Day: December 29, 2020

Closing Thought–29Dec20

AS this year of 2020 comes to end we find that one president will be shown the door and a new one will enter that same door and do what is that presidents do…..make the rich richer……

But as the Trump years come to an end I think back to the emoluments clause in the Constitution…..

The Constitutional Provisions……The Constitution mentions emoluments in three provisions, each sometimes referred to as the “Emoluments Clause”:

The Foreign Emoluments Clause(art. I, § 9, cl. 8):“[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

The Domestic Emoluments Clause(a.k.a.the Presidential Emoluments Clause) (art. II, § 1, cl.7): “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”

The Ineligibility Clause(art. I, § 6, cl. 2): “No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time;and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.”

I bring this up because of something I read about donors and Pres. Trump…..

President Donald Trump’s donors — the vast majority of whom are working-class supporters and retirees contributing just a few dollars a month — put $10.5 million into the erstwhile billionaire’s own personal businesses over the course of his presidency, a HuffPost analysis found.

Some $8.5 million came from the Trump campaign and related entities that Trump controls directly. Another $2 million came from other Republican candidates and committees.

Through a trust that he controls, Trump owns the hotels, golf courses and buildings that received the money, with every penny of profit flowing to him personally.

Since losing reelection to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has continued his fundraising, with the vast majority of the money going into a virtual slush fund that Trump can legally use for just about any purpose — from McDonald’s Quarter Pounders to jet fuel for his airplane to hush money payments to women.

“If you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If you’re Donald Trump, everything looks like a chance to make money,” said Jordan Libowitz with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group that has filed multiple lawsuits to obtain details of government spending at Trump’s businesses.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-self-dealing-campaign-slush-fund-donations_n_5fe7b503c5b6acb534585c51

So you decide….a violation or not.

I read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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Will ‘Trickle Down’ Return?

For about fifty years the Repubs have promised with every tax cut that it would miraculously help the working class in the long run. Well that was a lie….and the working class is still waiting for the ‘trickle down’ effect promised.

And now that the GOP is out of favor I expect that there will be more calls for tax cuts to pay for all the assistance that was given to the country….including the wealthy that did not need the help.

I have given my thoughts on this BS and every time the GOP offered it is accepted….and now I try again to prevent bullshit from becoming policy.

My original posts…..

https://lobotero.com/2008/10/09/the-humor-that-is-trickle-down-economics/

https://lobotero.com/2011/06/24/trickle-up-economics/

Now that we have a new president I suspect the calls for massive tax cuts will begin in January 2021 by the GOP and its minions.

Neoliberal gospel says that cutting taxes on the wealthy will eventually benefit everyone by boosting economic growth and reducing unemployment, but a new analysis of fiscal policies in 18 countries over the last 50 years reveals that progressive critics of “trickle down” theory have been right all along: supply-side economics fuels inequality, and the real beneficiaries of the right-wing approach to taxation are the super-rich.

The Economic Consequences of Major Tax Cuts for the Rich(pdf), a working paper published this month by the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics and written by LSE’s David Hope and Julian Limberg of King’s College London, examines data from nearly 20 OECD countries, including the U.K. and the U.S., and finds that the past five decades have been characterized by “falling taxes on the rich in the advanced economies,” with “major tax cuts… particularly clustered in the late 1980s.”

But, according to Hope and Limberg, the vast majority of the populations in those countries have little to show for it, as the benefits of slashing taxes on the wealthy are concentrated among a handful of super-rich individuals—not widely shared across society in the form of improved job creation or prosperity, as “trickle down” theorists alleged would happen.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/16/study-50-years-tax-cuts-rich-confirms-trickle-down-theory-absolute-sham

It is ALL a lie….there has never been any benefit for the working class from so-called ‘trickle down’ economics.

Just wait….the calls for wealthy tax cuts will begin again now that there is a Dem in the White House and can watch the middle class dissolve a little more.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

More Stim News

After Trump renigged on his veto of the new economic stim package it has moved forward….and the peasants danced…..

