It's Time for Big Business to show a little 'Economic Patriotism'

Walgreens has caved to public pressure and announced that they will not move their base overseas to avoid paying US taxes. However, we need to do a heck of a lot more to stop other businesses from moving offshore. The company was considering a move called an “inversion” to acquire a Switzerland-based company called Alliance Boots, and relocate their headquarters to the lower-tax nation. Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson said that the company was “mindful of the public reaction to a potential inversion.” In other words, they recognized that the American people were pretty ticked about Walgreens wanting to dodge taxes.
Public pressure was enough to keep this drug store chain headquartered in Chicago, but it won't always be enough to stop US corporations from skipping out on their fair share. Congress could change the rules and take away the tax incentives that allow corporations to relocate overseas. However, we all know that it's highly unlikely that lawmakers will suddenly stop the partisan gridlock and get that done.
In order to get around the obstruction, a group of Democratic senators is calling on President Obama to put a stop to these so-called “inversion” with an executive order. Senators Dick Durbin, Jack Reed, Elizabeth Warren, and others wrote a letter to the president warning that billions of dollars in corporate tax revenue will be lost if these inversions aren't stopped. They wrote, “The coming flood of corporate inversions justifies immediate executive action.”
The President can direct the Treasury to issue rules that would make it more difficult for corporations to dodge taxes by moving overseas. In a speech last month, President Obama said, “You shouldn't get to call yourself an American company only when you want a handout from American taxpayers.” Whether it's through executive action, public pressure, or a combination of both, we must force corporations to pay their fair share. Walgreens is staying here, and it's time for more businesses to prove their economic patriotism.
Comments


"Presstitutes".... Brilliant, Palin! Take a bow!! I bet Sandles would've given that one thumbs-up.
We can thank George W. Bush for ISIS, along with the Middle East's general malaise. Nothing would satisfy me more than to see that little toadie standing before a firing squad. He is personally responsible for every beheading ISIS has carried out, let alone the hundreds of thousands of other deaths in that region. (Thank you Thom, for pointing that out.)
Our war criminals continue to skate free, just like the banksters. Apparently the laws here in America were only written for us lackeys. Pot smokers have paid much harsher consequences for their "crime", amounting to no more than an affront to corporate monopoly. - AIW

So it sounds like Thom's idea is that the Post Office should be the clearing house for interactions between the government and its citizens: voter registration, welfare enrolment, etc.
I like it. When I moved the first time as an adult, I didn't know how to register to vote. If it hadn't been for the Internet, I don't know if I would have gotten it done. If my financial situation deteriorates further, it would be nice to have a place to go to get some direction on what to do. Yeah, I could search the Internet, if I already knew the name of what I needed or of what program I qualified for.

I've seen the term before--I can't remember where.

Aliceinwonderland: Thanks but I can't take the credit for that term "presstitutes". I believe I got it from someone who frequently participates on the "Community" boards. My apologies for not remembering just who it was.
mathboy: thanks for that link!

I read that the Post Office used to be open 7 days per week. Sundays were eliminated because the USPS was incidentally competing with churches for attendance, and the churches didn't like it.

The eleventh commandment: Thou shalt not mail anything on Sunday! ;-} But then Moses sobered up and crossed that one off his tablets. But some people still take it literally.
In some states, they used to ban merchants from selling anything on Sunday. I think that up in one of the provinces in Canada, that still happens.

If election day were made a national holiday (a mail holiday, at least), we could also use the post offices as polling places.

To show that we are a democracy, I think we should not only make election day a holiday, but we should also eliminate president's day.

Quote mathboy:If election day were made a national holida
You know, mathboy, if election day were a federal holiday, maybe more people would vote. Good idea!

