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Passing of GOP tax plan leads to payday for corporate employees

Ahlevah

Ahlevah

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Call them Trump dollars.

Thousands of employees at some of the country’s largest companies got an instant benefit from the tax-reform bill passed Wednesday — in the form of raises and bonuses of $1,000 and more.

AT&T, Comcast, Wells Fargo, and Fifth Third Bank each handed out the presents, saying they reflected the companies’ expected windfall from lower corporate taxes....

AT&T, which had an effective tax rate of 32.7 percent in 2016, will give 200,000 of its unionized workers a $1,000 bonus by the end of the year.

https://nypost.com/2017/12/20/passing-of-gop-tax-plan-leads-to-payday-for-corporate-employees/
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My older son is an installer for AT&T--Communications Workers of America. He's not rich, but those 1,000 Trump dollars will be real money in his pocket. :rwbelepha
 
"Free" money from the government! How you going to pay for that, comrade?

There's really only 2 options to make up for the increased deficit caused by this:
1) Ignore it and blame the Democrats. A republican is in office so the GOP couldn't care less about the budget or deficits.
2) Start cutting social security, Medicare and Medicaid to make up the difference.

Either way, this massive transfer of wealth will be paid for by the average Joe. He can feel good about the miniscule check he received while the bulk of the cash flows into corporate coffers and he's left to make up the difference. But hey, what's good for corporations is what's good for America, right? They're going to start creating tons of very high quality, high paying jobs I'm sure.
 
Ahlevah said:
My older son is an installer for AT&T--Communications Workers of America. He's not rich, but those 1,000 Trump dollars will be real money in his pocket. :rwbelepha
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So that's a one-off $2m spend from AT&T's profits. A small price to pay for the pro-tax cut propaganda that will generate at least hundreds of millions of dollars for them over the next 5 years at the expense of normal Americans.
 
Ahlevah said:
My older son is an installer for AT&T--Communications Workers of America. He's not rich, but those 1,000 Trump dollars will be real money in his pocket. :rwbelepha
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While it is certainly money in the pocket around, it must be paid for.

Part will certainly be paid for from repatriated funds sitting in foreign countries. The reduction in corporate taxes will attrackt investments that would have gone elsewhere. The finalcial press in Europe is full of foreboding. This will need growth and jobs and thus more taxes. But it will certainly not 'pay for itself'.

It would best come out of private goods that the government now produces with great waste.

Taken alone, the tax reduction will heat up the economy at a definitely poor point in time. The country is chugging along at a very good pace and the asset prices certainly look frothy. Fiscal stimulus is fine in downturns and after bubbles burst.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
"Free" money from the government! How you going to pay for that, comrade?

There's really only 2 options to make up for the increased deficit caused by this:
1) Ignore it and blame the Democrats. A republican is in office so the GOP couldn't care less about the budget or deficits.
2) Start cutting social security, Medicare and Medicaid to make up the difference.

Either way, this massive transfer of wealth will be paid for by the average Joe. He can feel good about the miniscule check he received while the bulk of the cash flows into corporate coffers and he's left to make up the difference. But hey, what's good for corporations is what's good for America, right? They're going to start creating tons of very high quality, high paying jobs I'm sure.
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Are you responding to the OP or is what you saying rhetorical?

Do you always write in political talking points/cliches?

"massive transfer of wealth"
"average Joe"
"corporate coffers"

Finally, "increased deficit caused by this", nothing has even happened yet and you think is already has.
 
AliHajiSheik said:
Are you responding to the OP or is what you saying rhetorical?

Do you always write in political talking points/cliches?

"massive transfer of wealth"
"average Joe"
"corporate coffers"

Finally, "increased deficit caused by this", nothing has even happened yet and you think is already has.
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Are you responding to me or are you just here to add irrelevant bull****? Nothing to say about the topic of the thread?

My point was clear. Either the Republicans increase the deficit with this or they're going to have to start making major cuts to entitlements for the middle class. Either way, it's coming out of the average Joe's ass. If your social security and Medicare are cut dramatically does a $50 "Trump dollars" check really offset this?

