Unpeaceful Protesting

I think police officers have enough, if not more than enough, power. Though the police make mistakes, peaceful protesting is usually the answer. Some of the “protesters” start breaking windows, stomping cars, burning places, and other unnecessary actions. These actions not only make the situation worse, but also make it seem like the police were never wrong. It also causes a chain reaction and makes other people follow in their footsteps. If the people were willing to continue protesting peacefully, and not make matters worse, I’m pretty sure the it could be resolved. The two cops that were killed in New York on December 20th, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, had nothing to do with the Eric Garner situation or the Mike Brown situation.

When the two innocent police officers were killed, it resolved nothing and had no progression in the protesting. As Gandhi once said, “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” I believe the officer that choked and killed Eric Garner on July 17, 2014, should have been indicted, and should call for some protesting, but that does not mean that two other people should be killed just because he wasn’t indicted.

Do you think the killing of these two officers was necessary to send a message to the public, or should it have been prevented?

Wealth Inequality In the US Trumps All Other Countries

The wealth distribution in the US is so unequal that it's in the league of corrupt underdeveloped countries, no longer in the league of developed nations, according to the latest edition of the world's most thorough study of wealth-distribution--Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook. 

The US is ranked 44th out of 86 countries, well below every other developed society measure. It is only one spot below Nigeria, which has arguably the worst political corruption in the world. Also, in 2012, Nigeria saw nationwide protests over perceived income inequality and if we are only one spot below them on the list, should we be worried about protests?


                                       

Companies that are using inversion to avoid paying taxes

Burger King is one of the companies using the inversion tax loophole to purchase fast food restaurant
Tim Horton's in Canada.

Pfizer, Chiquita, AbbVie, and Burger King are the most recent corporations that are utilizing inversion to avoid paying taxes.  Inversions are "deals in which U.S. companies buy smaller foreign firms in countries with lower taxes, then renounce their U.S. corporate citizenship and re-incorporate in that country." There have been 47 companies in the past decade.  Inversion is unpatriotic. 

Taxes are 35% for companies in the U.S and there are complaints that it is one of the highest rates in the world. "The chief executive of Mylan recently told a New York Times columnist that she had no choice but to invert as part of a buyout of a company in the Netherlands. But this argument isn't especially convincing. That's because the U.S. tax code is so riddled with loopholes that very few companies pay anything near 35 percent. Companies like General Electric, Google and Apple have whiz-bang tax departments that have mastered the art of tax avoidance, often by routing income through low- or no-tax jurisdictions, like Bermuda". (Huffington Post)  Although it looks like they are paying 35% on paper, in reality, they are paying much less due to loopholes. Corporations like Burger King and others need to pay their share.  Leaving America after profiting from the benefits here is not an option. The companies sure seem American until it's time to pay taxes.  It's unpatriotic and greedy.

Policy: The Obama Administration taking action to discourage companies from moving overseas to avoid taxes

Two months ago President Obama announced new rules to stop corporations from moving their offices to other countries to avoid paying taxes.  The new regulations do not stop the corporations from moving, but it makes it more difficult for them to get out of paying taxes.  This practice of moving overseas steals billions of dollars from our country.  

                                 

Although it is legal to do so, it is wrong.  That is why President Obama's Administration is trying to change the law, making it more difficult for the companies to bring the money back from other countries tax-free.  When a company in the U.S. tries to merge with a smaller foreign company to pay lower taxes it's called an inversion.

Then the companies are able to use a loophole called a hopscotch loan which is a way for corporations to have tax-free access to the money they earned in other countries. "The new rules would make it more difficult for U.S firms to invert in the first place by strengthening rules that require the former owners of the U.S. company to own less that 80 percent of the new, foreign-domiciled entity." (The Washington Post) This is a move in the right direction. Many companies have gotten away with paying their fair share through all the loopholes in the federal tax laws.  Edward Kleinbard, a law professor and former chief of staff of the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation said the new rules were "very bold and far-reaching and likely to affect many transactions that are motivated by gaining access to offshore cash".  (The Washington Post)
This move by President Obama is a step in the right direction, but further regulations in tax laws are needed.