Quote mathboy:If election day were made a national holiday (a mail holiday, at least), we could also use the post offices as polling places.
mathboy ~ Yeah! I agree that idea sounds good on paper; but, in reality it might just need some tweekiing. If you give people an arbitrary day off to vote--especially in the middle of the week--I can guarantee that the vast majority of voters will use the day to party instead. I say mandate at least two days for voting and make them both on a Thursday and Friday so that it leads into a four day weekend. Also, in order to qualify for those two national paid days off you have to provide a voting receipt to your employer for tax purposes. (The employer will basically be reimbursed in taxes for your two days off. That way--at the end of the tax year--it costs employers nothing.)
Then, we vote on Thursday and get that out of the way. Friday we spend partying and celebrating the vote while the results come in. Saturday and Sunday are for rest; or, extended partying--depending upon the outcome of the election, and how you voted. We can even encourage block parties on that particular weekend. Close down everything in town. It may sound like a big thing; however, if you ever travel Mexico you'll find that most Pueblos down there have an older and bigger tradition of closing everything down for one entire month of the year during which they have parades, dances, and parties everywhere. It's very healthy for the people and the families to participate in such festivities together. I think it would be very healthy for our country to take a lesson from our neighbor's much older culture. Also, a voting holiday would really help bring this torn country back together again.

Quote DAnneMarc:I say mandate at least two days for voting and make them both on a Thursday and Friday so that it leads into a four day weekend.
DAnne - You have the seed for a very good idea, but let's carry it a little bit further. Voting would be on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (screw the christians) and the polls would be open 24 hours a day! That way, nobody would have any excuse for not voting, other than "I just didn't want to vote". And the voting receipt would be valid no matter which day they vote. That way we could get rid of all this early voting crap and reduce the absentee voting. And to minimize voter influence, the media would not be allowed to do exit polling or winner projections during those four days. Also, all campainging would have to cease during those four days.
Can we make it happen?

Quote Palindromedary:Problem with this is that, unless you have short memory, the US was/is aiding Al Qaida in Syria when Al Qaida was cutting off heads of those non-muslims in Syria who would not convert to Islam on the spot, as well. I didn't hear an uproar from the US presstitutes nor condemnation from our political leaders to the tune of sending in bombs to kill Al Qaida in Syria. They just kept on funding them and Al Qaida just kept on lopping off heads.
Palindromedary ~ Oh, how right you are!! In fact, the only time the US wanted to intervene in Syria was to bomb the legitimate government--essentially handing over the entire country to ISIS on a silver platter. I wonder what ISIS would have done once they got their hands on those massive stockpiles of chemical weapons? Have a bake sale?
Quote Palindromedary:The US should have left Saddam in power when there was a fairly stable government. Everything bad that is happening in the world right now has been caused by US intervention and manipulations.
Palindromedary ~ Again, you hit the nail right on the head. The US needs to mind it's own business. Every time the US intervenes in the middle east it has the same impact of trying to put out a fire with gasoline. Meanwhile, the effort has caused massive genocide, regional instability, and is destroying our economy, credibility, and reputation around the world. It is the result of only having a hammer in our tool box--every problem has to look like a nail. Time to invest in some other tools.

stecoop01 ~ That all sounds great to me! However, I think we shouldn't try too hard to reduce absentee voting. Any voting that works is a good idea. Besides, if we actually ever succeed at getting the vast majority of people to vote those voting booths are going to be pretty crowded--even in a four day voting period. Absentee voting might be the only alternative for a lot of people. Personally, count on me to vote absentee and then plan a trip for that weekend.

Weather a company has headquarters here or somewhere else they should pay taxes on what they earn here.