Stop being ****ing lazy and off topic and start using your words, boy.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Are you responding to me or are you just here to add irrelevant bull****? Nothing to say about the topic of the thread?

My point was clear. Either the Republicans increase the deficit with this or they're going to have to start making major cuts to entitlements for the middle class. Either way, it's coming out of the average Joe's ass. If your social security and Medicare are cut dramatically does a $50 "Trump dollars" check really offset this?

Stop being ****ing lazy and off topic and start using your words, boy.
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I responded to you because I had the gall to actually quote you. Your point was obfuscated because of your inability to use a property tense in an fashion. These companies decided to give their employees money this year in anticipation of savings on taxes next year. Sure there are things that are wrong with this bill as there have been in every single tax bill throughout the last 114 years, but the difference is that you hope the economy collapses and I choose to be more optimistic.

Grow a pair and quote the person to whom you are "responding". On topic enough for you, junge?
 
Ahlevah said:
My older son is an installer for AT&T--Communications Workers of America. He's not rich, but those 1,000 Trump dollars will be real money in his pocket. :rwbelepha
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You are taking the bait. The Trump tax bill is overwhelmingly tipped towards the wealthy but throws a few temporary crumbs to people like your son.

The Tax Policy Center found that in the first years most people would get a tax cut, although the biggest cuts are reserved for the wealthiest. By 2027, lower- and middle-income Americans would get no benefit or actually pay more in taxes.

But this bill also serves as a setup for steep government cuts. Programs from Medicare to flood insurance to food stamps will be at risk the moment President Trump’s signature dries. Some reductions would be inflicted automatically. Others, Republicans will pursue with a handy justification — the revenue hole created by their own legislation.

Under the Pay-as-You-Go Act of 2010, or Paygo, the Office of Budget and Management has to order automatic spending cuts if legislation passed by Congress is set to increase the deficit and the rules aren’t waived or the loss isn’t covered by new revenue. According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, spending cuts would have to total $136 billion for a bill, such as the tax legislation, that increases the deficit by $1.5 trillion over a decade.

What would get cut? Some programs, like Social Security and unemployment benefits, are spared. But plenty of others are seriously exposed. While there are limits on how much Medicare would be pared back, it would still be slashed by $25 billion.
souce: New York Times, 12/21/2017
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RabidAlpaca said:
"Free" money from the government! :shock:How you going to pay for that, comrade?
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"Free money" from the government? :confused: The money isn't coming from the government. It's coming from money earned by my son's employer, AT&T. Thanks to Trump, Democrats won't get their grippers on it so they can blow it in one of their wealth-redistribution schemes. He works hard, and not so lumps can sit around in their apartments watching TV or playing video games while he's climbing phone poles or crawling around in hot attics.

RabidAlpaca said:
Start cutting social security, Medicare and Medicaid to make up the difference.
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It wasn't so long ago that Obama and Democrats supported a payroll tax holiday. If you recall, Obama wanted to extend it but Republicans balked because he had already stolen hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare in order to fund his ACA brainchild. (Obama basically argued that the funds would just go to "greedy" doctors and hospitals. Never mind that Medicare reimbursement levels are already at the point where many doctors refuse to accept it.)
 
Ahlevah said:
My older son is an installer for AT&T--Communications Workers of America. He's not rich, but those 1,000 Trump dollars will be real money in his pocket. :rwbelepha
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It was a negotiation with their union, the Communication Workers of America, not a result of a tax cut. This deal had been in the works for some time, and was agreed upon on December 13.

Chris Shelton said:
There's no question that the tax legislation is a huge giveaway to corporations and the wealthiest Americans at the expense of working families and young people who will be stuck paying the bill for decades.

This is an example of deal-making by and for corporate interests and the 1 percent. Working people will pay the price for the tax loopholes that encourage companies to move even more jobs offshore and the attacks on programs that working and middle income families count on.

Congress's own Joint Committee on Taxation pointed out that benefits for working and middle income families are meager and temporary, with just 10 percent of the tax cut going to middle and working class families. The JCT also noted that 53 percent of taxpayers will see their taxes go up in 2025, because of the games Republicans are playing.

