Why examine Romney’s taxes?

[thundercleetz]

There has to be more to the issue than simply employing a tariff. One would think if it was that simple we would have implemented something like that by now.

[papasmurfbell]

Are there any tariffs that are used now? I now we let the Chinese flood the market with under priced steel and solar panels. We should apply tariffs on them but wont because of the debt they hold.

[Spen]

Well its as simple as getting any fee or tax increased on corporations. So in essence not very easy. Plus a tariff would probably drive up the cost of the goods for the consumer. I wouldn't expect the company to eat the cost out of the money they are saving from pretending to be offshore.

 

I say its fair because if you are going to pretend to be a foreign company in order to avoid taxes then you should be treated like one.

[papasmurfbell]

The problem is they do not save costs on being helped along. Look at the oil companies that get aver $20 bil in tax incentives and they are the most profitable companies in the world but gas is still expensive. GE still costs a pretty penny but some yrs they have paid no taxes. They all enjoy using the roads and bridges. They like the govt to hold their property rights. But they don't pay for all the benefits.

[dc.]

As an intro econ teacher... there are some major issues with tariffs.

 

Put simply... cheap Chinese goods keep prices low. If we force companies to do business here and hire people here, they will raise prices and we all get to pay. It will certainly feel good to see more people employed, but it will also not feel good to all feel comparatively poorer based on increased price level.

[papasmurfbell]

If people realized what the real costs of gas and other products was then that might not be a bad thing. It warps the econ to artificially lower prices.

[dc.]

I think it would be a lot more painful than we can handle. You'd certainly see a repeat on the mortgage and housing crisis.

[papasmurfbell]

I see that coming when the bank put all the money they are sitting on into the market. It comes about 2014 the way I see it.

[papasmurfbell]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/mitt-romney-yacht_b_1842680.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

 

 

 

The Real Convention Is at Cracker Bay

 

One of the reasons this Republican convention has been so deathly dull is that the real action isn't at the convention. It's at Cracker Bay. That's the name of the yacht where the Romney team just hosted 50 partiers, including some of his top donors. This was one of about a dozen events outside of the convention where they had private meetings with donors giving more than $1 million dollars to his campaign. Over $1 million a piece. Now, where do you think the real policy gets made?

You think Mitt Romney gives a damn what a delegate thinks? The only delegates that matter were on that yacht. They call this group the "Victory Council." This is made of people who are literally millionaires and billionaires and who dictate what Mitt Romney's positions will be. He's a legendary flip-flopper, but if you want to know what he really thinks you had to be on that boat.

"It was a really nice event. These are good supporters," said billionaire Wilbur Ross, an energy industry executive, according to ABC News. I bet it was. Mitt Romney just revealed his energy plan a couple of days ago. Are you going to be surprised to find out that it massively helps energy companies? A really nice event is where you pay a million bucks and you get billions back if the candidate you supported wins the presidency.

It's clear what Mitt Romney owes these people. What do you think he owes you? Ann Romney said that Mitt was a man who would not fail. She's right; he will not fail his donors. He is a good businessman, so he will give them the service they paid for.

They're so brazen the boat they were meeting on was flying a Cayman Islands flag. As one local put it, even their yacht doesn't want to pay taxes. In the old days, you'd be a little embarrassed about things like this and it would be huge news if you got caught. Now people treat it like it's perfectly normal.

Paul Ryan recently went to get the blessing of billionaire GOP donor Sheldon Adelson. Soon after he was picked and before getting ready for their convention, he had to stop everything and kiss the ring of their boss. This is sick. It is obvious legalized bribery and it's being done right in front of our eyes. And the press hardly notices as our democracy leaves shore along with that boat full of millionaires.

The candidate with more money wins 93 percent of congressional races. In the Senate, it's 94 percent. It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican, a liberal or a conservative, it doesn't matter what your ideas or values are. The only thing that matters is if you're on that yacht.

This post is part of the HuffPost Shadow Conventions 2012, a series spotlighting three issues that are not being discussed at the national GOP and Democratic conventions: The Drug War, Poverty in America, and Money in Politics.

[cravnravn]

As an intro econ teacher... there are some major issues with tariffs.

 

Put simply... cheap Chinese goods keep prices low. If we force companies to do business here and hire people here, they will raise prices and we all get to pay. It will certainly feel good to see more people employed, but it will also not feel good to all feel comparatively poorer based on increased price level.