Quote Palindromedary:The eleventh commandment: Thou shalt not mail anything on Sunday! ;-} But then Moses sobered up and crossed that one off his tablets.
Palindromedary ~ Actually, the Fourth Commandments is "Remember the Sabbath Day and to keep it holy." Of course that has been interpreted many different ways by many different people. By definition, it is not Constitutional for the Post Office to be obliged in anyway to honor it. However, it is lawful and practical to offer at least one day off each week. Two or three is far better.
Also, there is some conflict through the ages as to exactly what day of the week is the Sabbath day. Some religions say Sunday, others Saturday. Some think it is Thursday. Personally, I believe it is whatever day you want it to be. I believe the gist of the commandment says that you must take one day a week to rest and reflect internally. If you look at the etymology of the word holy, it means both connected to God, and completeness. In fact, the word "whole" is derived from the root of the word, "holy." My interpretation is keeping one day a week solely to myself for internal reflection. I spend that day doing whatever I want. It's my day to hang out with my God how I see fit; and, how I see fit is to keep to myself.
Historically, believers have had all kinds of ideas about the Sabbath day; and, many have inflicted cruel and unusual punishments on anyone found doing anything other than going to church on the official Sabbath day. In Biblical times one could be stoned to death for working on the Sabbath day. That meant any kind of work--including cleaning your own house. Stoned to death for violating a commandment from the same set of laws that commands in the Sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." Fascinating!
Personally, I can't blame the Ten Commandments for the way the law was enforced. In and of itself it's a pretty darn good basic set of rules. Just imagine, if people would have ever actually followed them per word we never would have had any wars. Ever! I blame the enforcement agencies appointed to uphold the law back then. They exploited a powerful advantage they had over the common people. Back in those days all but the most powerful were illiterate and at the mercy of those in power. Also, there were no printing presses or photocopiers back then. Only those in power had the copies of the law and the ability to read and interpret them. Questioning authority was unheard of. Much in the same way the middle east is being run right now. The real problem is ignorance and a lack of education. In my opinion, that is precisely why the radical right wing Christian agenda in the US is so popular in backwards rural areas. Also, in my opinion, that is exactly why the right wing has declared war on education. Rampant, widespread illiteracy and ignorance is our real enemy. If you don't believe me, take a look at right wing Tea Party protest signs. If you can't write you probably don't do a lot of reading; and, tend to let other people do your reading and thinking for you.
It makes one wonder what is worse, illiteracy or organized religion. I don't see those right wing Christian groups gaining a lot of ground in areas with better educated citizens. Maybe there is a good reason for that?

Well said, DAnneMarc!! :-) And thanks for the link!! That is so funny! They are not exactly the brightest bulbs, are they? Making an occasional error on a blog site is somewhat forgivable but someone should buy these people some dictionaries...not that it would do any good.

Palin, Marc, I checked out that link. Hilarious! My favorite teatard sign is the one that says: "No pubic option!" - AIW

Palindromedary ~ What really amazes me is how often they misspell Socialism and School. They constantly condemn socialism; yet, can't spell it to save their lives. How can you seriously condemn something you can't spell?
They also misspelt school. I saw it spelt scools and schol. Perhaps the scariest sign was "Homescholers for Perry." My God! Just imagine. The person who wrote that sign is teaching his own children. Talk about the blind leading the blind.
Another scary sign said, "Obama Read The Consitution!" You're criticising someones knowledge of a document the name of which you cannot spell?
I rest my case!

Aliceinwonderland ~ "Teatard?" You're killing me!

Yeah, what a brainy bunch. I quake at the very thought of debating any of these geniuses, about anything. They'd rip me to shreds. - AIW

