Jim Hightower's Lowdown

How the corporate plutocracy works


Listen Later

An old political truism notes that, “Where there’s a will, there are 1,000 won’ts.”
And what a hurricane of won’ts swirled out of Washington’s power centers in March to pummel Joe Biden! Corporate lobbyists and their congressional hirelings howled at him for declaring that he would seek a tax increase on corporations to pay for the essential, overdue job of repairing and expanding our nation’s antiquated, dilapidated infrastructure. Blowhard Mitch McConnell, the GOP’s senate leader, blustered that poor corporate America should not be singled out to bear this “burden.”
But wait –Mitch singled out the corporate giants in 2017 to receive a massive cut in their tax rate, so even with a slight increase now they’ll still pay much less than regular people.
Also, the giants wormed loopholes in the law to cut their taxes further. Indeed, 55 of the biggest, most profitable corporations paid zero in US income taxes last. As Bernie Sanders points out: “If you paid $120 for a pair of [Nike] shoes, you paid more to Nike than it paid in federal income taxes over the past 3 years, while it made $4.1 billion in profits.”
Mitch and his fellow hypocrites cynically profess they support restoring America’s infrastructure – but, he says, asking our corporate political funders to pay more “is not going to get support from our side.”
So, who do they want to pay for it? You. Working people and the poor! Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican and a leader of Mitch’s team, points to putting more user fees on drivers and adding taxes on consumers as the way to go.
To see a list of other major corporate scofflaws who’ve been pocketing billions in profits, yet paying zilch for the upkeep of America, go to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: ITEP.org.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Jim Hightower's LowdownBy Jim Hightower

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

334 ratings


More shows like Jim Hightower's Lowdown

View all
On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,071 Listeners

CounterSpin by Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting

CounterSpin

493 Listeners

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy by BestOfTheLeft.com

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

3,359 Listeners

Ring of Fire Radio with Farron Cousins by Audio Matters LLC

Ring of Fire Radio with Farron Cousins

478 Listeners

Ralph Nader Radio Hour by Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader Radio Hour

1,173 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,582 Listeners

The Nation Podcasts by The Nation Magazine

The Nation Podcasts

395 Listeners

The DSR Network by The DSR Network

The DSR Network

1,729 Listeners

The Hartmann Report by Thom Hartmann

The Hartmann Report

1,356 Listeners

The Atlantic Interview by The Atlantic

The Atlantic Interview

1,743 Listeners

Gaslit Nation by Andrea Chalupa

Gaslit Nation

3,953 Listeners

The Al Franken Podcast by ASF Productions

The Al Franken Podcast

8,678 Listeners

Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast by WNYC Studios

Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

678 Listeners

The PoliticsGirl Podcast by Meidas Media Network, Leigh McGowan

The PoliticsGirl Podcast

4,128 Listeners

Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson

Letters from an American

4,980 Listeners