Senate Majority Leader and Whip Kyrsten Sinema certainly held the Senate hostage for $5 billion in drought money and narrowing the carried interest loophole. Not sure why such a tax is of interest to her. Business interests. It was suggested private parties were after her to stop it from going into effect.
Senate Majority Leader and Whip Kyrsten Sinema certainly held the Senate hostage for $5 billion in drought money and narrowing the carried interest loophole. Not sure why such a tax is of interest to her. Business interests. It was suggested private parties were after her to stop it from going into effect.
By her lonesome this time. Can't blame Manchin. Instead, Democrats added “a new 1 percent excise tax on stock buybacks that will bring in $73 billion, far more than the $14 billion raised by the carried interest provision, according to a Democrat familiar with the deal.”
Ok, that is sweet as it reduces the deficit. MMT proponents would argue, "who cares, we are sovereign."
We need a few more Senators so we can take away Sinema and Machin's temporary title of Senate Majority Leader.
I read an article today about Sinema. She is really strange as far as I am concerned. I did read that she was irked that she wasn't in on the deal in the first place. This is a woman who doesn't say anything much or explain her views and she wants to be calling the shots. I hope she goes down in 2024 and will certainly donate to a D opponent.
I find Sinema offensive in many ways. But let's just celebrate that she's not blocking a fundamentally strong piece of legislation, paving the way for another major victory for a Democratic administration intent on helping its citizens and the planet.
I too am glad she came around. And all the money she got for Arizona will not alter the problem of too many people using water in a place where they should not be nor stop the drought which will only get worse in the West.
That's what "pork" is for, wherever it gets put into a bill. Sinema cannot do much to ameliorate Arizona's main water problem -- the Colorado River water division occurred when Arizona had half the population it does not. That was well before the drought. Ironic, given geography.
What gets me too is that she is so clueless that she wasn't even subtle about being bought and paid for. Clueless about what the people of her state are up against, and clueless about thinking that nobody notices her blatent angling to be where she thinks the power lies. I hope AZ voters take a look at what is starting to happen in other states and use that as an example. My family AX branch has been gone for a while and it's a whole lot worse than it was then.
I think AZ will be a bit of a swamp for a while. That's where the bogus "recount" by the firm owned by a Trump supporter that had never before audited an election was approved.
It's on the cusp, but not sure anyone knows of what.
No she can't. Our neighbors take their RV and spend a few months in the Arizona area. They always comment on the low level of Lake Mead. Our other neighbors have their house for sale, so that they can live most of the year in Arizona. Know some others who have moved there and I do wonder about the wisdom of doing that because I think major water problems are not far in the future. One piece of good news here in Oregon, a developer who was wanting to build a water sucking resort near Bend and Redmond has given up the project. He would have walked off with sacks of money leaving the locals with waterless bags. Also the state of Oregon has a cooperative deal with some Native American tribes in southern Oregon to manage the natural resources. This is another place where people should not be ranching and growing potatoes. The state also developed a new wildfire risk map and sent notices to property owners as to what they had to do. The howling from areas like southern Oregon has been long and loud. I think it is mostly about insurance which they will be lucky to get at all in the near future.
And while I'm disappointed the Hedge Fund Manager Welfare hasn't been eliminated yet, I am very pleased on the tax on stock buy backs. Clever girl.
Now if we can just get a 5 cent "fee" on each and every financial transaction--regardless of its size--we can get rake in more billions toward the reducing the deficit, etc.
I disagree on the 5 cent fee on every financial transaction. Of course that will be passed on to consumers, just like credit card fees are now being passed on by many places.
The city of San Francisco imposed a fee/tax like this, and companies started moving out of the city. It is short sighted.
Didn't happen when Britain imposed the 1 cent "fee" on all financial transactions on the London Stock Exchange. $11 Billion in revenue to Britain's general treasury (or whatever they call it) on Year 1
Who are the "consumers" on Wall Street? Traders & Hedge Fund Managers & Stock Companies
It's not 5 cents per share; it's 5 cents per transaction--even if it's a billion dollar transaction.
I'm a little miffed that no one every offered me any money to be a political whore. Any body else getting these big bucks bribes?? I have to ask myself what I'm doing wrong.
She hasn't made any friends with other Democrats, she makes a point of hanging out with Republicans. But then, that's the usual arc for a moron with an IQ low enough to qualify as a Green, which is where she began.
