From how I see it, and according to some of the studies I'm doing (which will have a bias), the US is still living in the 1950s. You can have it all, you can have what you want, and you need not worry about anything. An example of that is Black Friday being marred by violence (again).
Stuff of having pisspoor financial management goes back to Marshall Aid. US send grants to European states from the government budget, and the money goes right back to American businesses instead. How does the government get that money back, when there is corporate tax at such a ridiculously low level? It's this whole "America, fuck yeah!" attitude where the US haven't lost a war (Vietnam War doesn't count ofc) and have too much pride and not enough of a reality check. It's a good thing that the population are realizing this with Occupy Wall Street, but blame is not entirely on the 1% plutocrats, since the awsumAmerica attitude goes to such a grassroots level.
We may want to think we are still living in the 1950s, but we are not. In the 1950s, the US was the industrial backbone of the
world. Europe was recovering from World War II and the US came out of it relatively unscathed. If the Marshall Plan money had gone to European companies, the USG would not have seen any of the money back. But something happened in the 1970s & 1980s. The US opened up trade with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and began exporting its industrial base. This reduces the cost of items, but also means that there are not jobs available for those who now have to go buy those items, horrible cycle and people wonder why I do not shop at WalMart.
Today, US corporations are taxed on their worldwide income (
26 USC 11). I do not know how long that law has been around, but it means that income earned by McDonalds in Moscow is taxed by the US Government. State taxes also exist and range from 0-9.99%. This means that the corporation's gross world-wide income is taxed 35%-45%. Any foreign operations are taxed twice, once by the locals and then by the US government. This leaves <55% of the gross income to pay employees (who will also be taxed), invest in possible growth, and do "3b!l" things that increase corporate income (which would increase total taxes paid).
Lastly, Britain, France, and Germany do not have it figured out. As an example, France has laws in place to minimize the amount a citizen can work, to the point in the US we consider them part-time jobs. But in France immigrants are fine to work more than a citizen; *what wonderful equality and a brilliant show of humility!*
*sarcasm*
How do we get out of $15 Trillion in debt?
1) We stop defending Europe and fighting Europe's wars. The rest of NATO can step up and pay 2% of their GDPs on their militaries. The US, UK, and France are shouldering the majority of the alliance's expenses with Greece and Albania actually paying the required 2%. Most of the alliance is not living up to their commitments and cannot provide material support for operations they political support (see Libya).
2) We place a tariff on goods and services made in countries where workers rights are not protected, like China. This will be painful, but the goal is to break a cycle by which an American citizen loses jobs to foreign competitors without the same protections for workers.
3) We reform our tax code to eliminate loop holes used by the wealthy and corporations. Maybe we raise taxes a little, bu first reform the tax code to figure out how much is actually being brought in.
4) We reduce the overall size of the Federal government, eliminating redundant agencies and pushing roles not assigned the Federal government in the Constitution to the States.
5) We pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.
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Topic: Occupy Wallstreet (Read 35787 times)