As for the corporations moving HQ overseas, here's one take on it.
According to the Citizens United ruling, corporations are like citizens and can give money to PACs and directly to candidates.
Create a law that only citizens can give to those mentioned above,. Also, the caniddates/PACs have to present the list of donations.
If a corporation moves the HQ to overseas, they are 'giving up their US citizenship', and thus can't donate to any political organization or candidate. They can't partake in the election process no more than China or any foreign group.
This should include corporations in which their company is mainly owned by foreign citizens or groups. (Stocks, bonds etc)..
Offshoreing to Dodge Corporate Taxes
There is a movement in the United States today to lower their corporate tax by moving their corporate charter offshores to a foreign country, still performing business, within the borders of United States of America, becoming an undocumented immigrant, a so-called illegal immigrant. Why not the Republican Congress, Speaker of the House John Boehner, along with Sen. Mitch McConnell in the Senate and Republican Party not pursuing to deport these corporations to the country that they move their corporate charter to. This just shows you that the republican congress that they are not performing their job.
Is there a double standard that says corporations who have moved their charter to a foreign country do not need to have a visa or a passport to exist and to perform business in this country, that this country insists on. That a living breeding human being that has a heart pumping red blood that are a natural person, instead of a artificial person. That they have to have documentation to get into this country, but not a foreign corporation! There's something terribly wrong here. What is the difference, I have to ask now, are corporations people, that was made into law by a court recorder, (WATCH Thom Hartmann's view on this by clicking on made into law by a court reporter )
Corporations that renounce their citizenship to save Money on the corporate tax rate they are just outsourcing their corporate taxes to a foreign country, then taking advantage of the benefits that they can achieve here in the United States of America. The Protection that they can receive is written in the Constitution, as they can receive in the 14thAmendment when the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people, (Corporate Personhood.) What are the possibilities when they move their corporate charter to a foreign country, that they could lose their corporate personhood for the reasons that that country does not have a 14th Amendment, that promotes unequal protection. What are the chances of that country where they moved the Corporation to, that they will not nationalize their corporate charter for they can receive the profits and control the corporations activities. There is no difference outsourcing the corporate taxes to a foreign country to save money, inasmuch outsourcing manufacturing to a foreign country for the cheap labor for the profitability of the corporations. Both of these actions are not patriotic to the United States of America or its inhabitants, as stated by Pres. Obama and as an American, I have to agree with our President.
If corporations are people and they renounce the United States citizenship and move their corporate headquarters to a foreign country then they should be required, the Corporation that is, to obtained a passport from that country that they move their corporate headquarters to, then seek a visa from the United States to enter the country to work. Would they not be considered, as an undocumented immigrant when they consider themselves as people, (corporations are people; my friend,) then sneak in to our country through back doors for creating great wealth for the corporations and their board members. Is this Un-American, Not Patriotic, I would say yes.
Corporation that shows an extreme profit at the end of the corporate year or the tax year, they have poor business practice. The said corporations probably paying the people who work for the corporations that are making the company product is being paid a non-livable wage with no security for the future, as in a comfortable retirement. Especially when manufacturing has been sent overseas for the cheap labor they can achieve, that so called trickle-down effect stops at the corporations chief executive officer and his board, including top managers, but ceased to exist below to the average American working families. If these corporations were trying to make a profit for their company, they would invested money back into the company/corporation to improve their production, instead of hiding it overseas.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to take that profit by reinvesting into the company to make the company more efficient! By investing in advanced technology as in computers and electronics, education for the factory workers, providing a livable wage, health care for the worker and his family, an affordable education at a college or university for his children if they qualify! not to mention a decent pension that they can provide for their employees. In other words, have the Corporation to invest in America’s future for we can come world leaders again instead of followers. If this would happen then they would not have to seek out salvation from taxes by being a foreign company, not to mention be patriotic to The United States of America.
Talk About An Illegal Alien, These Are The Ones We Should Deport.
Here is Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Undocumented Corporations Doing Business in America .
Published on Jul 30, 2014
Senator Warren gave a floor speech denouncing corporations that renounce their American citizenship to dodge taxes, and calling on Congress and the Administration to end corporate tax inversions. Speech delivered on July 30, 2014. You can Watch the Youtube Video of Sen.Warren on the Senate Floor.
Sen. Warren Denounces Corporations Who 'Renounce Their American Citizenship' to Dodge TaxesMassachusetts' senior senator call on Congress to end corporate tax inversion loophole
In a speech delivered on the floor of the United States Senate today, Senator Elizabeth Warren called for closing the “corporate inversion” tax loophole, which allows American companies to dodge taxes by filing paperwork claiming foreign citizenship after they merge with another company overseas. Senator Warren urged Congress to pass the Stop Corporate Inversions Act she co-sponsored with Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), and highlighted executive action the Administration could take to reduce the tax benefits of corporate inversions. By Susan Petroni
This coming November if we want to take our country back from the rich zealot man, we have to remember who brought the most freedom, the most prosperity and the most equal rights and equality to our nation, and it’s not Republicans, Conservatives or the Aristocracy, it was the Liberals/Democrats that did. If you have not registered to vote do it.
Get active in your community, encourage your neighbors friends and relatives to register to vote as support their community. if we do not take an Active Interest in our lives and our Community, if not we will become the working poor

DAM and ste -- you guys remind of a bunch of democrats. As Will Rogers said I am not a member of an organized party, I am a democrat. I think we should start out simple, election day a holiday, and see what happens.