The plan adds at least $1 trillion to the deficit, and that already is being used by Republican leaders to justify their campaign to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

This tax plan is upside down. Instead of making working families pay more for tax breaks for the corporations and the richest Americans, we should be closing the loopholes that Wall Street will continue to exploit. We should be rebuilding our infrastructure, making education affordable, and making sure that corporations keep good jobs here in the U.S., instead of opening up new loopholes that encourage the offshoring of jobs, as this tax plan does.

President Trump and the Republican leadership still claim that working families will get at least a $4,000 pay raise, even though most economists – and even CEOs – say that corporations will use their tax cuts to buy back stock and reward investors.

The American people know a bad deal when they see it. That's why the percentage of Americans who oppose the plan, now 55 percent, continues to grow.

Those voices will grow even louder come Election Day 2018. We'll keep exposing this Republican tax plan as a corporate money grab that results in working and middle income families paying more, but getting less. We’ll keep reminding working people about the $4,000 raise that President Trump and the Republican leadership promised them.
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Kushinator said:
It was a negotiation with their union, the Communication Workers of America, not a result of a tax cut. This deal had been in the works for some time, and was agreed upon on December 13.
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I'm not sure what you're talking about. My son is represented in AT&T Southeast, which includes wireline workers. He's in the middle of a four-year agreement negotiated in 2015. So if anything was being negotiated on his behalf this month, he sure as hell wasn't aware of it. The newsletter from the CWA mentions that employees will receive a $1,000 bonus from the company, but notice that the letter you linked is kind of cagey about how it came about. The union president was "pleased to have negotiated additional money for members," but he never explicitly says it was THAT money. And if it was THAT money, then why didn't he mention it before today if an agreement was concluded on the 13th? The first word my son got about it came in the form of an e-mail yesterday from AT&T. He didn't hear squat from the CWA. One would think they would have been tripping over themselves to inform workers that they'd be getting a $1,000 bonus for the Holidays, but, alas, the silence was deafening. Of course, it makes sense for the union president to try to take credit for this bonus and talk up how he and his lackeys are so wonderful and worth every penny of union dues, endlessly struggling to help them get the "fair share" they're entitled to. :roll: It makes further sense when placed in the context that they're Democratic shills and hate Trump and are increasingly out of lockstep with the people they claim to hold near and dear to their hearts. Even the letter you linked mentions the usual Democrat arguments: a giveaway to "greedy" corporations and "the rich."

Anyway, I did notice that AT&T Mobility concluded a contract on December 13th, with a component of the wage part of the agreement being a $1,000 lump sum. No mention at that point was made of it being a "bonus." So I don't know. Maybe someone is trying to conflate the two. But here's a fact: No mention is made in AT&T's statement on the bonus about it being the result of a negotiation with the CWA. But it is titled With Tax Reform, AT&T Plans to Increase U.S. Capital Spending $1 Billion and Provide $1,000 Special Bonus to more than 200,000 U.S. Employees).
 
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Ahlevah said:
I'm not sure what you're talking about. My son is represented in AT&T Southeast, which includes wireline workers. He's in the middle of a four-year agreement negotiated in 2015. So if anything was being negotiated on his behalf this month, he sure as hell wasn't aware of it. The newsletter from the CWA mentions that employees will receive a $1,000 bonus from the company, but notice that the letter you linked is kind of cagey about how it came about. The union president was "pleased to have negotiated additional money for members," but he never explicitly says it was THAT money. And if it was THAT money, then why didn't he mention it before today if an agreement was concluded on the 13th? The first word my son got about it came in the form of an e-mail yesterday from AT&T. He didn't hear squat from the CWA. One would think they would have been tripping over themselves to inform workers that they'd be getting a $1,000 bonus for the Holidays, but, alas, the silence was deafening. Of course, it makes sense for the union president to try to take credit for this bonus and talk up how he and his lackeys are so wonderful and worth every penny of union dues, endlessly struggling to help them get the "fair share" they're entitled to. :roll: It makes further sense when placed in the context that they're Democratic shills and hate Trump and are increasingly out of lockstep with the people they claim to hold near and dear to their hearts. Even the letter you linked mentions the usual Democrat arguments: a giveaway to "greedy" corporations and "the rich."

