Who the hell cares about causality anyways?

VAT! VAT! VAT!

 

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RAPE RAPE RAPE!


oh wait..

President Barack Obama's proposed 2012 budget, to be released February 14, is expected to revive proposals to reform tax rules on U.S.-based multinational businesses that encourage outsourcing investments and employment overseas. Obama's 2011 budget similarly aimed to crack down on multinationals' tax-shelter abuses, which critics say divert funds needed to address the U.S. debt burden. Congress is divided on the issue, and similar proposals by the administration previously failed to pass Congress. Some Democratic lawmakers, along with union representatives, believe the proposals will help address a weak job market and troubling budget deficits. But Republican lawmakers, other Democrats, and industry representatives fear higher taxes on U.S.-based multinationals will lead to an exodus of business, investment, and jobs. They argue that multinationals' overseas operations support increased domestic investment and hiring by decreasing companies' costs, expanding their foreign-customer base, and increasing domestic demand for higher-skilled labor.
The Role of Multinationals in the U.S. Economy

The influence of U.S.-based multinationals on U.S. jobs and tax revenues has become an increasing concern for U.S. policymakers and the public. A 2006 paper (PDF) by Kenneth Scheve and CFR's Matthew Slaughter noted over two-thirds of Americans think companies sending jobs overseas is a major reason why the economy is ailing. In a March 2009 paper (PDF), Harvard economist Mihir Desai said more recent polling data suggest those feelings have heightened. In September 2010, the U.S. Senate Democrats introduced legislation to eliminate tax breaks that ship jobs overseas (TheHill). The bill was voted down by Republican lawmakers.

"A lot of jobs are shifting to developing countries like China because a company doesn't want to pay American wages and benefits or operate under health and safety regulations." -- Thea Lee

Employment by U.S. firms in emerging economies including China, Malaysia, and Singapore has grown rapidly in recent years, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (PDF). Employment by U.S. firms in China, for example, grew 153 percent between 2003 and 2008, the most recent year available. U.S. jobs in Asia account for about one-fourth of total employment by U.S. firms abroad. However, multinationals' share of U.S. GDP has remained relatively constant (PDF) since the early 1990s, accounting for roughly $3.5 trillion in goods and services in 2006, about 26 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (comprehensive data on U.S. multinational companies generally lags current events by several years).
Multinationals' Impact on U.S. Jobs

Obama's tax proposals are based on the idea that multinational tax changes can improve U.S. job growth, with a portion of the tax revenues raised by removing multinationals' overseas tax advantages going to create a permanent tax credit on domestic research and innovation.


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You want to fix the problems, get rid of the effing Republicans.

 

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No kidding they don't want to pay American wages, they're far too high if you ever want to hope to remain competitive. The problem is the cost of operation in the US. All this proposal would do is remove the one solution available.

I think the government can change, and perhaps "fix" the economy because people who are more knowledgable than I in such matters have stated it can be done.


Some economists suggest more taxing and spending; some advocate less. Some use mathematical models and historical evidence to come to their conclusions; some use praxeology.


If you want real answers on what they suggest, read stuff by both Paul Krugman and Tom Sargent. You'll get both sides of the story, each of which gives rational explanations on how government intervention affects the economy.

 

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if only there was a way to make government rational!

 

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capitalism is on the way out, you think moving jobs to other countries is bad? in 20 or 30 years robots will replace sweat shop workers, then everyone will be out of work. capitalism doesn't work with 50% worldwide unemployment

 

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my old company, small paper company, only remains in business to keep people working.
owners really are a stand up people, they used to make a fortune until one of their products failed so instead of getting rid of an entire plant worth of employees, they move a product line to the US from China.

they lost a bunch on the move, but everyone kept their job.
now, they barely make a profit, and luckily the people realize that. when i left they were talking about unionizing...they would NOT have jobs if they did.

it's a shame there are not more companies like that.

 

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because deregulation is what got us here in the first place, and if they weren't busy stuffing moneyz in lobbyist donations in their pockets instead of doing their job, to represent the people that elected them, we wouldn't be in this mess.

 

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