modern values of equality and inclusion.

July 4, 2021

More Info about the Washington monument loon

More pics have come out of the SUV and the signs covering it.

Certifiable loon.
As far as I can tell... no guarantees, though...

Dude is Jack Dessin the owner of Flurreiy Trinity and he's running for NJ Governor!! It could be him or one of his followers.

Here's his loony website:

www.flurreiy.com

And his SM:

https://www.facebook.com/FLURREIYALTRINITYWORLD/

https://fb.watch/6xFeWFEYCX/
https://twitter.com/RamirezReports/status/1411600045263265794?s=20

July 3, 2021

Barrett and Kavanaugh side with the Liberal Judges to reject appeal over LGBT-phobic Florist.

Didn't see this on the first few pages... good reading.

As I predicted... Barf and HandMaiden are NOT going to strictly fall in line with Sleepy, Scalito and GoodHair on all cases...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-02/florist-with-gay-marriage-objection-rejected-by-supreme-court

The U.S. Supreme Court turned away a long-pending appeal from a florist who won’t provide flowers for same-sex weddings, declining to rejoin a divisive debate at the intersection of gay and religious rights.

I've felt that Kavanaugh is more of a Libertarian and not a doctrinaire Conservative. And Barrett is looking after her public image... in fact, I'm not so sure that either of them will deal a blow to abortion rights...

July 2, 2021

Completely Off Topic... but about the Book Writing process.

Was just thinking about a life experience I've had.

An acquaintance of mine is (was) a professional athlete. Cool guy, plays a lot of golf and we have some common friends and interests.

He was approached to write a book. So as far as I knew, he wrote the book, it was published and I saw it in the book stores, cool huh?

Well, I saw him a few months later and he explained the process and I had NO IDEA how it works.

Firstly, most people REALLY can't write a book.

Publishers know this. So here's what they'll do. An Assistant Editor will make a series of appointments to talk to you, recording the meetings. You'll spend hours on the phone and in person. You'll speak biographically and reflecting on your own emotions and experiences.

The Editor will pick up on your tone, on your emotions and your motivation. They will then assemble a rough draft, a skeleton of a book and you'll meet up again. You'll start to flesh out the thin areas, the areas where the editor wants to expand the story.

Then you'll receive a second draft, printed. You're instructed to use a highlighter and write notes in the margins. After that you'll meet again to discuss your changes, any inaccuracies that exist or memories that may have changed.

Once you have pretty clear consensus on the book, it goes away again for another rewrite, this time with rhetorical flair and flourishes. It gets polished around the edges and made more "interesting".

It also gets "Fact checked"... the "author" may remember an event from a certain year when it was another year, etc.

You'll get a final draft, and as long as there are changes... you'll get subsequent final drafts until the final version is approved.



Just something to think about when you see a politician, actor or athlete that releases a book and you think to yourself, "Can they even write?"

Does ANYONE believe that Trump, Hawley, Cotton, Cruz or Giuliani can write a book?


Note: this is different than a "ghost writer"... this is a part of the publishing business and a regular process.

July 2, 2021

California Rent Assistance, UI and the Newsom recall.

Even though I'm currently in NoVA, I've lived in SoCal most of my life and I'm friends with my swimming pool guy... known him for 10+ years.

Just got word from him today that the California backed effort to pay past-due rent came through. He got a letter saying that his application was APPROVED and within 7 days over $12,000 would be paid to his apartment complex. That's in addition to more than $1000 in utilities paid...

In addition, they're prepared to pay more rent assistance AND UI through September...

THIS is what California has done with it's financial success over the last decade, with help from the Fed Gov't.

Think Newsom is going to survive the recall election 9/14??

I do!

July 2, 2021

J&J vaccine... EFFECTIVE against Delta variant.

Just got the news flash from my WSJ app...

I'll look for a link and post it...

But this is great news, so ALL of the US vaccines are effective against Delta variant.


J&J Chief Scientific Officer, Paul Stoffels:

The new findings "reinforce the ability of the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine to help protect the health of people globally"