While I agree that Sinema is a problematic politician and could never understand her switch from Green to Dirty, our family home in Germany is in a city-state run by a Green-Left-Social Democrat coalition. It has the highest rate of covid vaccination in Germany, at 89% which is much higher than the USA and where instead of expecting the government to lower the price of fuel, everyone is making sure that their homes are as energy efficient as they possibly can be which is why all of the Energy consultants are booked a into the next year. You need an energy consultant to assess your home and advise you so that you can get government rebates for the improvements you make by adding insulation (for homes that tend to be better insulated naturally by design than houses in the USA), improving your heating sources, like wall, ceiling, floor radiant heating, adding solar or photovoltaic panels on your roof, changing to heat pumps, geothermal to lower ones use of energy be it gas, electric, oil, or wood. Greens are not fringe candidates in Germany and are gaining ground in Europe. Dr Robert Habeck Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and Annalena Baerbock Minister of Foreign Affairs are very popular politicians. Both are members of the German Green party. In countries with coalition governments, which the USA cannot have because of the political setup, it looks different to have the Green Party as a member, because they keep the climate agenda on the forefront in political decision making.
While Sweden currently is run by a single Social Democratic leader with backing of Green, Left and Centre parties, prior to that it had a coalition government of Social Democrats and the Green Party. Finland has a coalition government that includes Social Democrats and Greens. Austria is run by a coalition of the People's Party and the Greens. Vienna has just gotten a climate award from Singapore.
They are also coalition partners in Montenegro, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, and Spain.
In the USA they may act as a spoiler to the only 2 parties who have a chance of getting elected, but that is one of the unfortunate aspects of our system, that it has boiled down to only two parties having a chance of winning. It has disengaged far too many people. With coalition governments, many more people may vote in other countries. Of the 60 million eligible to vote in the last Federal election almost 46.5 mil voted. That is around 78% of the population. In the USA we had our highest voter turnout in 2020 and that was almost 67%. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2020-presidential-election-voting-and-registration-tables-now-available.html
So, our set up gets fewer people to vote because anyone who does not feel that either the Democrats or the Republicans really represents their interests does not feel compelled to vote, whereas in Germany when you know that your candidate needs a certain percentage to have a seat at the governing table, regardless of whether they will be the lead candidate, they will still have a say, so that is more motivating. Not to say that parliamentary government works better than our system. Look at England. However, just saying that Green Party candidates are only a spoiler in our system. I personally find climate change to be the defining issue for our continued existence and look at which of the 2 major parties can best bring about addressing it, knowing full well that the Green party would be more focused, but have less chance to win and get anything done. Ultimately one wants to vote for people who will get things done. It is why I would have never voted for Ralph Nader. I don't believe that every activist a president makes.
I worked Thursday’s elections in TN for county and state offices. One young lady showed up at the wrong precinct, so I tried to redirect her. She said no, it wasn’t a presidential election and she had errands to run. I wanted to give her a five-minute tutorial on why local elections are important, including they are stepping stones to higher office. See The States Project and Run for Something websites.
Thanks for that - in Oz, the Greens appear to be somewhat split between the people oriented component and the environmental. I'm not aware of the nature of the Greens in Germany/Europe, but, as the saying goes, they seem to have their shit together. Unfortunately the US system makes it difficult for a 3rd party to emerge. But to denigrate their intelligence is stupid in the extreme.
In Germany, the Greens garnered enough votes in the last general election to take a significant role in the current coalition government. And they are doing a good job - competent and level-headed. In our state of North Rhine Westphalia, they are a major player and their numbers in the rest of the country have been steadily rising over the last few election cycles.
Greens in Germany and elsewhere are not the same as Greens in America. Greens in America are unprincipled Putin-loving morons (See: Stein, Jill; Sarandon, Susan). There are numerous instances of a Green taking money from Republicans to run against a popular Democrat and drain their vote to allow a Republican victory. They think doing that will "speed the revolution." Stein took money from Putin in 2016 to screw with HRC's campaign and give the victory to Trump.
It is so strange how we Americans dismiss European countries with all the civilized decisions they have made as "socialists." So many of us seem to prefer ignorance to progressivism. Heaven help us if a cent goes to the "undeserving," a euphemism for anyone not of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, or region.
Good discussion. Now, if we could only have the "parties" (2 in this case) behaving in a adult manner we'd be in the game. So unfortunate.., that one party promotes bizarre principles, relies on double-speak dishonesty, a degrading diatribe, and blatant support for white supremacy. All of which their tailgate voters openly endorse or are simply oblivious to. DAWGONNIT America...please wake up!!
Yes. In essence we have a very broken system, which those of us who are trying to participate honorably are trying to keep afloat. Many are giving up though. Scammers are really abundant.