Well, I was pretty sure I commented here but don't see it, so here goes again.
If corporations are people now, companies that relocate to avoid taxes (what little they pay anyway) should be treated as tax evaders. Their goods should be treated as imported goods and subject to all the tarriffs and taxes therein. They should NOT ever get any AMERICAN taxpayer money/corporate welfare or subsidies, as they are now a foreign citizen.
Jniffen has the right idea, as well.
Here are the real and logical results of corporate personhood--take that lightweight K-RATS on the Supreme Court--you sure opened a can of worms--HA! HA! Everyone saw it coming but YOU! Impeachment should be the reward for incompetence of logic, subversion of the US Constitution, and making judgements that are political and fatten their wallets besides, which are BRIBES.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/08/10/3238375/the-responsibility-par...

To establish an object (corporation) as a person is an obscenity exceeded only by treating a person as an object. Such an obscenity is inescapably at the core of capitalism.

Beautiful, CK. So true.

I heard on pretty good authority that Walgreens didn't move in the end not because of public opprobrium but because the U.S Government - I believe it was the Justice Department - was to file an expensive lawsuit against them that would tie them up in court for years if they moved.

That is well put, ckrob.

Love the new look of the web site!

Love the new look of the web site! No more bluesssss!!

Love the new look of the web site! No more bluesssss!!

:-)

I got this when I tried to leave a message: The content I tried to send was: :-)
You have attempted to post the same identical content multiple times, causing your posts to be flagged as potential spam.......

Sheeit! Wish we had a vote on this new format. I'd vote thumbs down. Our avatars have shrunk! I can no longer read the "Monsanto" on Elioflight's avatar (which, incidentally, happens to be one of my favorites). - AIW

Aliceinwonderland ~ I'm with you. This sucks royally. No post numbers makes it impossible to see where we are or what we are talking about. What's up with that? Also this white background is great for producing eye strain and fatiguing our monitors. Personally, I prefer the blues!
Just now, just for the heck of it, I tried to reply to you. Other than my own statement of your name there was nothing stated at all that indicted I was talking to you. I reiterate, "This Sucks!"
All these stupid new formatting options and no spell checker? Seriously Thom does that make any sense at all to you? If this blog needs any kind of enhancement, it needs a spell checker first and foremost! Strike through? What is that?

Spell checker works ok for me. And, so far, I don't have a problem with the new format. I like it! As for my avatar....now my little red devil appears to be larger, because the frame is smaller, than it was. Cool! And there was a problem before when one clicked on a 'reply' button in that it would not always refer to the correct comment number because of the edits that might occur.

Palindromedary ~ Spell checker works for you? You must have a generic browser spell check. There is none on this site. However, I do agree that your avatar looks much better. Very nice. Much more formidable.
Regarding numbers I see no improvement. There are no numbers to be mistaken. There are no numbers to be misassigned. Even a misassigned number can still be used for reference. How am I supposed to say that I agree with you position in post # 22, but completely disagree with your position in post # 14. I can't, can I? In fact, the only way I can site you now is by repeating everything you said. That, my friend, sucks!
I might also add, what if I wanted to respond to a post from another blog. How do I do that? 'Oh you said something yesterday that bothers me. Trust me, it's there somewhere. Just look for it.' No numbers suck! Any numbers, even wrong numbers, are better than no numbers.
By the way, I just replied to you. You know that because I'm telling you right now. How would you know that otherwise?

I noticed the 9 new comments was still there after I read the 9 new comments. Hopefully, this is a beta version.

Quote Palindromedary:Love the new look of the web site! No more bluesssss!!
Palindromedary ~ Yeah! I guess you could say Thom "walked his blues away."

WE WANT OUR POST NUMBERS BACK! PLLLLEEEEEEEZZZZZZ!

