From Addicting Info: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/12/08/job-destroying-ceos-demand-even-bigger-tax-breaks-to-fix-the-debt/
By David K. Keene
2012/12/08
Some of America’s most powerful CEOs have banded together to push for solutions to America’s “debt problem.” Generally speaking, when these guys decide to put big money into a political and PR campaign, we should all be sure to look under the hood and see what’s really going on.
When it comes to “Fix the Debt,” the corporate-funded campaign pushing for “pro-growth” tax reform favoring even more giveaways to large corporations, there is good reason to be worried. A Salon.com expose, posted on December 8th, 2012, takes a close look at some of the people and companies behind Fix the Debt. Given that the premise behind the organization’s message is that if you throw tax breaks at big corporations, they’ll create jobs and grow the economy, it’s worth looking at their records of… well, doing exactly that. Since they also argue that debt reduction should come from spending cuts – particularly on programs that support seniors and the indigent, such as Social Security and Medicare – it’s also worthwhile to see what kind of sacrifices the top executives at these firms have been willing to make in their own right on behalf of the debt-reduction cause.
It should surprise no one to discover that each of the five top sponsors of Fix the Debt have taken the extremely generous tax breaks they’ve been awarded by Uncle Sam in the past and – yes, you guessed it – eliminated tens of thousands of American jobs. Nor will it likely shock you to find that as their companies were slashing payrolls for their workers, the executives in charge were rewarding themselves with generous pay packages. Still, even the most jaded among us might get a sour taste in our mouths to learn that these CEOs have the chutzpah to push for cuts to Social Security and Medicare (out of sincere concern for America’s growing national debt, no doubt), even as they award themselves retirement packages that would pay them many multiples of what the average senior gets per year… every month.
My personal favorite? David Cote, at Honeywell, which has cut 4,000 U.S. jobs while creating more than 10,000 overseas, all while enjoying an average effective U.S. tax rate of negative 14.8% between 2009-2011. According to Salon,
Cote has $78 million in his Honeywell retirement accounts, enough to qualify for monthly retirement checks of $428,000 starting at age 65. In contrast the average retiree receives just $1,237 a month from Social Security.
Even more galling, Honeywell, under Cote’s leadership, is lobbying hard for still more corporate tax cuts. Salon goes on to note:
Continue reading at: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/12/08/job-destroying-ceos-demand-even-bigger-tax-breaks-to-fix-the-debt/
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