So TC what's your issue with the Greens? - OK - I tend to find that they have conflicting priorities - pro-people (sensu-lato) and pro-environment. The policies are often in conflict. We have the same issue in Oz. However demonizing the Greens doesn't help - they need guidance. I know nothing about the US version of the Greens - but someone has to generate a counter to the current "It's the economy, stupid".
Greens in America are unlike Greens elsewhere. They are politically unprincipled - there have been several instances discovered of Greens taking money from Republicans to run against a popular Democrat in a close race to drain votes from the Democrat. There's Jill Stein, who took Putin's money, still dances his dance, and who worked to defeat Hillary in 2016 on the grounds that a Trump victory would "speed the revolution." In other words, they're alleged-lefty MORONS. The last thing anyone with a brain would want to do is live in a USA run by these idiots.
I wouldn't bet on it. Hanging out with Republicans is not a bad thing in Arizona, especially these days. Word is she'll run as an Independent when up for reelection.
Repeublicans nowadays may like her as a PITA to Democrats, but they're unlikely to vote for a bisexual environmentalist when they can vote for a real red meat Trumpist Fascist and get the Real Thing.
Sinema would draw some moderate Republicans, like Cindy McCain who endorsed her. Particularly given the Trumpists. And she'll draw some Democrats, who need independents and moderates to win. I think it will hurt the Dems--splits almost always do (Ross Perot is the exception).
Her political transformation--which has been stunning--has also earned her a strong following in Arizona. Word is she'll run as an Independent when up for reelection.
She gets a lot of her financial contributions from the finance industry. After we get two more Senators this fall and she goes back to being the irrelevant idiot she was born to be, we'll get that carried interest business straightened out next year and start reigning in the pinstriped pimps.
I think I made my thoughts known without offending women. As a male, I can not cross that line.
I do need women posters/authors at or site to cover issues I can not cover adequately. It is a hard find. Our people left due to prof requirements, family, etc.
No pay involved just a place on an economics blog which has been cited as one of the best.
Hi bill, Which economics blog is it? Sounds interesting. Also, re: crossing that line, "what the hell are you doing" isn't very nice for this friendly blog....
Bill, I was surprised by your attack on Bonnie. Her comment seemed to be a warning about Sinema's ties to private equity firms as substantial donors to her political campaign.
Thank you for getting back to me. I think I explained what I meant in my statement to Bonnie. My wording was too generic and I had not preface to make such a statement. I goofed.
Hi Bill H. Good for hear from you. I knew that there was something screwy about your initial comment to Bonnie because it didn't sound like the real Bill H whose comments are topnotch. Cheers!
Thank you. I am not perfect. I am usually in a hurry. I make mistakes. And I am also a male. I am not in tune at times.
Why a pretty woman from Queens (yes, I went to Queens to find a Queen) who lived between two aunts and a raft of cousins chose me, I am not sure. Although, she never had a chance. I would be there on leave, and my young female cousins would rat on her. :) Fifty-one years later . . .
You was used to convey "they," meaning her supporters and Sinema. "Here" means AZ.
It appears my sentence was not tied to a preface adequately. I am sorry for not being more specific and if it was hurtful. Thank you for letting me know.
‘Kyrsten Sinema ensured a $14 billion tax break for private equity, hedge fund, and real estate executives remains intact. It's a win for many of her campaign donors.’
‘The carried interest tax provision of the Inflation Reduction Act was expected to have raised about $14 billion over 10 years.’
'According to Open Secrets, the global private equity firms KKR, Carlyle, and Apollo Global Management are among the leading 20 sources of donations to Sinema's campaign committee between 2017 and 2022.'
'As Open Secrets notes, it isn't the organizations in the list that donated money directly, but rather, their "political action committees, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families." Further, subsidiaries and affiliates are included in the organizations' total donations figure.'
'Other organizations listed by Open Secrets among the leading 20 sources of donations include Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has invested in companies including Facebook, Twitter, and Airbnb; and Rudin Management, a private commercial and residential landlord and developer in New York City.'
'All in all, Sinema has received $2.2 million from investment firms between 2017 and 2022, according to Open Secrets.'
Sinema's office didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. (BusinessInsider) See link below.
‘Carried interest is the percentage of an investment’s gains that a private equity partner or hedge fund manager takes as compensation. At most private equity firms and hedge funds, the share of profits paid to managers is about 20 percent.’
‘Under existing law, that money is taxed at a capital-gains rate of 20 percent for top earners. That’s about half the rate of the top individual income tax bracket, which is 37 percent. A tax law passed by Republicans in 2017 largely left the treatment of carried interest intact, after an intense lobbying campaign, but it did narrow the exemption by requiring executives to hold their investments for at least three years to enjoy preferential tax treatment.’
