BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES -- Thursday 26 January 2012

[Obwon]

BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES

Thursday 26 January 2012

Why do the Republicans and some Democrats in Congress enable
the loss of jobs in America?

Perhaps it is because, as BuzzFlash at Truthout has noted
many times, many of their corporate paymasters are now
global corporations that don't really give a hoot about
creating jobs in the US. As BuzzFlash has noted, the goal of
a corporation - by its very capitalistic structure - is to
increase profits, not increase jobs in America.

So, this is how it goes down. A company such as Wal-Mart
expands overseas and creates jobs in other nations in two
ways. It offshores its manufacturing to the lowest cost
nations, where workers are often treated harshly for, at
best, subsistence pay. Then it brings those goods back to
the US where they are sold to Americans who economically can
only afford items made overseas. The Wal-Mart customer may
have lost his or her job because what he or she is buying is
now made in China, for instance.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart hires workers in the US at the lowest
possible wages, many of them forced to go on Medicaid and
food stamps to survive - in short, the government subsidizes
the low-wage labor practices of Wal-Mart in the US. Wal-Mart
isn't increasing exports from the US; it is increasing US
reliance on imports.

Wal-Mart then also expands its stores, via free trade
agreements, around the world, where goods are sold not
generally from America, but from other low-wage nations. It
creates jobs globally that don't benefit US workers to any
great degree, just the stockholders of Wal-Mart.

The Wal-Mart heirs are among the richest persons in the
world. Naturally, they give generously to politicians who
support multinational corporations whose main job generation
is in other nations. This completes the circle of what
BuzzFlash has called the self-cannibalization of the
workforce in America: working-class Americans economically
forced to buy goods made by slave-wage earners in nations
with few labor standards.

This is not just Wal-Mart. Progressives who love their Apple
products and the Apple "brand" image of innovation
contribute to this destructive cycle. There have been a
number of recent stories on how Apple is a lead corporation
in using overseas contractors who engage in exploitative
labor practices - and all indications are that Apple,
instead of improving working conditions, actually squeezes
the manufacturers and assemblers harder each year by
lowering payments or moving to even lower-cost and more
abusive settings.

Indeed, even The New York Times has written two
investigative stories on Apple's harsh working conditions in
China. Reuters notes of the revelatory carefully-researched
articles:

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=o9zCf9amY%2B6W0B13qrpkUDC00xCzG%2FFB

The New York Times published on Wednesday its second
bombshell of a story on inhumane working conditions at
Apple's Chinese manufacturers. So how will the world's most
valuable company, notorious for its secrecy, respond?

So far, with silence.

You see, Apple is coming off of one of the most profitable
quarters in corporate history, according to the Times.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=f8rruOAVeAie%2FnjS%2B%2B1MAWqAZyO2iPHu

And that is all the Republicans and many Democrats in
Congress are interested in. Higher profits mean the rich
(shareholders and executives) get richer and the politicians
get bigger campaign contributions.

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama posed
this challenge to Congress:

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BAHrYVvNhhu%2F03VczSxiODC00xCzG%2FFB

We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies
get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas.
Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit
with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no
sense, and everyone knows it.

So let's change it. First, if you're a business that
wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn't get a tax deduction
for doing it....

Second, no American company should be able to avoid
paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits
overseas.

From now on, every multinational company should have to
pay a basic minimum tax. And every penny should go towards
lowering taxes for companies that choose to stay here and
hire here in America.

Third, if you're an American manufacturer, you should
get a bigger tax cut. If you're a high-tech manufacturer, we
should double the tax deduction you get for making your
products here. And if you want to relocate in a community
that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get
help financing a new plant, equipment, or training for new
workers....

My message is simple. It is time to stop rewarding
businesses that ship jobs overseas and start rewarding
companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me
these tax reforms, and I will sign them right away.

The president shouldn't spend too much time waiting for such
a piece of legislation. There's no profit in it for the
wealthy or politicians in DC.

Mark Karlin
Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout

Congress Doesn't Want to Give Up Its Insider Trading
Privileges
Read the Article at The Atlantic

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=KUlhy2YYQaZf1IPcbVNi7DC00xCzG%2FFB

When Is Opinion Just Disrespect?
Read the Article at BuzzFlash

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lHwcE5QsxxnzO3oaoakS2jC00xCzG%2FFB

Why the GOP Race Could Be Irrelevant
Read the Article at Salon

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=fjOCZQ3NM5ZQc9eBdmsAMDC00xCzG%2FFB

The Pathology of Inequality in the US: Our National Dementia
About Work and Wealth
Read the Article at BuzzFlash

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ri5KxFHGQ7fHOLA3Qn73%2FDC00xCzG%2FFB

Tom DeLay: Newt Gingrich Was "Erratic, Undisciplined"
Read the Article at ThinkProgress

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=f7oeUoDKTmC0Vk0K6ga3OjC00xCzG%2FFB

The Ten Most Racist Moments of the GOP Primary (So Far)
Read the Article at AlterNet

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=yzZRHMC6y62alE5Bj71lrjC00xCzG%2FFB

Connecticut Mayor's Crude Plan for Better GOP Relations With
Latinos: "Have Tacos"
Read the Article at The New York Daily News

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=P432VPehcqU%2FOBW3F9J6IDC00xCzG%2FFB

Click here for more BuzzFlash headlines

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