 

 

Hey Dc, wouldnt the price be regulated by supply and demand if it was manufactured in the US?

[thundercleetz]

 

 

Hey Dc, wouldnt the price be regulated by supply and demand if it was manufactured in the US?

 

What DC is saying is the cost to manufacture would be higher in the US causing the prices to raise and supply to drop.

[papasmurfbell]

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/ex-stock-broker-realized-most-did-bad-clients-134422604.html

[thundercleetz]

I mean that is stating to obvious. Who goes to a stock broker for financial advise? Recommending products to sell is in their job description and is how they make their living, it's an inherit conflict of interest. Shame on you for not doing any research before throwing your money into something just because someone says it's "suitable".

[dc.]

 

What DC is saying is the cost to manufacture would be higher in the US causing the prices to raise and supply to drop.

 

Bingo. In the end, you the consumer are paying more to get the same goods, which certainly doesn't help you. You can make $10 and buy 5 crappy shirts at $2. Or you can make 12 dollars and buy 4 crappy shirts at $3. You pay more, get fewer goods, and ultimately feel poorer, not richer.

 

The argument against tariffs is similar to the argument against the minimum wage. By requiring employers to pay a higher rate, we are taking jobs away from those who would accept lower. That has a number of consequences. First, we all pay more for our goods and services, and possibly get worse service. Second, an ultra libertarian would argue that the kid who just dropped out of high school might be willing to work for $2-3 an hour at McDonalds if it's all he can find. That doesn't seem like a good deal, but it would allow him the opportunity to get on the job training he couldn't get elsewhere and eventually get out of such a low-paying job.

 

(I'm not arguing that's all ok - that was a Newt argument about putting kids to work in schools almost. It also certainly doesn't consider the moral implications of low wages or tariffs. Maybe we're all willing to pay a little more for our goods, and individually feel poorer, in the name of employing the rest of the country. Sounds pretty similar to wealth redistribution though... except the rich certainly won't be seeing any of their wealth redistributed - still)

[cravnravn]

 

What DC is saying is the cost to manufacture would be higher in the US causing the prices to raise and supply to drop.

 

 

Well, over the years from my purchasing experience, I buy my high dollar items in the month of August, thats when all your big chain stores are reducing their inventory to get in the next years model..I saved over 500 dollars on my Plasma TV, caus I purchased in August, the same 52" was 999 in March, in August it was 469.00..

 

The same can be done with vehicles Aug/Sept the dealers are bringing in the next years inventory and trying to give away the current years inventory.

 

Housing, purchase a home around Christmas, the market goes stale from Thanksgiving thru the New Year, then you have weather to worry with, who wants to look at homes with a foot of snow on the ground..But you have desperate realtors and home owners that want that sale and reduce the heck out of their selling price.

Edited September 3, 2012 by cravnravn

[thundercleetz]

 

 

Well, over the years from my purchasing experience, I buy my high dollar items in the month of August, thats when all your big chain stores are reducing their inventory to get in the next years model..I saved over 500 dollars on my Plasma TV, caus I purchased in August, the same 52" was 999 in March, in August it was 469.00..

 

The same can be done with vehicles Aug/Sept the dealers are bringing in the next years inventory and trying to give away the current years inventory.

 

Housing, purchase a home around Christmas, the market goes stale from Thanksgiving thru the New Year, then you have weather to worry with, who wants to look at homes with a foot of snow on the ground..But you have desperate realtors and home owners that want that sale and reduce the heck out of their selling price.

 

You pretty much made DC's point You are able to get such good deals when you did because retailers, dealers, and sellers are facing sunk costs at that point. They have to sell the items, so they would rather sell them for whatever they can instead of throw them away. For real estate in the winter those are often the houses where the sellers overvalued their house or over priced it because they are trying to account for renovations that they put into it.

 

Retailers and dealers are able to have these "sales" because low production costs lead to larger inventories. If all the parts were made in the US, there would be a lot smaller inventories and you wouldn't have such dramatic end of the year sales.

[papasmurfbell]

I mean that is stating to obvious. Who goes to a stock broker for financial advise? Recommending products to sell is in their job description and is how they make their living, it's an inherit conflict of interest. Shame on you for not doing any research before throwing your money into something just because someone says it's "suitable".