‘An agreement reached last week by Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, would have extended that holding period to five years from three, while changing the way the period is calculated in hopes of reducing taxpayers’ ability to take advantage of the lower 20 percent tax rate.’
‘Lawmakers’ inability to address a tax break that Democrats and some Republicans have called unfair underscores the influence of lobbyists for the finance industry and how difficult it can be to change the tax code.’ (NYTimes) See gifted link below.
Thank you for reading it Bonnie. Voters need to know whose interests some elected representatives, such as Sinema, favor over those of the people she was elected to serve.
I agree with you about libraries however in the primary election this last Tuesday in a small Michigan town, the voters turned down a millage to support the local library. You know, that place with books on every subject, books that make the imagination soar, free internet access for those that can’t afford it, meeting rooms for local organizations, I could go on but you have get the idea. Why, you ask yourself, would the voters defund the library? Because someone found a book that that had LBTGQ subject matter in it. It created quite a stir, and the librarian was forced to move the book behind the counter so impressionable children couldn’t accidentally come upon it (even though it was shelved in the Adult Books section). But that wasn’t good enough, they wanted ALL books that contained any such subject matter to be removed from the library. When the library board refused, these people vowed to vote no on the library millage. And that is exactly what they did. The library will be forced to close next summer when it runs out of money.
That story deserves national attention. Two of our libraries were threatened with closure during Covid's early days. County Bd of Supervisors decided the facilities would make great daycare centers for county employees' kids. While we went to the barricades to stop the plan, the employees in question said they had no interest in sending their kids to a library daycare. Libraries prevailed, and we sure learned from the outcry how important they are to our community.
Cathy - Yes, I read about this. Made a donation. I work in MD Library and we are so fortunate to receive excellent funding with well-informed library boards. More power to this little library!
Hedge fund managers and such who benefit from the carried interest loophole have given Sinema a great deal of money, which explains her interest in it. Unlike that corruption, her advocacy for climate change funding to help her state survive drought is called doing her job. Funny thing about the Green Party. It claims to be green as in progressive, and repeatedly turns out to be green as in taking money to degrade progressive efforts.
Given what we know about the people of AZ, I wouldn't be surprised if she's re-elected. Not sure a lot of AZ voters have brains. They just follow.(Apologies to those here who live in the Grand Canyon State, aka, Arizona.)
Also, if they shaft this bill and the Dems lose the Senate, M&S will become totally irrelevant. If the Dems keep the Senate, even if we add Senators who will move aside the filibuster, M&S still have some importance.
Senate Majority Leader and Whip Kyrsten Sinema certainly held the Senate hostage for $5 billion in drought money and narrowing the carried interest loophole. Not sure why such a tax is of interest to her. Business interests. It was suggested private parties were after her to stop it from going into effect.
By her lonesome this time. Can't blame Manchin. Instead, Democrats added “a new 1 percent excise tax on stock buybacks that will bring in $73 billion, far more than the $14 billion raised by the carried interest provision, according to a Democrat familiar with the deal.”
Ok, that is sweet as it reduces the deficit. MMT proponents would argue, "who cares, we are sovereign."
We need a few more Senators so we can take away Sinema and Machin's temporary title of Senate Majority Leader.
I read an article today about Sinema. She is really strange as far as I am concerned. I did read that she was irked that she wasn't in on the deal in the first place. This is a woman who doesn't say anything much or explain her views and she wants to be calling the shots. I hope she goes down in 2024 and will certainly donate to a D opponent.
I find Sinema offensive in many ways. But let's just celebrate that she's not blocking a fundamentally strong piece of legislation, paving the way for another major victory for a Democratic administration intent on helping its citizens and the planet.
I will celebrate two more real Dem senators.
Indeed! There's a whole lot of other things we can do that she stands in the way of.
I too am glad she came around. And all the money she got for Arizona will not alter the problem of too many people using water in a place where they should not be nor stop the drought which will only get worse in the West.
That's what "pork" is for, wherever it gets put into a bill. Sinema cannot do much to ameliorate Arizona's main water problem -- the Colorado River water division occurred when Arizona had half the population it does not. That was well before the drought. Ironic, given geography.
What gets me too is that she is so clueless that she wasn't even subtle about being bought and paid for. Clueless about what the people of her state are up against, and clueless about thinking that nobody notices her blatent angling to be where she thinks the power lies. I hope AZ voters take a look at what is starting to happen in other states and use that as an example. My family AX branch has been gone for a while and it's a whole lot worse than it was then.
I think AZ will be a bit of a swamp for a while. That's where the bogus "recount" by the firm owned by a Trump supporter that had never before audited an election was approved.