Anyway, I did notice that AT&T Mobility concluded a contract on December 13th, with a component of the wage part of the agreement being a $1,000 lump sum. No mention at that point was made of it being a "bonus." So I don't know. Maybe someone is trying to conflate the two. But here's a fact: No mention is made in AT&T's statement on the bonus about it being the result of a negotiation with the CWA. But it is titled With Tax Reform, AT&T Plans to Increase U.S. Capital Spending $1 Billion and Provide $1,000 Special Bonus to more than 200,000 U.S. Employees).
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How bad do you want it? How much are you willing to lie to achieve this false success in the name of? Your facts are a failed numerator. Big companies will always do what best suits them, which has nothing to do with their workers. But please keep on feeding on the empty, until they drain US dry.
 
grip said:
How bad do you want it? How much are you willing to lie to achieve this false success in the name of? Your facts are a failed numerator. Big companies will always do what best suits them, which has nothing to do with their workers. But please keep on feeding on the empty, until they drain US dry.
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How much am I willing to lie? Really? I'm transmitting a message to you through the ether at this moment. Did you get it? Where's the lie? What "false success" are you talking about? Two days ago my son received the following e-mail from the company:

From: Randall Stephenson CEO
Date: December 20, 2017 at 1:02:37 PM CST
Subject: Tax reform provides more investment and special bonus

To: All U.S. employees

Today, Congress approved legislation representing the first comprehensive tax reform in a generation. The President is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.

Among other things, it sets a 21% corporate tax rate for U.S. businesses, which is in line with the rest of the industrialized world. This new lower rate encourages businesses to invest more in the United States. And more investment creates more good-paying jobs and increases economic growth.

Once tax reform is signed into law, we plan to invest an additional $1 billion in the United States in 2018 and pay a special $1,000 bonus to more than 200,000 of our U.S. employees — all union-represented, non-management, and 1st and 2nd line managers — as added recognition for their dedication and hard work. If the President signs the bill before Christmas, employees will receive the bonus over the holidays.

Happy holidays!

Randall
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So then yesterday, AFTER the company announcement, the CWA follows with a message in their newsletter insinuating that the membership can thank them for it. Union employees didn't receive squat from them about it until then. If this was part of a negotiation that concluded on the 13th, then why didn't the CWA announce it sooner? The CWA represents about 150,000 workers. What about the extra 50,000 non-union workers and lower-level managers who are getting a bonus? Was the union fighting for them to get their "fair share," too? I highly doubt it. But, of course, the Left can't have the public seeing a major corporation doing anything magnanimous, even a bonus that's a "drop in the bucket compared to what was promised," for its employees. After all, corporations are greedy, capitalist pigs. So now the false narrative that we can thank the union starts. There's your lie. "Fake news" is a good way to put it.
 
Rogue Valley said:
AT&T is about to lay off thosands...

AT&T Announces Thousands of Layoffs, Firings Just in Time for Christmas
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We have a dynamic economy. We're not like France, which has chronically high unemployment coupled with powerful public-sector labor unions (What are French President Emmanuel Macron's labor reforms | Europe | DW | 31.08.2017). The AT&T jobs being lost are in the wireline segment. Verizon has already sold off most of its wireline infrastructure to companies like Frontier Communications. It's largely a wireless company today. Let's face it: Many people just don't use landlines anymore. They use cellphones or VOIP systems that run through the Internet. In my son's case, he does it all: DirectTV, fiber optic, U-Verse, wireline--whatever. BUT he's hedging his bet that he'll be useful by taking advantage of IT classes being offered by the company. AT&T has already put its employees on notice that over the next ten to fifteen years or so, perhaps sooner, it will evolve its business away from copper POTS lines and even optical fiber cable to later-generation LTE networks. What that means from a practical standpoint is customers who call the company requesting Internet or phone service will get a box in the mail with an antenna that they stick out of a window and point at a tower or pole. There will be no need to dispatch a tech to install it. If it breaks, they'll order another one and send back the old one. This means fewer workers will be needed by the company.