American companies escape taxes and regulation in China to the detriment of workers

China is a new breeding ground for American companies to leave the United States and travel to escape taxes and fair treatment of workers.

"In 2007, factories that supplied more than a dozen corporations, including Walmart, Disney, and Dell were accused of unfair labor practices, including using child labor, forcing employees to work 16-hour days on fast-moving assembly lines, and paying workers less than minimum wage. (Minimum wage in this part of China is about 55 cents an hour.)" (New York Times)

Walmart, Disney, and Dell are running away from taxes. Not only that, but they're running away from regulations.  Watch groups are trying to keep the big corporations honest.  Goods that are made in factories in China are being produced by workers in harsh conditions that are unsafe. "In the Pearl River Delta region near Hong Kong, for example, factory workers lose or break about 40,000 fingers on the job every year, according to a study published a few years ago by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences." (New York Times).  

Workers are paid unfairly at these factories. For example, in Huanya employees were forced to sign documents that they were volunteering to work overtime.  Most developed rashes from the paint and poor conditions. Some are under the age of 18.  One employee noted “It’s quite noisy, and you stand up all day, 12 hours, and there’s no air-conditioning,” he said. “We get paid by the piece we make but they never told us how much. Sometimes I got $110, sometimes I got $150 a month.” (New York Times)  That amount is much less than what is legally required.  Additionally, the National Labor Committee reprimanded Walmart for not protecting workers. "Huanya recruited about 500 16-year-old high school students to work seven days a week, often 15 hours a day, during peak production months for holiday merchandise...at least seven children, as young as 12 years old, were working in the factory." (New York Times)

Michael Wolf's "The Real Toy Story" is an elaborate installation consisting of 20,000 toys made in China and purchased in California that Wolf attached to the walls of a gallery, along with photographs of workers making the toys in Chinese factories. The installation is a homage to China's factory workers who slave away to produce most of the world's plastic toys in unsafe factories and under exploitative conditions.

Some of the issues are related to corruption in China and it is difficult for the corporations to regulate. There is a lot of corruption in China, but it is more than that. 'Many labor experts say part of the problem is cost: Western companies are constantly pressing their Chinese suppliers for lower prices while also insisting that factory owners spend more to upgrade operations, treat workers properly and improve product quality." (New York Times).
Western companies need to take more social responsibility. They should not be allowed to leave the United States to avoid taxes or regulations that harm workers.

How much money does the U.S. lose due to corporations moving to avoid taxes

How much money has the United States lost due to tax inversion?  Well it's difficult to get an exact number, but it is estimated to be in the billions.  "Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation projects that failing to limit inversions will cost the Treasury an additional $19.5 billion over 10 years — a number that seems way low, given the looming stampede. But even $19.5 billion — $2 billion a year — is a lot, if you look at it the right way. It’s enough to cover what Uncle Sam spends on programs to help homeless veterans and to conduct research to create better prosthetic arms and legs for our wounded warriors." (Washington Post)  Other analysts think the number is much higher.  We have to close the loopholes in the tax laws to prevent inversion and hold these companies accountable.

How the government gives people the wrong type of mindset

    America has always been known as a place where people work hard, and can move up the social ladder through this hard work.  Although the unemployment rate has recently fallen, this may be misleading.  According to The New York Times article, “The Nation’s Economy, This Side of the Recession”  The actual labor participation has dropped about three percent.  Although this does not seem like a lot, this makes the situation seem much better than it actually is.  This also sheds some light on how much assistance the government has provided to people who used to have jobs.  People may have used to try to get a job, but now they don't even try because they can just take from the government.  This is the wrong mindset that Americans should have because it makes people work not as hard towards their goals.  This process also hurts the economy because as less people work, the less economic progress will be accomplished in the United States.  It also hurts the future of the country because this only increases that amount that the government spends.  This money that the government has to spend now will only have to be paid off by future generations in America.

http://www.decodedscience.com/silent-economic-driver-labor-force-participation-rate/49918

      If Americans can buy in to the hard work ethic, and can at least try for a job than there is hope for the future economic standing of the country.  This will give people big goals to work for, and can only help the economy.