It's on the cusp, but not sure anyone knows of what.
No she can't. Our neighbors take their RV and spend a few months in the Arizona area. They always comment on the low level of Lake Mead. Our other neighbors have their house for sale, so that they can live most of the year in Arizona. Know some others who have moved there and I do wonder about the wisdom of doing that because I think major water problems are not far in the future. One piece of good news here in Oregon, a developer who was wanting to build a water sucking resort near Bend and Redmond has given up the project. He would have walked off with sacks of money leaving the locals with waterless bags. Also the state of Oregon has a cooperative deal with some Native American tribes in southern Oregon to manage the natural resources. This is another place where people should not be ranching and growing potatoes. The state also developed a new wildfire risk map and sent notices to property owners as to what they had to do. The howling from areas like southern Oregon has been long and loud. I think it is mostly about insurance which they will be lucky to get at all in the near future.
And while I'm disappointed the Hedge Fund Manager Welfare hasn't been eliminated yet, I am very pleased on the tax on stock buy backs. Clever girl.
Now if we can just get a 5 cent "fee" on each and every financial transaction--regardless of its size--we can get rake in more billions toward the reducing the deficit, etc.
I think the excise tax on stock buybacks was Hickenlooper's suggestion.
thanks. He's good -- hope Colorado keeps him.
I disagree on the 5 cent fee on every financial transaction. Of course that will be passed on to consumers, just like credit card fees are now being passed on by many places.
The city of San Francisco imposed a fee/tax like this, and companies started moving out of the city. It is short sighted.
Didn't happen when Britain imposed the 1 cent "fee" on all financial transactions on the London Stock Exchange. $11 Billion in revenue to Britain's general treasury (or whatever they call it) on Year 1
Who are the "consumers" on Wall Street? Traders & Hedge Fund Managers & Stock Companies
It's not 5 cents per share; it's 5 cents per transaction--even if it's a billion dollar transaction.
I guess it's a matter of definition: "each and every financial transaction" vs financial transactions on the stock exchange. Words matter.
Sinema is a political chameleon and opportunist open to the highest bidder.
Soul is sold
I'm a little miffed that no one every offered me any money to be a political whore. Any body else getting these big bucks bribes?? I have to ask myself what I'm doing wrong.
You have too much class to be a political whore.
I'm pretty sure she has a "for hire" sign on her office door.
Yes. And a pimp who manages the traffic flow.
She and Lindsay Graham, twins separated at birth.
Exactamente. Perf descriptor.
Yep. I remember when she first ran....sure fooled a lot of people.
Michele, I do as well. She became our Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The only difference seems to be that Gangrene's mouth never stops.
She hasn't made any friends with other Democrats, she makes a point of hanging out with Republicans. But then, that's the usual arc for a moron with an IQ low enough to qualify as a Green, which is where she began.
While I agree that Sinema is a problematic politician and could never understand her switch from Green to Dirty, our family home in Germany is in a city-state run by a Green-Left-Social Democrat coalition. It has the highest rate of covid vaccination in Germany, at 89% which is much higher than the USA and where instead of expecting the government to lower the price of fuel, everyone is making sure that their homes are as energy efficient as they possibly can be which is why all of the Energy consultants are booked a into the next year. You need an energy consultant to assess your home and advise you so that you can get government rebates for the improvements you make by adding insulation (for homes that tend to be better insulated naturally by design than houses in the USA), improving your heating sources, like wall, ceiling, floor radiant heating, adding solar or photovoltaic panels on your roof, changing to heat pumps, geothermal to lower ones use of energy be it gas, electric, oil, or wood. Greens are not fringe candidates in Germany and are gaining ground in Europe. Dr Robert Habeck Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and Annalena Baerbock Minister of Foreign Affairs are very popular politicians. Both are members of the German Green party. In countries with coalition governments, which the USA cannot have because of the political setup, it looks different to have the Green Party as a member, because they keep the climate agenda on the forefront in political decision making.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/how-green-party-success-reshaping-global-politics
While Sweden currently is run by a single Social Democratic leader with backing of Green, Left and Centre parties, prior to that it had a coalition government of Social Democrats and the Green Party. Finland has a coalition government that includes Social Democrats and Greens. Austria is run by a coalition of the People's Party and the Greens. Vienna has just gotten a climate award from Singapore.
https://www.leekuanyewworldcityprize.gov.sg/resources/news/2022-press-release/
They are also coalition partners in Montenegro, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, and Spain.
