tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post6942095701568921943..comments2023-10-22T09:18:16.885-04:00Comments on Far and Wide: An Economy Out Of BalanceSteve Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-43572104058979465662011-11-07T17:04:26.670-05:002011-11-07T17:04:26.670-05:00If I remember correctly, the main argument for cor...If I remember correctly, the main argument for corporate tax cuts was not that corporations already in Canada would spend more and in the process create more jobs. It was rather that corporate tax cuts would give Canada a comparative advantage. Canada would have a lower corporate tax rates than other countries and so corporations will set up shop here and not elsewhere. The problem with engaging in a corporate tax cut arms race (and Canada was by no means the only participate) was that everybody ends up cutting their own throats. Furthermore, there are a whole host unintended consequences. For example: "Munir Sheikh, former head of Statistics Canada, and former associate deputy minister of finance, has shown that the real winner of Canadian corporate tax cuts is the U.S.<br /><br />Tax cuts here give corporations bigger profits and because the U.S. corporate tax rate is about twice as high as ours, U.S. corporations in Canada then just pay more American tax on their Canadian profits. This transfer from Canadian to U.S. treasuries amounts to $4-6 billion a year."<br /><br /><br />One thing sky high corporate profits give lie to is Republican claim that corporations are not spending because they are being regulated and taxed too heavily. Corporations are not spending because there is a lack of demand full stop.Kobyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03407275645274060038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-5272487304057133092011-11-04T12:36:31.222-04:002011-11-04T12:36:31.222-04:00Actually, when we first began corporate tax cuts w...Actually, when we first began corporate tax cuts we weren't competitive at all, and it was somewhat warranted. However, there came a point where Canada became quite attractive, quite competitive, stacked up well against other jurisdictions, but we carried on in a "race to the bottom". This is why I titled the post "out of balance", because we've gone to far to one side of the equation.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-59057023867458275092011-11-04T09:26:35.364-04:002011-11-04T09:26:35.364-04:00I think, unfortunately for Liberals, that this is ...I think, unfortunately for Liberals, that this is a natural conclusion of Paul Martin's corporate economics which was continued by the explicit cooperation between Liberals and the Harper government for years. And it will, of course, continue in ernest under the current government. Meanwhile the Liberal Party still tells us that lowering corporate taxes is a good idea and have no significant economic policies that address the exponential increases in corporate profits and the incredible expansion of the prosperity of the wealthiest. This is not to suggest that there are no differences between the LPC and CPC or that the LPC wouldn't, in these troubled times, be at least incrementally better than the CPC. But it seems clear to me that the global capitalist system is in the midst of the most significant crisis it has faced since the 1930s, and it is time for reforms and controls on the global corporate economy which are commensurate with the types of reforms we saw seventy-five years ago. Unfortunately, it may have to get a lot worse before such reforms come because the corporate structure is significantly more powerful than it was in the '30s and their control of the media ensures that people are convinced that we cannot force corporations to bow to the power of the people. <br /><br />So it goes.Kirbycairohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17528654183160305877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-37270028001545849652011-11-04T08:46:29.804-04:002011-11-04T08:46:29.804-04:00And on the other hand, not only is the cooperative...And on the other hand, not only is the cooperative movement surviving,and thriving, but they actually hire people.<br /><br />Liberals need to understand the cooperative economy is the only alternative to a corporatist one, the only one that operates with ethics and principles, everything else is just gangster capitalism, or vanishing small enterprise. <br />In fact, cooperatives around the world provide over 100 million jobs, 20% more than corporations.Jerry Pragerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com