2012 State of the Union address: on Corporations
Jill Stein:
Corporate elite richer than ever, but pay less tax than ever
While the economy does not work for the vast majority, it does work for a few; at least for now. The owners of the big corporations are enjoying historic profits, with a record $2 trillion in cash reserves at home and $1.4 trillion overseas.
Though the corporate elite are richer than ever, they are contributing less than ever to the tax base that keeps the infrastructure going that their profits rely on--schools, transportation, clean air and water, safe food, the legal system, the police,
and the military. In fact, 30 major corporations paid no corporate income tax at all over the last three years, despite making $160 billion in profits.
And the big banks--whose fraud and greed crashed the economy to start with--are bigger than ever, with the six biggest banks now controlling capital equivalent* to 60% of all economic activity in this country.
Source: Green Party 2012 People's State of the Union speech
Jan 25, 2012
Jill Stein:
Record profits-with politicians' help--caused the recession
To be clear: the greed for record profits is what got us into this mess in the first place. Of course it wasn't greed alone. It was the capture of both political parties by Wall Street and other powerful corporations that buy influence with campaign
contributions and lobbyists. Using this routine currency of American policy making, Democrats and Republicans alike dismantled protections against waste, fraud and abuse by Wall Street. This bipartisan cooperation enabled greed to crash the economy.
That not only killed jobs, it also depressed tax revenues--which has been one of the biggest drivers of the federal deficit. That deficit has also been made worse by unconscionable spending choices: notably the 4 trillion dollars spent on illegal wars
and bailouts for Wall Street. And now, the political establishment are making matters far worse, doing the opposite of what we need, by inflicting needless, harsh austerity policies on the country.
Source: Green Party 2012 People's State of the Union speech
Jan 25, 2012
Jill Stein:
Make all corporate tax subsidies transparent
We will honor that oldest of American rights, the right to fair taxation that's distributed in proportion to ability to pay. And we will make any corporate tax subsidies transparent by putting these subsidies in public budgets where they can be
scrutinized, not hidden as tax breaks in complicated tax codes.
In honoring these rights we will create the basis for a new economy--an economy that is stable and not vulnerable to speculation--an economy that is prosperous and that pays for itself through the creation of real wealth that is distributed throughout
America--an economy that is no longer dragged down by big corporations preying on the elderly, the poor, the disabled, the unemployed, and the young, but which instead supports small business, individual liberty, and local, thriving communities.
Source: Green Party 2012 People's State of the Union speech
Jan 25, 2012
Barack Obama:
We bailed out auto industry, but today they're back
On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to
settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world's number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the US than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in US plants and
factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs.We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity. And tonight, the American auto industry is back. What's happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. We can't
bring back every job that's left our shores. But right now, it's getting more expensive to do business in places like China. Meanwhile, America is more productive. We have a huge opportunity to bring manufacturing back. But we have to seize it.
Source: 2012 State of the Union speech
Jan 24, 2012
Barack Obama:
End deduction for outsourcing jobs; tax outsourcing instead
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.- If
you're a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn't get a tax deduction for doing it. That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies that decide to bring jobs home.
- 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.
- If you're an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. And if you want to relocate in a community
that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help.
My message is simple. It's time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America.
Source: 2012 State of the Union speech
Jan 24, 2012
Page last updated: Feb 24, 2019