In the USA they may act as a spoiler to the only 2 parties who have a chance of getting elected, but that is one of the unfortunate aspects of our system, that it has boiled down to only two parties having a chance of winning. It has disengaged far too many people. With coalition governments, many more people may vote in other countries. Of the 60 million eligible to vote in the last Federal election almost 46.5 mil voted. That is around 78% of the population. In the USA we had our highest voter turnout in 2020 and that was almost 67%. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2020-presidential-election-voting-and-registration-tables-now-available.html
So, our set up gets fewer people to vote because anyone who does not feel that either the Democrats or the Republicans really represents their interests does not feel compelled to vote, whereas in Germany when you know that your candidate needs a certain percentage to have a seat at the governing table, regardless of whether they will be the lead candidate, they will still have a say, so that is more motivating. Not to say that parliamentary government works better than our system. Look at England. However, just saying that Green Party candidates are only a spoiler in our system. I personally find climate change to be the defining issue for our continued existence and look at which of the 2 major parties can best bring about addressing it, knowing full well that the Green party would be more focused, but have less chance to win and get anything done. Ultimately one wants to vote for people who will get things done. It is why I would have never voted for Ralph Nader. I don't believe that every activist a president makes.
I worked Thursday’s elections in TN for county and state offices. One young lady showed up at the wrong precinct, so I tried to redirect her. She said no, it wasn’t a presidential election and she had errands to run. I wanted to give her a five-minute tutorial on why local elections are important, including they are stepping stones to higher office. See The States Project and Run for Something websites.
One of those people who is an embarrassment
Like
Thanks for that - in Oz, the Greens appear to be somewhat split between the people oriented component and the environmental. I'm not aware of the nature of the Greens in Germany/Europe, but, as the saying goes, they seem to have their shit together. Unfortunately the US system makes it difficult for a 3rd party to emerge. But to denigrate their intelligence is stupid in the extreme.
In Germany, the Greens garnered enough votes in the last general election to take a significant role in the current coalition government. And they are doing a good job - competent and level-headed. In our state of North Rhine Westphalia, they are a major player and their numbers in the rest of the country have been steadily rising over the last few election cycles.
Greens in Germany and elsewhere are not the same as Greens in America. Greens in America are unprincipled Putin-loving morons (See: Stein, Jill; Sarandon, Susan). There are numerous instances of a Green taking money from Republicans to run against a popular Democrat and drain their vote to allow a Republican victory. They think doing that will "speed the revolution." Stein took money from Putin in 2016 to screw with HRC's campaign and give the victory to Trump.
It is so strange how we Americans dismiss European countries with all the civilized decisions they have made as "socialists." So many of us seem to prefer ignorance to progressivism. Heaven help us if a cent goes to the "undeserving," a euphemism for anyone not of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, or region.
Good discussion. Now, if we could only have the "parties" (2 in this case) behaving in a adult manner we'd be in the game. So unfortunate.., that one party promotes bizarre principles, relies on double-speak dishonesty, a degrading diatribe, and blatant support for white supremacy. All of which their tailgate voters openly endorse or are simply oblivious to. DAWGONNIT America...please wake up!!
Yes. In essence we have a very broken system, which those of us who are trying to participate honorably are trying to keep afloat. Many are giving up though. Scammers are really abundant.
Thanks! Great info and appreciate your knowledge.
The Greens in Australia are actually intelligent. What's your beef with the American version?
So TC what's your issue with the Greens? - OK - I tend to find that they have conflicting priorities - pro-people (sensu-lato) and pro-environment. The policies are often in conflict. We have the same issue in Oz. However demonizing the Greens doesn't help - they need guidance. I know nothing about the US version of the Greens - but someone has to generate a counter to the current "It's the economy, stupid".
Greens in America are unlike Greens elsewhere. They are politically unprincipled - there have been several instances discovered of Greens taking money from Republicans to run against a popular Democrat in a close race to drain votes from the Democrat. There's Jill Stein, who took Putin's money, still dances his dance, and who worked to defeat Hillary in 2016 on the grounds that a Trump victory would "speed the revolution." In other words, they're alleged-lefty MORONS. The last thing anyone with a brain would want to do is live in a USA run by these idiots.
So true
Trojan horse, so tired of the S and M dog and pony shows.
Yuh... a room temperature "IQ"....Probly ohnz a Harlee.
She is definitely going down in 2024. She won't win the primary.
I wouldn't bet on it. Hanging out with Republicans is not a bad thing in Arizona, especially these days. Word is she'll run as an Independent when up for reelection.
Repeublicans nowadays may like her as a PITA to Democrats, but they're unlikely to vote for a bisexual environmentalist when they can vote for a real red meat Trumpist Fascist and get the Real Thing.
