MORNING MESSAGE
...because
China, Germany and others run persistent trade surpluses, we run trade deficits.
We've run trade deficits every single year since the late 70s ... when we were
persuaded that "free trade" will be great for all of us. These nations use an
"export-oriented strategy to boost their manufacturing sectors," and "thrust
upon us" a trade deficit ... We could, as [Jared] Bernstein writes, put "issues
of excess savings back into the trade policy agenda," and ask other countries to
please do the right thing to bring the world's economy back into balance. Or we
could just move toward balanced trade policies with something like a "Buffett
Plan" approach that says, "if you want to sell to us you have to also buy from
us."
BALLOT INITIATIVES COULD MOVE AMERICA LEFT
Voters
poised to lift wages. American Prospect: “On the ballot in Washington state
is an initiative that will raise the minimum wage from its current level of
$9.47 an hour to $13.50 an hour by 2020. In Arizona, Colorado, and Maine, voters
will consider raising the bottom wages to $12 an hour by 2020. In Arizona and
Washington the measures that would establish mandatory paid sick leave. If
passed, the increased minimum wages impact more than 2.1 million low-wage
workers … most polls showing a majority of voters supporting the minimum wage
measures. Unions and progressive groups have poured millions of dollars into
ground operations while The Fairness Project, in additional to coming up with
financing, has provided local groups with data-driven voter targeting
models.”
CA
voters may increase taxes and limit drug prices. Bloomberg: “Californians
favor the measures to legalize marijuana, raise cigarette taxes and reinstate
the nation’s highest income tax on the wealthy, according to polls … The USC
poll found the measure on capping drug prices leading, while a majority were
opposed to ending the death penalty … Los Angeles County’s ballot includes
higher taxes for parks, public transit and housing for the homeless, while San
Diego’s includes a sales-tax increase to expand mass transit and preserve open
space. San Francisco voters will decide whether to increase their sales taxes,
impose a levy on sugared beverages, and issue bonds for affordable housing.”
TRUMP ACCUSED OF VOTER SUPPRESSION
Dems
file lawsuits against Trump charging conspiracy to suppress the vote. AP:
“Democrats are accusing Republicans and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign of
conspiring to intimidate voters in at least four states just days ahead of the
election. In each lawsuit, the state’s Democratic party is seeking court action
to preemptively block potential voter harassment or intimidation from Republican
poll watchers or other observers.”
The
Nation launches voter pledge effort: “… as Ari Berman has written at The
Nation, the real threat to our democracy lies not from non-existent voter fraud
but in voter suppression laws that threaten to prevent qualified citizens from
exercising their right … That’s why The Nation and the Brennan Center for
Justice have organized a voter pledge … The pledge asks Americans to take four
simple steps, including voting oneself and spreading the word about
866-OUR-VOTE, a hotline available for anyone who has trouble at the polls.”
TRUMP CHARGED WITH TAX AVOIDANCE IN TWO COUNTRIES
NYT
digs deeper into Trump’s tax avoidance strategy: “…newly obtained documents
show that in the early 1990s, as he scrambled to stave off financial ruin, Mr.
Trump avoided reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxable income by
using a tax avoidance maneuver so legally dubious his own lawyers advised him
that the Internal Revenue Service would most likely declare it improper if he
were audited. Thanks to this one maneuver, which was later outlawed by Congress,
Mr. Trump potentially escaped paying tens of millions of dollars … Among the
members of Congress who voted to finally close the loophole: Senator Hillary
Clinton of New York.”
“Trump
accused of tax fraud in Mexico” reports The Hill: “A Mexican government
official filed a federal criminal tax fraud complaint Friday against Donald
Trump in Tijuana, Mexico, related to Trump Ocean Resort, a real estate project
that folded in 2009 … The complaint alleges that the development avoided paying
taxes in Mexico on pre-development sales, which reportedly topped $32.5
million.”
EU
begins corporate tax overhaul. WSJ: “The European Commission, the EU’s
executive arm, published a proposal last week for a uniform set of rules on
taxing corporate profits … The commission and other European institutions are
hoping to curb what they regard as creative tax reporting, tax dodging and
sweetheart deals that some EU countries use to attract big employers.”
MCDONALD'S RETREATS IN LABOR FIGHT
McDonald’s
settles worker lawsuit. Reuters: “McDonald’s has agreed to pay $3.75 million
to settle a lawsuit claiming it was liable for labor law violations by a
California franchisee, marking what lawyers said was the first time the company
has settled legal claims by a group of U.S. workers at one of its franchises …
The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge, comes as McDonald’s
faces claims before two U.S. agencies that it is a ‘joint employer’ of workers
at franchise restaurants, a designation that could make the company liable for
legal violations by franchisees and require that it bargain with workers who
unionize.”
Philadelphia
transit workers strike. CNN:“Philadelphia public transport workers went on
strike just past midnight Monday — raising concerns over voting problems with
Election Day just a week away … Issues under negotiation between SEPTA and the
Transit Workers Union Local 234 included pension reform, health care and wage
improvements, the union said on its web site. The deadlock, though, appears to
be over pension payments.”
Progressive
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