Tales From The Crypt - Tax Cuts and Bond Markets Edition

Markets screeched in horror at the mere mention of conservative ideas like tax cuts, a GOP "free market" and glibertarian favorite stump speech talking point that should be laid to rest permanently:

For the past several months, we've been told by various Serious People that European governments were being punished by markets for being too lavish on social spending, despite bond rates being at record lows (other than in peripheral countries subject to more specific attacks) - or would be punished if they didn't "reform" and lower taxes. The same has been promoted in the US, via the Catfood Commission and the whole noise machine against deficits and stimulus packages... Well, the US government did just what the Serious People wanted, with a nice fat tax cut for the rich, and bond rates jumped - ie markets actually literally hated the measures, selling off US bonds violently.

Bwahahaha! RIP conservative tax cut kool-aid.
Considering al Qaeda's stated goals of destroying America economically... This kind of puts the conservative ideology of never-ending tax cuts firmly in the arsenal of a terrorist's financial Weapons of Mass Destruction (right up there with Credit Derivatives and Credit Default swaps) and those that support them... Well? In the words of an American idiot, "if you aren't with us, yer against us."

Support The Troops - Pay Your Taxes

Connecticut Man1

It is the tax deadline and this stuff is pretty self explanatory.

You pay taxes and they get beans, bullets and valuable training that might just save their lives. When you want tax cut after tax cut? The active duty soldiers serving overseas, in training here or elsewhere and the veterans that have served are the ones that pay the price. You may not want to believe that but it is true.

First UBS Client Goes Down: Rubinstein

According to the NY Times, the first of UBS' tax evading client list is being charged:

The client, Steven Michael Rubinstein, an accountant, was arrested in Boca Raton, Fla., and charged with one criminal count of filing a false and fraudulent tax return, according to court papers unsealed on Thursday.

The arrest is the first of a major American client of UBS, which has been under criminal investigation for helping scores of wealthy Americans evade taxes through secret offshore accounts that went unreported to the Internal Revenue Service. It signals that federal authorities are making good on a promise to pursue American clients suspected of tax evasion, and in some cases to make indictments.

The money hidden away for him by UBS? Around $6,000,000.00.

Mr. Rubinstein had an account with UBS worth at least $6 million, including stock and gold coins worth $2 million, according to court papers filed in Federal District Court in Fort Lauderdale. He holds both United States and South African passports.

The gold coinage were South African Krugerrands.

There only about 19,000 more tax delinquents to go.

Meanwhile, never forget that Phil Gramm was on the receiving end of an orchestrated McCain campaign Friday Night Dump during the elections because of his lobbying and working directly for UBS.

In Short:

Yes.

GOP Votes Against Biggest Tax Cut In History

And the GOP is clueless as to what just happened:

The compromise stimulus plan includes $282 billion in tax cuts over two years.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Bush's first two years of tax cuts amounted to $174 billion. A second batch in 2004 and 2005 cost $231. And those were thought to be bigger than the tax cuts offered by Reagan, Kennedy or others.

As much as I was against most of the tax cuts, since we really need the money to bail out the failed republican economy of the bush years, it will be entertaining to watch the far right wing try to explain this.

[update] Just something fun to do when you are a sometime insomniac:



[ed. Note] Originally posted - 2/14/2009 12:52:00 AM Bump.

Daschle pulls his name...

On the heels of Killefer withdrawing her name to be the first chief performance officer... Obama accepts Daschle's withdrawal from consideration as health care Czar due to his tax embarrassment.

Good! We don't need junk like them. Geitner should offer his resignation, as well.

[update] Who will replace Daschle? As much as many in the left have put out this name... Don't make it Dean. He wants the Obama approach too:

Excusing the pun in light of the recent troubles in the auto industry, Dean said the reform doesn't have to be a Cadillac; it can start simply. "It's a false debate whether we should have a single payer or not. That's not the issue. What matters is, how [reform] evolves. We have to proceed at a pace of comfort for the American people."

Americans want single payer NOW!

I doubt it would be him, anyways, given the rift between him and Obama's inner circle. If Obama were really honest about a team of adversaries? Kucinich or Conyers comes to mind...

It is a rare day indeed

It is a very rare day when I click over to dKos and almost every single diary on the recommended list is about issues that are so serious I would recommend reading almost every single one. Too often the rec list is littered with the type of "rah-rah Democratic party cheerleading" junk and campaign fund raising that, while compatible to Markos stated goals for the site, are of little interest to everyone that is not in the Democratic party and that read and participate there simply because of the high quality thinking that gets put into so many issues.

Yeah... I know that we just got out of an election cycle and that is the main reason it has been so long since this is the case, but take a look at the diaries here:

Recommended Diaries (at dKos)

Criminally Investigating Not the Problem, But Rather the Person Who Raised the Problem
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"Mom, why did the Rabbi Lie?"
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The Great Depression Pt. IV
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Riots have begun here in Oakland [many updates]
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Cut Social Security, Don't Tax The Rich: Where Is The Outrage?
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Minnesota recount judge slams WSJ editorial
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Have you lost your job and health insurance? Are you delaying care due to cost?
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I really am glad the elections are over!