 

But people think they brokers have a faduciary duty to look out for them. Goldman Sacks was selling their clients crap that they owned so they could get from under it. So they made money selling garbage and took a commission doing it. BTW that is fraud.

[thundercleetz]

 

But people think they brokers have a faduciary duty to look out for them. Goldman Sacks was selling their clients crap that they owned so they could get from under it. So they made money selling garbage and took a commission doing it. BTW that is fraud.

 

As the article states, people confuse the difference between a stock broker and a financial advisor. Brokers do not have a fiduciary responsibility to look out for their clients, just cannot make unsuitable recommendations. Suitability is very general. You could go to a car dealership and the salesman will convince you that any car on the lot is suitable since it gets you from point A to point B. With a little research you could ask the stocker broker how they make their commission and they are required to tell you. That alone will help you figure out if there is a conflict of interest.

 

Believe me I agree with the article, there are definitely crooks out there that are trying to take your money. I am just saying you don't throw your money at every get rich quick infomercial you see.

[Spen]

Ah Labor Day. A day we can hear politicians tout how great American industry and workers are and the listeners will largely forget how a lot of the speakers have profited from abandoning the American worker.

 

I would never want to force anyone to manufacture things in the US. I just don't want to wholly reward companies for moving their headquarters or production facilities overseas. That's not fair to the companies that don't do that. Hey not only did your competitor avoid paying a lot of taxes or salaries - but now they can sell their product a lot less than you can! Happy Labor Day!

 

A tariff probably would raise prices but should it? How much does a company save by making a fake headquarters in a foreign country? Or by moving production overseas? I don't know for sure but I bet its a lot more than the 5 or 10% tariff fees would equal. But yeah I know the cost would be passed along to the consumer, that would not be good.

[papasmurfbell]

As the article states, people confuse the difference between a stock broker and a financial advisor. Brokers do not have a fiduciary responsibility to look out for their clients, just cannot make unsuitable recommendations. Suitability is very general. You could go to a car dealership and the salesman will convince you that any car on the lot is suitable since it gets you from point A to point B. With a little research you could ask the stocker broker how they make their commission and they are required to tell you. That alone will help you figure out if there is a conflict of interest.

 

Believe me I agree with the article, there are definitely crooks out there that are trying to take your money. I am just saying you don't throw your money at every get rich quick infomercial you see.

 

But Brokers don't disuade their clients belief that they have a fiduciary duty. They should tell them that I am just here to make the trade but if they told them that the client could say why don't I just use e trade and they would be right.

[thundercleetz]

 

But Brokers don't disuade their clients belief that they have a fiduciary duty. They should tell them that I am just here to make the trade but if they told them that the client could say why don't I just use e trade and they would be right.

 

Because they do not have to and would be out of a job if they did. It is no different than any other sales job you see. What you see in the media about Goldman Sachs brokers probably represents the 1%. Most are struggling to get by.

 

Anyways that is my point exactly. With a little research any person of average intelligence could find out you can just open up a Scottrade or E Trade account.

[papasmurfbell]

The expectations should change. These guys should be more than brokers. Have them be advisors. It will make it to elliminate much of the criminal element.

[papasmurfbell]

 

Damn.

[thundercleetz]

The expectations should change. These guys should be more than brokers. Have them be advisors. It will make it to elliminate much of the criminal element.

 

That is not their job description though and that is not how the industry works. You would basically be asking brokers to do a completely different job. Within the industry there are clear guidelines that define what an "investment advisor" is and what an "agent" of a broker-dealer is. There are separate registration requirements with either the SEC or the State Administrator. Brokers are salesmen, nothing more. For example, a broker for Franklin Templeton is selling Franklin Templeton products. Franklin Templeton does not offer financial advising services. If they did, they would be required to register with the SEC as an investment advisor in addition to being a broker-dealer. That is not the nature of their business.

 

I think the 'criminal element' you are referring to is the unethical nature of the business. This is present in almost every sales industry. If you're searching for a new car, would you expect the Mazda dealer to say "well looking out for your best interests our cars are less reliable than Honda's, so you should go across the street." He wouldn't be in a job very long. Even if brokers had the same fiduciary responsibility as investment advisors, there is just as much dishonesty in the wealth management industry.

[papasmurfbell]

People know when they go to a car dealer that they are prey and the dealer wants to bend them over. They don't know that on brokers. Also the there are laws about what a dealer can and can't do to a car buyer.