But it looks like the GOP in Congress will yet work against the best interest of the American people…

House Democrats’ attempt to consider $2,000 stimulus checks has officially been blocked by their Republican colleagues in the lower chamber, despite President Donald Trump’s support for this very measure.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Thursday requested “unanimous consent” to pass a new bill guaranteeing these payments after Trump demanded that stimulus checks in the final coronavirus relief package be increased from $600 to $2,000. Trump’s request — an apparent political stunt — has now been blocked by members of his own party.

Because Hoyer asked for unanimous consent to bring the standalone bill to a vote, and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy did not consent, the measure did not move forward. House Democrats plan to bring it up again for a recorded vote next Monday, when they are likely to face more GOP opposition. Senate Republican leadership hasn’t made any moves to consider the proposal, either.

https://www.vox.com/2020/12/24/22197748/stimulus-checks-2000-congress-trump-pelosi-mcconnell

As predicted the House did the right thing and now it will move to the Senate and we know what they think of most Americans….

The House voted Monday to send Americans who qualify $2,000, agreeing with President Trump that the $600 called for in the recently approved pandemic stimulus package is inadequate. Trump had threatened to veto that legislation, which included money to keep the government operating, before signing it Sunday night. The measure passed the House 275-134, the Washington Post reports, with 44 Republicans voting in favor and 130 against. Democrats tried to approve the higher amounts last week. “We could’ve passed the bill four days ago, but our colleagues on the other side went against the president’s wishes and blocked it,” said Democratic Rep. Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. But the legislation still has a long way to go.

The full Senate might not even consider the measure, Politico reports. Although a few Senate Republicans have endorsed the $2,000 payments, more have opposed the idea. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t committed either way since Trump brought the issue up again. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to bring the bill up Tuesday, but a single senator could block it. The measure would need 60 votes to pass, and a roll call vote could take days to schedule. President-elect Joe Biden said Monday he supports the idea; President Trump didn’t say anything Monday. Schumer addressed the president anyway in a news conference. “Talking is not enough,” he told Trump. “Act. Get on the phone and get those Republicans in the Senate to support $2,000 in relief.”

Any bets on the final results?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Iraq Runs Out Of Gas

I wish I was writing about the end of the Iraq War but sadly that will go on and on…..but this time I am writing about Iraq’s use of nat gas for the society.

I recently read an article about Iraq that I found odd….especially for a country with massive oil reserves.

Iraq’s capital Baghdad and other cities are at risk of serious power shortages after Iran slashed gas exports, the electricity ministry said on Sunday, potentially placing further pressure on the government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

Iran has reduced gas exports to Iraq to five million cubic metres from 50 million cubic metres two weeks ago citing unpaid bills, a ministry spokesman said.

It also officially informed Iraq’s electricity ministry on Sunday that it plans to cut shipments further to three million cubic metres, the spokesman said.

Iraq has lost around 6,550 megawatts of electricity, spokesman Ahmed Moussa said.

Iraq’s daily consumption during peak hours of winter reaches around 19,000 megawatts while the country generates around 11,000 megawatts, replying on imports to fill the gap, he said.

(reuters.com)

Seriously?

A country with millions of barrels of oil reserves and they need to import energy from Iran……Why?

Iraq cannot afford to heat or any domestic energy….could it have anything to do with 2008 and the return of big oil to Iraq?

I know…what?

This explains what I am talking about……https://lobotero.com/2008/06/20/big-oil-to-return-to-iraq/

The deals are that big oil returns and they run off with most of the profits….thanx to something called a “PSA”…..and I educated my readers about this as well….https://lobotero.com/2007/03/11/who-gets-iraqs-oil/

If for some unknown reason you would like another take on what happened to Iraq’s oil….then maybe this will satisfy your curiosity….https://theconversation.com/iraq-what-happened-to-the-oil-after-the-war-62188

Now I ask why if there is so much oil in Iraq why they cannot produce crude and nat gas for their consumption?

Does their lack of sufficient energy for the nation have anything to do with big oil and the PSA or is it the prices are too low for the production to be profitable?

The most important is….why would a nation with massive oil reserves need to import energy from another oil producing country?

Time for Iraq to be in control of their own reserves…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”