The Real Reason For McCain's Friday Night Phil Gramm Dump

Stephen D reports on a Phil Gramm Friday night dump attributing Gramm's resignation from the McSame campaign to the "Americans are whiners!" comment. I think that is just cover for the more likely real reason:

UBS, LGT Helped Hide Assets, Evade Taxes, Senate Says

By David Voreacos and Carlyn Kolker

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG and Liechtenstein bank LGT Group aided rich U.S. clients who wanted to disguise ownership of accounts and evade taxes on hidden assets, a Senate subcommittee said.

UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, hid as much as $17.9 billion for 19,000 Americans who didn't declare assets to the Internal Revenue Service, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report released in Washington late yesterday. LGT, owned by Liechtenstein's ruling family, fostered a ``culture of secrecy and deception'' while assigning code names to U.S. clients, the panel said.

Remember that Phil Gram works for and lobbies for one arm of UBS in the USA. More below... And an interesting side note from similar article ABC story posted earlier before you get there:

A former UBS private banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, has agreed to a plea deal and is reported to be cooperating with US authorities in bring charges against American citizens on tax evasion charges.

As soon as I read that article linked out by jimstaro at ePM I figured there might be a link.
UBS is still Phil Gramm's gig, isn't it? So sayeth his Wiki:

"Gramm is a vice-chairman of UBS Investment Bank."

And we all know about McCain's lobbying troubles because of Gramm:

U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign faces questions regarding a top economic adviser's work for Swiss banking giant UBS Warburg.
Economist and former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm is vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank and has lobbied Congress on the company's behalf.
UBS has been hit hard by the U.S. housing and mortgage meltdowns.

Smoke >>> Fire? Might be worth fanning the flames a little? Face it... Calling Americans whiners is nothing compared to things that republican criminals typically do.

It would be interesting if Cindy McCain's (or one of her trusts') name was on that list of IRS tax dodgers, eh? That would clearly typify a republican circle jerk we have come to expect from the GOP these days. Nevermind the fact that Cindy McCain has a proven track record of not paying her taxes. And when there is a Friday Night Dump involving corrupt republicans and meant to distract the candy coated media from the real story, timing is everything.
idredit, over at Booman Tribune where this is x-posted, as well, chunked in the last piece I was about to go looking for.

you may be on to something here...

but it depends on the meaning of resign Gramm remains in the background as an advisor. But coupled with the UBS naughty naughty, there's the deep in the poop sub-prime debacle.

The Carpetbagger Report

Is Gramm gone, or is he only kinda sorta gone?
Yesterday, the McCain campaign disputed part of Novak’s report, saying that Gramm would no longer be a surrogate. But the report also said Gramm would advice McCain on economic matters, and on this, the campaign said nothing.

Gramm’s decision comes after word that, in his weekend column, Robert Novak was to report that the Gramm and McCain had talked subsequent to the ill-time remarks and that he’d stay on as a surrogate and adviser.
But McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said earlier today that Gramm would no longer represent the campaign.
Gramm’s move tonight appears to be a move to clarify his status. But when asked whether this meant he’d no longer advise or represent McCain, Bounds only said that it was Gramm’s decision to step down from his co-chair post.

So, it’s just another round of double-talk from McCain. First the campaign agrees with Gramm, then it doesn’t. Gramm is a surrogate, then he isn’t, then he is, then he isn’t. Gramm is an advisor, then he isn’t, then he might be.

I can understand the campaign’s embarrassment, but this is ridiculous. Gramm not only thinks we’re a “nation of whiners,” he’s also, more importantly, the man whose financial deregulation efforts made the market meltdown possible.

While Gramm's help in advancing banking deregulation is widely considered partially responsible for the Mortgage Crisis, you have to remember that his deregulation also made it easier for UBS to enter into all kinds of schemes that helped along their offering these illegal tax havens.

The deregulation is much bigger than just mortgages when you look at Gramm.

[update] Welcome to Crooks and Liars readers who may have made their way over here from Mike's Blog Roundup. And also thanks to idredit for saving me a lot of time in finding the last piece of a story that I was editing and building on the run.

Independent Republican Joe Lieberman Proposes New TAX

Independent Republican Senator Joe Lieberman proposes a "Military Industrial Complex TAX":

An outspoken supporter of the Iraq war on Tuesday called for a new tax to pay for its astronomical cost as Congress opened a debate on President George W. Bush's $2.9 trillion budget plan for next year.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut proposed a "war on terrorism tax" at a Senate hearing during which he said the Pentagon's $622 billion defense budget proposal for fiscal 2008 threatened to crowd out funds for domestic programs.

To clarify the matter for you Joe: There already is a massive tax for the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq... It is payed in the blood of Americans and Iraqis.

Independent Republican Joe Lieberman
addresses the Dead Elephant caucus of the GOP.