To the degree that there's resistance to this future, it will come largely from businesses and government. For example, a business customer my son dealt with wanted to change its security system. The problem was the system it wanted to buy depended on a POTS line, as do many traditional alarm systems. Many businesses also cling to facsimile technology for some reason. It sucks, but they still use it. Also many rural parts of the country depend on POTS because it isn't cost effective to install cellphone service where there are few customers who'll use it. So as long as there's demand for traditional phone service and high-speed fiber for Internet service, someone will be there to provide it. But, yeah, the handwriting is on the wall: copper telephone lines are the 21st-Century version of the buggy whip.
 
Ahlevah said:
My older son is an installer for AT&T--Communications Workers of America. He's not rich, but those 1,000 Trump dollars will be real money in his pocket. :rwbelepha
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...and, how much did he get this year?

Ahlevah said:
How much am I willing to lie? Really? I'm transmitting a message to you through the ether at this moment. Did you get it? Where's the lie? What "false success" are you talking about? Two days ago my son received the following e-mail from the company:

So then yesterday, AFTER the company announcement, the CWA follows with a message in their newsletter insinuating that the membership can thank them for it. Union employees didn't receive squat from them about it until then. If this was part of a negotiation that concluded on the 13th, then why didn't the CWA announce it sooner? The CWA represents about 150,000 workers. What about the extra 50,000 non-union workers and lower-level managers who are getting a bonus? Was the union fighting for them to get their "fair share," too? I highly doubt it. But, of course, the Left can't have the public seeing a major corporation doing anything magnanimous, even a bonus that's a "drop in the bucket compared to what was promised," for its employees. After all, corporations are greedy, capitalist pigs. So now the false narrative that we can thank the union starts. There's your lie. "Fake news" is a good way to put it.
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...and, how do you feel about this one year later?
 
Ahlevah said:
My older son is an installer for AT&T--Communications Workers of America. He's not rich, but those 1,000 Trump dollars will be real money in his pocket. :rwbelepha
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Nice, except that bonus was long in the works before the tax cut.

The way lower corporate tax rate was supposed to boost wages was long term — there will be more investment in the United States. Businesses might invest more overall, but they would also be more likely to invest in this country rather than overseas. Then as there’s more capital in the United States you would see labor become more productive. Employers, seeing that workers are more productive, would be interested in hiring more of them at the going wage. They would compete against each other to hire those workers, which would bid up the wages that they have to pay. And so you would see in the end an increase in capital, an increase in output or GDP, and an increase in wages. But all of this would occur over a period of time. The investment effects would come first, which would gradually build up the capital stock, and then you would see labor, productivity, and wages rising more gradually.

What we saw was companies giving raises and bonuses that they already planned but giving the credit to the tax cuts.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
"Free" money from the government! How you going to pay for that, comrade?

There's really only 2 options to make up for the increased deficit caused by this:
1) Ignore it and blame the Democrats. A republican is in office so the GOP couldn't care less about the budget or deficits.
2) Start cutting social security, Medicare and Medicaid to make up the difference.

Either way, this massive transfer of wealth will be paid for by the average Joe. He can feel good about the miniscule check he received while the bulk of the cash flows into corporate coffers and he's left to make up the difference. But hey, what's good for corporations is what's good for America, right? They're going to start creating tons of very high quality, high paying jobs I'm sure.
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Free money from the Govt.? You signify what is wrong in this country today as that so called free money was earned by the employee and they are now allowed to keep more of it. Apparently in that liberal utopia everyone is an employee of the Federal Govt. thus all tax cuts are expenses to the federal govt. You people truly have a lack of understanding of the private sector and the role of the Federal govt.

Do you people have any idea what corporations do with their money other than bury it in their corporate headquarters facilities?
 
MTAtech said:
Nice, except that bonus was long in the works before the tax cut.

