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Profits thrive in weak recovery

G

Gargantuan

Profits Thrive in Weak Recovery - WSJ.com

While the U.S. economy staggers through one of its slowest recoveries since the Great Depression, American companies are poised to report strong earnings for the second quarter—exposing a dichotomy between corporate performance and the overall health of the economy.

So tax cuts on corporations are the answer right? Obviously if we give corporations less of a tax burden, they will have even more enormous profits, so they can hire more workers, right? Yeah, no.
 
Profits Thrive in Weak Recovery - WSJ.com



So tax cuts on corporations are the answer right? Obviously if we give corporations less of a tax burden, they will have even more enormous profits, so they can hire more workers, right? Yeah, no.

Profits are up because they have cut their workforces... that profits then will go down because no one has work to buy their products is another matter for later on :)
 
Profits are up because they have cut their workforces... that profits then will go down because no one has work to buy their products is another matter for later on :)

Wait a minute. A business needs to have customers with money to sell things to!?

Those damned dirty corporations should be punished for being successful!

Straw man. Nobody suggested that.
 
Geez... Another class warfare thread.
 
Wait a minute. A business needs to have customers with money to sell things to!?



Straw man. Nobody suggested that.

Not a strawman, mocking the OP. You toss strawman out at every turn, you should change your name to "Scarecrow".
 
No. They shouldn't be punished. They just don't deserve more tax cuts, because obviously it's not going to cause them to hire more if they are earning record profits.
 
Profits Thrive in Weak Recovery - WSJ.com



So tax cuts on corporations are the answer right? Obviously if we give corporations less of a tax burden, they will have even more enormous profits, so they can hire more workers, right? Yeah, no.

I sure would like see what companies are increasing their profits .. some I would expect to .. gas … grocery store chains, walmart .. and even banks to an extent would be a few that should be showing higher profits.

If you just remember one simple principle of business … profits are figured on a percentage of retail prices … it's easy to understand that inflated prices on the retail end …. will mean higher profits gas is a prime example .. lets say the gas companies make 10% per gallon of gas sold .. if gas was selling for $3.50 today .. and two years ago .. it was selling for $1.75 wouldn't the profits be double ?

Now please understand I'm not defending big business .. just trying to start a reasonable discussion. Business is not hiring, that is pretty much a fact .. and I'm not denying that point, but increasing profits because of inflated prices doesn't put any need to hire, they aren't necessarily selling more product an in some case selling less.

What might be a better approach to this problem would be a sit down discussion with business, to find out why they aren't expanding, and work on those things. IMO it has nothing to do with taxes, and more to do with to many things left up in the air with no solid answers … The tax cuts that were extended until 2012. I believe we would have been better served doing one of two things .. either letting them expire and end the discussion, or extending them permanently. Either case allows business to make one, five and 10 year projections with a fixed cost of taxes. The health care bill is the same .. either withdraw it from the court system good or bad as it might be … or repeal it .. as it stands no business knows what it's projected health care costs are going to be.

These are just my opinion of what the problems could be … but the more important matter is to stop demonizing them .. .and realize that we need them to begin creating jobs. While most agree that the economy is driven by middle class spending, we must also understand that the jobs that the middle class have … or can get comes from the business community and that both are needed to drive our economy forward. One thing is certain ... without job creation, the middle class cannot get larger, and buy more to create the need for business to expand .
 
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I suspect the OP is saying that profits have gone up, but the trickle isn't coming down. I also suspect that the OP is trying to suggest that allowing these businesses to have their taxes lowered is not actually as helpful to the country as it is portrayed in the popular mainstream media promoting the tax breaks.
 
I suspect the OP is saying that profits have gone up, but the trickle isn't coming down. I also suspect that the OP is trying to suggest that allowing these businesses to have their taxes lowered is not actually as helpful to the country as it is portrayed in the popular mainstream media promoting the tax breaks.

I understand ..... but far to many times .. an op like that just turns into a business bashing post .. and as I see it that accomplishes little .. -chuckles- that has been proven already in our government .. all democrats want to do is tax them more .. .all republicans want to do is reduce their taxes .... and neither side has sat down with business and discussed what needs to be done to get them to begin hiring and expanding .

I know my opiinions mean little or nothing, but I was for letting all the tax cuts expire, I don't think it would have influenced business one way or the other. Admittedly as a conservative there are parts of that tax expiring that I would have hated .. one is the death tax ... IMO .. that is double taxation because you paid for those things you pass to your children with after tax dollars .. I see no reason to be taxing it again ... but I would rather have seen something permanent ... we can always go back and revisit things like that in better times ..