DAnneMarc: I do see what you mean now. A work around till, or if, this is changed: One thing you can do to refer to a specific comment is to hover your cursor over the time (in blue) that follows the commenter's name and then note the last number (eg: #279641...That's Alice in Wonderland's last comment) that displays in the lower left then use that number as the reference to the comment. Or, you can right click and copy link location then paste it in your comment and then delete everything but the number. When the person reads your comment all he/she has to do is to hover their cursor over the time (in blue) following each comment, look in the lower left to see if that matches the number. It may not be as easy as before but it is a work around.
Another way to do it is to just quote a very short phrase (you don't have to quote the whole thing)...and then it would be relatively easy for people to do a page search for that specific phrase. It should take you right to the quote.

There is an active discussion going on over at the Community blog site where Nigel, the Webmaster, is responding to various comments about the new changes.
http://www.thomhartmann.com/forum/2014/08/new-website-design

DAnneMarc: Could be because I am using Mozilla Firefox Rev 31...the latest update? Just a guess. But, whenever I type a word that isn't spelled right, I get a wavy red line under my misspelled word. I can also copy and paste from LibreOffice Writer into the Comment area and it spell checks also. But that is only if I either have Thomhartmann.com blocked in NoScript which defaults to "disable rich-text"...or...if I enable Thomhartmann.com in NoScript and then disable rich-text. When rich-text is enabled, spell check doesn't work when I copy and paste from LibreOffice Writer or from notepad or when I type into the comment area. With rich-text disabled, I get spell check from copy and paste from LibreOffice Writer or from notepad or typing in to the comment area.

Palin, I tried hovering my cursor over the time next to my name and all it does is turn from blue to red. No number. - AIW

When you hover your cursor over the blue time the url should show up in the area in your lower left corner of your browser window...at least it does in mine..and I am using Mozilla Firefox rev 31...the latest. It disappears when you take the cursor off of the blue time. You should also be able to right click on the blue time and then select "copy url" then you can paste it in the comment box or on a text or word processor program.

this is just to get of the # new comments

Blue to red, Palin. That's it. Thanks anyway. - AIW

Aliceinwonderland ~ Palindromedary is right. You get a little black box by the left most corner of the screen with the URL and blog post number at the end of it. It is a six digit number that is absolutely useless. Sure it identifies your post if you happen to find it and hover over it; however, it is not in numerical order. For instance, Palindromedary's post number above is 279674. Chuckle8's post right below it is number 279722. WTF Like that makes any sense. Logically it should be 279675; but, it is not. For that reason this system sucks. It is unnecessarily difficult to use when a simple blog number next to the post resolves the problem without hovering or guessing. I wouldn't waste my time with it unless you were desperate. I'd take the advice in Palindromedary's other post and complain to Nigel the webmaster. That is exactly what I intend to do right now.

Aliceinwonderland ~ I just left a message for Nigel about the post numbers. Palindromedary already mentioned it in another post on that thread and Nigel responded that they were going to look into it. I suggested they incorporate the post number format for that particular website design community blog. You should check it out. Their post numbers are quite pronounced and clear. They would work exceptionally well here.
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Another kind of "inversion" is taking place right now over in Iraq. The bad old ISIS is being played up in our main stream media as being worse than Al Qaida because they are beheading people in Iraq who won't convert to the extremist's brand of religion right on the spot. They are also now using the "g" word...genocide. So now, they are sending in the bombs to hit "select" targets. Yeah, we know just how "select" bombing can be..don't we! But this isn't enough for people like Peter King, and other right-wing war mongers, who would be happy to see our boys fighting and dying and killing yet more innocent civilians in Iraq once again.
Problem with this is that, unless you have short memory, the US was/is aiding Al Qaida in Syria when Al Qaida was cutting off heads of those non-muslims in Syria who would not convert to Islam on the spot, as well. I didn't hear an uproar from the US presstitutes nor condemnation from our political leaders to the tune of sending in bombs to kill Al Qaida in Syria. They just kept on funding them and Al Qaida just kept on lopping off heads.
See how messy things can get when the US thinks it has the right and might to overturn other countries affairs. The High and Mighty greedy bastards who want to control all the oil and other resources just can't keep their peckers to themselves. They have to rape over the rest of the whole world before they are satisfied.
The US should have left Saddam in power when there was a fairly stable government. Everything bad that is happening in the world right now has been caused by US intervention and manipulations.