Sinema would draw some moderate Republicans, like Cindy McCain who endorsed her. Particularly given the Trumpists. And she'll draw some Democrats, who need independents and moderates to win. I think it will hurt the Dems--splits almost always do (Ross Perot is the exception).
Ugh
She has made lots of enemies among AZ Democrats.
Which is why rumor has it she'll run for reelection as an Independent.
Her political transformation--which has been stunning--has also earned her a strong following in Arizona. Word is she'll run as an Independent when up for reelection.
Hopefully, she steals votes from the R.
She may get the moderates. I'm very curious if Cindy McCain will endorse her as an Independent--widow of Arizona's Original Maverick.
Nothing moderate about her.
I agree. But Sinema is moderate compared to a Progressive Dem and a Trumpist.
She gets a lot of her financial contributions from the finance industry. After we get two more Senators this fall and she goes back to being the irrelevant idiot she was born to be, we'll get that carried interest business straightened out next year and start reigning in the pinstriped pimps.
TC.... "Pinstriped Pimps" is a wonderful descriptor. I hope it finds its way into the Dems campaign rhetoric. Thank you for making me aware of it.
TCinLa:
I think I made my thoughts known without offending women. As a male, I can not cross that line.
I do need women posters/authors at or site to cover issues I can not cover adequately. It is a hard find. Our people left due to prof requirements, family, etc.
No pay involved just a place on an economics blog which has been cited as one of the best.
We are damn good . . .
I read Adam Tooze and Paul Krugman.
Krugman for me.
Ah, got it. Just saw this.
Hi bill, Which economics blog is it? Sounds interesting. Also, re: crossing that line, "what the hell are you doing" isn't very nice for this friendly blog....
I think I apologized for and explained my mistake
Angry Bear
Link please
https://adamtooze.substack.com/
You can google Krugman all over the place. Enjoy!
Thanks
Sinema is at great risk for 2024. She’ll have tons of money from her corporate donors but AZ voters are sick of her behavior
She had the gall to send fund-raising email to me. Response was not printable.
Bonnie
Yes, I know and I am here now to ask the economic questions and ask what the h*ll are you doing?
Bill, I was surprised by your attack on Bonnie. Her comment seemed to be a warning about Sinema's ties to private equity firms as substantial donors to her political campaign.
Thank you for getting back to me. I think I explained what I meant in my statement to Bonnie. My wording was too generic and I had not preface to make such a statement. I goofed.
Hi Bill H. Good for hear from you. I knew that there was something screwy about your initial comment to Bonnie because it didn't sound like the real Bill H whose comments are topnotch. Cheers!
Thank you. I am not perfect. I am usually in a hurry. I make mistakes. And I am also a male. I am not in tune at times.
Why a pretty woman from Queens (yes, I went to Queens to find a Queen) who lived between two aunts and a raft of cousins chose me, I am not sure. Although, she never had a chance. I would be there on leave, and my young female cousins would rat on her. :) Fifty-one years later . . .
Bill. Not sure why you seem irritated w me but you can back off.
Bonnie:
You was used to convey "they," meaning her supporters and Sinema. "Here" means AZ.
It appears my sentence was not tied to a preface adequately. I am sorry for not being more specific and if it was hurtful. Thank you for letting me know.
OK. Thanks for clarifying. I’m a snowbird so can’t vote in AZ but I will share info with AZ friends and donate to her 2024 opponents.
‘Kyrsten Sinema ensured a $14 billion tax break for private equity, hedge fund, and real estate executives remains intact. It's a win for many of her campaign donors.’
‘The carried interest tax provision of the Inflation Reduction Act was expected to have raised about $14 billion over 10 years.’
'According to Open Secrets, the global private equity firms KKR, Carlyle, and Apollo Global Management are among the leading 20 sources of donations to Sinema's campaign committee between 2017 and 2022.'
'As Open Secrets notes, it isn't the organizations in the list that donated money directly, but rather, their "political action committees, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families." Further, subsidiaries and affiliates are included in the organizations' total donations figure.'
'Other organizations listed by Open Secrets among the leading 20 sources of donations include Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has invested in companies including Facebook, Twitter, and Airbnb; and Rudin Management, a private commercial and residential landlord and developer in New York City.'
'All in all, Sinema has received $2.2 million from investment firms between 2017 and 2022, according to Open Secrets.'
Sinema's office didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. (BusinessInsider) See link below.
‘Carried interest is the percentage of an investment’s gains that a private equity partner or hedge fund manager takes as compensation. At most private equity firms and hedge funds, the share of profits paid to managers is about 20 percent.’