The way lower corporate tax rate was supposed to boost wages was long term — there will be more investment in the United States. Businesses might invest more overall, but they would also be more likely to invest in this country rather than overseas. Then as there’s more capital in the United States you would see labor become more productive. Employers, seeing that workers are more productive, would be interested in hiring more of them at the going wage. They would compete against each other to hire those workers, which would bid up the wages that they have to pay. And so you would see in the end an increase in capital, an increase in output or GDP, and an increase in wages. But all of this would occur over a period of time. The investment effects would come first, which would gradually build up the capital stock, and then you would see labor, productivity, and wages rising more gradually.

What we saw was companies giving raises and bonuses that they already planned but giving the credit to the tax cuts.
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Why don't you tell us what an employee should make at a major U.S. corporation? All this effort for equal outcome on your part without understanding of even how a corporation operates, their financial statement, their role in the community, their expenses including federal, state, local taxes and regulations. Wonder how people receiving dividends from these corporations feel about corporate profits?
 
Conservative said:
Free money from the Govt.? You signify what is wrong in this country today as that so called free money was earned by the employee and they are now allowed to keep more of it. Apparently in that liberal utopia everyone is an employee of the Federal Govt. thus all tax cuts are expenses to the federal govt. You people truly have a lack of understanding of the private sector and the role of the Federal govt.

Do you people have any idea what corporations do with their money other than bury it in their corporate headquarters facilities?
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You have no problem with spending other people's money as long as it's something you want. As we add hundreds of billions to the defense budget over the last few years you never ask how or why it should be paid for. Trillions of dollars wasted in Afghanistan and Iraq, yet you have no concern about how to pay for that. Conservatives always have enough money for wars and corporate subsidies but never enough for things that help actual Americans. Get your grubby mitts off my money.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
You have no problem with spending other people's money as long as it's something you want. As we add hundreds of billions to the defense budget over the last few years you never ask how or why it should be paid for. Trillions of dollars wasted in Afghanistan and Iraq, yet you have no concern about how to pay for that. Conservatives always have enough money for wars and corporate subsidies but never enough for things that help actual Americans. Get your grubby mitts off my money.
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You seem to have a problem with people keeping MORE OF THEIR OWN MONEY and total lack of understanding that it is their money first. Not sure exactly what you want but if defense isn't part of it, then that is your problem for without defense there is NO economic activity and personal freedoms to do what you do all the time, whine and complain about your govt.

You are totally clueless of the line items of the budget, the taxes you pay, and their purpose. Keep showing others how poorly informed far too many people are in this country today and continue to allow for the federal bureaucrats to tax and spend more than the Constitution requires
 
Conservative said:
You seem to have a problem with people keeping MORE OF THEIR OWN MONEY and total lack of understanding that it is their money first. Not sure exactly what you want but if defense isn't part of it, then that is your problem for without defense there is NO economic activity and personal freedoms to do what you do all the time, whine and complain about your govt.

You are totally clueless of the line items of the budget, the taxes you pay, and their purpose. Keep showing others how poorly informed far too many people are in this country today and continue to allow for the federal bureaucrats to tax and spend more than the Constitution requires
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Haha, so yeah, you still want to spend other people's money for the things you want, but you complain when it's used to help Americans. Always enough money for guns, never enough for butter, eh buddy?
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Haha, so yeah, you still want to spend other people's money for the things you want, but you complain when it's used to help Americans. Always enough money for guns, never enough for butter, eh buddy?
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No the problem is yours as you have no idea the taxes you pay or their purpose.
 
MTAtech said:
Where Government Is a Dirty Word, but Its Checks Pay the Bills
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Aw, yes, never enough money to fund what you want to spend even though we have record tax revenue this year. The federal govt. never needs a diet but the taxpayers do? I am sure the leftwing bureaucrats love watching you make a fool out of yourself with that big govt. support

But as usual we can always count on your trotting out some lefrwing NY Times article about state and local dependence on the federal taxpayers to pay out FEDERAL MANDATED programs. Cannot understand why your state citizens would have a problem with paying for federally mandated programs, maybe you can explain it to me because to me that isn't a STATE RESPONSIBILITY!!
 
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