tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post5487826356042188489..comments2024-01-17T00:45:37.075-08:00Comments on Bud Meyers: Infrastructure Spending at Historically Lowest LevelBud Meyershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-61044300268923113262015-12-15T08:53:27.821-08:002015-12-15T08:53:27.821-08:00Bernie Sanders is proposing a $1 trillion infrastr...Bernie Sanders is proposing a $1 trillion infrastructure plan over five years.<br /><br />http://www.budget.senate.gov/democratic/public/index.cfm/2015/1/investing-in-infrastructure-will-support-13-million-jobs<br /><br />Bernie Sanders campaign cited a Joint Committee on Taxation estimate for Sanders’s Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act, which would raise more than $113 billion over the next decade, as well as an $900 billion estimate in the tax lawyer’s letter for the cost of the “tax expenditure” that allows U.S. corporations to defer paying U.S. tax on their foreign earnings until that income is repatriated.<br /><br />http://www.scribd.com/doc/289668329/JCT-Partial-Revenue-Estimate-Corporate-Tax-Dodging-Prevention-Act-3<br /><br />Bernie's plan will create as many as 13 million jobs. This number is derived from a White House Council of Economic Advisers estimate that every $1 billion in federal highway and transit investment would support 13,000 jobs for one year.<br /><br />http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/otps/pubs/impacts/<br /><br />The Washingtomn Post: "Bernie Sanders can make a credible case that he can fund his $1 trillion infrastructure program over a 10 year period by taxing the profits of U.S. corporations now held in low-tax tax havens — and that such a spending plan could result in 13 million jobs."<br /><br />https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/16/bernie-sanderss-claims-about-his-1-trillion-infrastructure-plan/Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-67975195228992618742015-12-15T08:46:49.258-08:002015-12-15T08:46:49.258-08:00Here is a link to a report from the American Socie...Here is a link to a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (a group with a vested interest in more infrastructure investment). On page 67 lists the cost to improve America's infrastructure at $3.6 Trillion to lift USA's infrastructure from C and D grades.<br /><br />http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/documents/2013-Report-Card.pdf Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-72240428377298835952015-11-24T14:11:44.276-08:002015-11-24T14:11:44.276-08:00In Switzerland is the world's longest rail tun...In Switzerland is the world's longest rail tunnel -- straight through the Alps.<br /><br />http://www.globalrailnews.com/2014/12/15/start-date-set-for-gotthard-base-tunnel-rail-services/<br /><br />Italy now boasts Europe's fastest high-speed train.<br /><br />http://www.globalrailnews.com/2014/12/05/ansaldobreda-to-maintain-frecciarossa-1000-fleet/<br /><br />China, in collaboration with Russia and the European Union, has a plan for connecting Eurasia -- constructing a new "silk road" for the 21st Century. <br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/10/silk-railway-freight-train-from-china-pulls-into-madrid<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-12981841136800709952015-10-23T09:27:33.479-07:002015-10-23T09:27:33.479-07:00UPDATE --- OCT 23, 2015 --- Paul Krugman:
"S...UPDATE --- OCT 23, 2015 --- Paul Krugman:<br /><br />"Since 2010 public investment has been falling as a share of G.D.P. in both Europe and the United States, and it’s now well below pre-crisis levels. Why? The elite opinion somehow coalesced around the view that deficits, not high unemployment and weak growth, were the great problem facing policy makers. There was never any evidence for this view ... Austerity rhetoric comes naturally to right-wing politicians, who are always arguing that we can’t afford to help the poor and unlucky (although somehow we’re able to afford tax cuts for the rich.)"<br /><br />http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2015/10/paul-krugman-keynes-comes-to-canada.html<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-18019029056537908472015-03-16T12:28:37.338-07:002015-03-16T12:28:37.338-07:00For Dean Baker:
When Human Labor becomes Obsolet...For Dean Baker:<br /><br /> When Human Labor becomes Obsolete<br /><br />An automation engineer might be one of the safest jobs of the future — designing software for robots with artificial intelligence and bots — to put everyone else out of work.<br /><br />http://bud-meyers.blogspot.com/2014/08/when-human-labor-becomes-obsolete.html<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-18098354868304487182015-03-13T11:31:56.884-07:002015-03-13T11:31:56.884-07:00Roosevelt Institute:The Disconnect Between Corpora...Roosevelt Institute:The Disconnect Between Corporate Borrowing and Investment: <br /><br />"In the new rentier-dominated model, more money coming in means more money flowing out to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks."<br /><br />http://rooseveltinstitute.org/policy-and-ideas/big-ideas/disgorge-cashBud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-46911790224521804672015-03-13T06:44:48.872-07:002015-03-13T06:44:48.872-07:00U.S. Companies Are Stashing $2.1 Trillion Overseas...U.S. Companies Are Stashing $2.1 Trillion Overseas to Avoid Taxes<br /><br />http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-04/u-s-companies-are-stashing-2-1-trillion-overseas-to-avoid-taxesBud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-83875249994356740212015-03-11T12:37:26.946-07:002015-03-11T12:37:26.946-07:00UPDATE: Robert Reich (March 2015) "The 3 Bigg...UPDATE: Robert Reich (March 2015) "The 3 Biggest Myths"<br /> <br />1. The “job creators” are CEOs, corporations, and the rich, whose taxes must be low in order to induce them to create more jobs. <br /><br />Rubbish. The real job creators are the vast middle class and the poor, whose spending induces businesses to create jobs. Which is why raising the minimum wage, extending overtime protection, enlarging the Earned Income Tax Credit, and reducing middle-class taxes are all necessary.<br /> <br />2. The critical choice is between the “free market” or “government.”<br /><br />Baloney. The free market doesn’t exist in nature. It’s created and enforced by government. And all the ongoing decisions about how it’s organized – what gets patent protection and for how long (the human genome?), who can declare bankruptcy (corporations? homeowners? student debtors?), what contracts are fraudulent (insider trading?) or coercive (predatory loans? mandatory arbitration?), and how much market power is excessive (Comcast and Time Warner?) – depend on government.<br /> <br />3. We should worry most about the size of government.<br /><br />Wrong. We should worry about who government is for. When big money from giant corporations and Wall Street inundate our politics, all decisions relating to #1 and #2 above become rigged against average working Americans. <br /><br />Source:<br />http://robertreich.org/post/113280648985<br /> Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.com