‘Under existing law, that money is taxed at a capital-gains rate of 20 percent for top earners. That’s about half the rate of the top individual income tax bracket, which is 37 percent. A tax law passed by Republicans in 2017 largely left the treatment of carried interest intact, after an intense lobbying campaign, but it did narrow the exemption by requiring executives to hold their investments for at least three years to enjoy preferential tax treatment.’
‘An agreement reached last week by Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, would have extended that holding period to five years from three, while changing the way the period is calculated in hopes of reducing taxpayers’ ability to take advantage of the lower 20 percent tax rate.’
‘Lawmakers’ inability to address a tax break that Democrats and some Republicans have called unfair underscores the influence of lobbyists for the finance industry and how difficult it can be to change the tax code.’ (NYTimes) See gifted link below.
https://www.businessinsider.com/kyrsten-sinema-donors-score-win-from-carried-interest-tax-break-2022-8
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/business/carried-interest-senate-bill.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DFDm4fiO4IGImG9lzWIqFqfcEy0jjeRdldPaUiX-A31eJZNlBgDgOppp_CmIgAJ299j7OPaV4M_sCHW6Eko3itZ3OlKex7yfru4U6MYGXvXLjdgiIiOApk9JR6JVir0GhcwamTFOAhioQujq8xF9stE2d7ESqKtvbvDhp_PszXLU2Pr1lrBJwKHG3bjtWe6LkfcQRNCF2gTXJ34mo07dM0K8pAde-kbEZmIJyi9O1XXm94L46pBIkzT5zWk9houL3NrR-KwKmm1v2RpAiSElcGCq0pBUbiG2A&smid=url-share
Thanks!
Excellent backgrounder! Thanks!
Thank you. These Details are shocking.
Thank you for reading it Bonnie. Voters need to know whose interests some elected representatives, such as Sinema, favor over those of the people she was elected to serve.
If you feel the need to understand Sinema, read Alexandra Petri's piece in The Washington Post.
I will have to go to the dark side of the internet to gain access. But, ok!
Go to your public library! Most of us subscribe to WaPo with remote access for cardholders. Libraries - best dang use of your tax $$$
I agree with you about libraries however in the primary election this last Tuesday in a small Michigan town, the voters turned down a millage to support the local library. You know, that place with books on every subject, books that make the imagination soar, free internet access for those that can’t afford it, meeting rooms for local organizations, I could go on but you have get the idea. Why, you ask yourself, would the voters defund the library? Because someone found a book that that had LBTGQ subject matter in it. It created quite a stir, and the librarian was forced to move the book behind the counter so impressionable children couldn’t accidentally come upon it (even though it was shelved in the Adult Books section). But that wasn’t good enough, they wanted ALL books that contained any such subject matter to be removed from the library. When the library board refused, these people vowed to vote no on the library millage. And that is exactly what they did. The library will be forced to close next summer when it runs out of money.
UPDATE: Two GoFundMe accounts have raised $59,000 for the library so far 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
That's super news. Will announce at my dinner table tonight and let our County Library Director know. She is very concerned.
That story deserves national attention. Two of our libraries were threatened with closure during Covid's early days. County Bd of Supervisors decided the facilities would make great daycare centers for county employees' kids. While we went to the barricades to stop the plan, the employees in question said they had no interest in sending their kids to a library daycare. Libraries prevailed, and we sure learned from the outcry how important they are to our community.
Thankfully, it IS getting national attention. You can search Jamestown Township, Patmos Library.
This makes my head explode. Burn the witch!
Cathy - Yes, I read about this. Made a donation. I work in MD Library and we are so fortunate to receive excellent funding with well-informed library boards. More power to this little library!
Cathy,
This is awful!! And it sounds like a concerted effort to remove information of all kinds.
Recent?
Hear, hear.
Hedge fund managers and such who benefit from the carried interest loophole have given Sinema a great deal of money, which explains her interest in it. Unlike that corruption, her advocacy for climate change funding to help her state survive drought is called doing her job. Funny thing about the Green Party. It claims to be green as in progressive, and repeatedly turns out to be green as in taking money to degrade progressive efforts.
Jill not green Stein as an example.
Like
Last sentence is my reason for living, politically.
Well-said. Love your last line. Almost spilled my coffee down my front...
Thank you
Do you think Arizonans will re-elect her?
Given what we know about the people of AZ, I wouldn't be surprised if she's re-elected. Not sure a lot of AZ voters have brains. They just follow.(Apologies to those here who live in the Grand Canyon State, aka, Arizona.)
Depends on who else runs.
Also, if they shaft this bill and the Dems lose the Senate, M&S will become totally irrelevant. If the Dems keep the Senate, even if we add Senators who will move aside the filibuster, M&S still have some importance.