As I said .. it's in a way a chain .. . you can't remove the link of business, any more then you can remove the middle class .. one promotes the other ..
 
Profits Thrive in Weak Recovery - WSJ.com



So tax cuts on corporations are the answer right? Obviously if we give corporations less of a tax burden, they will have even more enormous profits, so they can hire more workers, right? Yeah, no.

Next step is to stop being political with the debt ceiling and budget cuts, so the rest of the recovery can get underway.

No one wants to hire with all the uncertainty.
 
Next step is to stop being political with the debt ceiling and budget cuts, so the rest of the recovery can get underway.
No one wants to hire with all the uncertainty.
I think people would be willing to hire in the face of uncertainty if they thought they could make more money in the mean time.
It's not like businesses can't lay some one off when it's no longer profitable to keep them on.
 
My guess is that most companies are hedging and saving the excess cash, because of the uncertainty.
Hogwash. If they could make more money at the moment, they would do so.

I think the "too much uncertainty" meme is political hogwash.
 
I understand ..... but far to many times .. an op like that just turns into a business bashing post .. and as I see it that accomplishes little .. -chuckles- that has been proven already in our government .. all democrats want to do is tax them more .. .all republicans want to do is reduce their taxes .... and neither side has sat down with business and discussed what needs to be done to get them to begin hiring and expanding .

I know my opiinions mean little or nothing, but I was for letting all the tax cuts expire, I don't think it would have influenced business one way or the other. Admittedly as a conservative there are parts of that tax expiring that I would have hated .. one is the death tax ... IMO .. that is double taxation because you paid for those things you pass to your children with after tax dollars .. I see no reason to be taxing it again ... but I would rather have seen something permanent ... we can always go back and revisit things like that in better times ..

As I said .. it's in a way a chain .. . you can't remove the link of business, any more then you can remove the middle class .. one promotes the other ..

You know I get doubled taxed every day

I pay income taxes on my income, I then have to pay taxes on that taxed income for sales taxes, gas taxes, property taxes. All are being paid for from my income which has been taxed already.

Then as you collect SS which was taxed from your income, you get taxed on the SS you receive as well
 
There is a problem with many of these articles. Many times they will interchange "income" and "profits". Many companies have raised their prices because of inflation. They have increased the money they bring in. That doesn't always equate with an equal profit.

Also we need a breakdown on the businesses profiting. Investment banks and the similiar are doing very, very well because we as taxpayers are filing their coffers.
 
You know I get doubled taxed every day

I pay income taxes on my income, I then have to pay taxes on that taxed income for sales taxes, gas taxes, property taxes. All are being paid for from my income which has been taxed already.

Then as you collect SS which was taxed from your income, you get taxed on the SS you receive as well

Oh I know .. the death tax just happens to be a pet peeve of mine … we need a complete over haul of our tax codes .. there is something like 6,000 pages to it .. I can't remember the amount Americans spend on having their taxes done each year .. but I do remember it's a ton of money

It's just one of the reasons that for many years now .. I've been in favor of some sort of flat tax … no filing at the end of the year .. . no need for the IRS .. pay it .. and be done with it .
 
There is a problem with many of these articles. Many times they will interchange "income" and "profits". Many companies have raised their prices because of inflation. They have increased the money they bring in. That doesn't always equate with an equal profit.

Also we need a breakdown on the businesses profiting. Investment banks and the similiar are doing very, very well because we as taxpayers are filing their coffers.

Income generally means profit when talking about companies

The amount of money they bring in is called revenues, which is definately not equated with profit. Companiews are not generally taxed on revenues, but on profit or "corporate income"
 
Oh I know .. the death tax just happens to be a pet peeve of mine … we need a complete over haul of our tax codes .. there is something like 6,000 pages to it .. I can't remember the amount Americans spend on having their taxes done each year .. but I do remember it's a ton of money

It's just one of the reasons that for many years now .. I've been in favor of some sort of flat tax … no filing at the end of the year .. . no need for the IRS .. pay it .. and be done with it .

You would still need the IRS, to collect the money and audit people not paying the flax tax and other cheats
 
Income generally means profit when talking about companies

The amount of money they bring in is called revenues, which is definately not equated with profit. Companiews are not generally taxed on revenues, but on profit or "corporate income"

I've read many articles that will have the headlines "Companies incomes increase despite recession". When you read the articles they are only noting the revenues.
 
I've read many articles that will have the headlines "Companies incomes increase despite recession". When you read the articles they are only noting the revenues.

Then they are morons who should not be reporting on business news
 
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