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Judd Legum

16 Sep, 8 tweets, 3 min read

1. For the last three decades there has been an unprecedented concentration of wealth among the top 0.1% of families

Biden proposed some policies to make things a bit more fair

But very wealthy people can afford very good lobbyists

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…

2. These lobbyists have convinced DEMOCRATS to kill some of the most important of Biden's proposals

For example, the House Ways and Means Committee has dropped Biden's plan to end the tax loophole for dynastic wealth

It's egregious

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…

3. Right now, extremely rich people can accumulate billions in wealth gains throughout their lifetime through capital gains from stocks and other assets

But they can avoid paying taxes by passing those assets onto their heirs

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…

4. This is called the "stepped-up basis" loophole. At death, the "cost" of the stock or asset for purpose of capital gains is "stepped-up" to its present value. This allows the heirs of the very wealthy to avoid paying taxes on those gains EVER

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…

5. A dark money group hired former Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp to argue that this tax loophole should be maintained.

Just a few months ago, Heitkamp called the loophole "one of the biggest scams in the history of forever."

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…

6. Democrats in the House, so far, have also abandoned Biden's proposals to close tax loopholes benefiting private equity managers and the oil and gas industry.

Those folks also can afford very good lobbyists.

Who is lobbying for the average American?

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…

7. This is a generational opportunity to fix some of the most indefensible loopholes in the tax system that are used by corporations and the wealthy to avoid paying billions in taxes

Average people are getting sold out behind closed doors

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…

8. The rich are counting on the complexity of these tax loopholes to blunt public interest

But it demands your attention

You won't always get the full story from the corporate media

Sign up for independent accountability journalism in your inbox popular.info/subscribe

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More from @JuddLegum

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

15 Sep

1. The California recall was unsuccessful. But it was part of a much larger strategy to orient Republican politics around undermining & overturning democratic outcomes

Elder ultimately conceded. But he preemptive declared himself a victim of voter fraud

popular.info/p/the-january-…

2. Elder's voter fraud claims were never going to reverse the results in Cali.

But that wasn't the point.

"Allegations of ballot-rigging help Trump-friendly forces build their base, in California and elsewhere."

popular.info/p/the-january-…

3. Trump, of course, actively supported the Elder campaign's baseless claims

But he's also engaged in a much more alarming effort to put voter fraud conspiracy theorists in charge of election administration in key states like Georgia, Arizona, & Michigan

popular.info/p/the-january-…

Read 8 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

13 Sep

1. Texas is just the beginning.

At least seven states are considering copying Texas' draconian abortion ban.

The politicians behind this effort have overwhelming support from the nation's largest corporations

popular.info/p/in-key-state…

2. Exclusive new data reveals that in seven key states (AR, FL, SC, SD, KY, OK, OH) Fortune 250 corporations donated $5.7M to legislators that oppose abortion rights and just $1M to legislators that support abortion rights in the 2020 cycle

popular.info/p/in-key-state…

3. The data undermines the idea that corporate donations are inconsequential because corps give equally to "both sides." In the states where abortion rights are most at risk, corps are providing a 5-to-1 financial advantage to anti-abortion legislators.

popular.info/p/in-key-state…

Read 6 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

11 Sep

One of the most incredible political accomplishments of my lifetime is George W Bush casting himself as a "hero" of 9/11 even though he

1. Ignored intelligence warning him of an attack in the Summer of 2001

2. Responded with the disastrous war in Iraq

3. Never caught Bin Laden

#neverforget

We've been conditioned to believe that criticizing Bush for 9/11, and the response is "unpatriotic"

No, what is unpatriotic is exploiting the fear and anxieties that Americans had after 9/11 to launch an ideological war

Read 4 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

10 Sep

@ATT

1. This is a quick story about how @ATT uses money and power to manipulate public perception of its brand and censor critics.

Follow along if interested.

@ATT

@ATT 2. As I've detailed in popular.info, @ATT is a major supporter of state legislators pushing voter suppression laws.

For example, they contributed 575K to the sponsors of Texas' voter suppression bill

popular.info/p/texas-voter-…

@ATT

@ATT 3. Last Friday, September 3, @Greenpeace purchased a digital billboard in the Chinatown neighborhood in DC. The billboard is right above DC's flagship @ATT store.

It said: "DON'T LET AT&T WRECK OUR DEMOCRACY. TELL AT&T TO STOP FUNDING RACIST VOTER SUPPRESSION"

Read 9 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

9 Sep

Reading through the DOJ's complaint against the State of Texas.

Follow along if interested.

justsecurity.org/wp-content/upl…

2. "It is settled constitutional law that 'a State may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability.'"

Hard to argue with that. Cites Casey and Roe.

This isn't rocket science.

3. "Texas enacted S.B. 8 in open defiance of the Constitution...Instead of relying on the State’s executive branch to enforce the law, as is the norm in Texas and elsewhere, the State has deputized ordinary citizens to serve as bounty hunters"

Read 8 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

9 Sep

1. Billionaire private equity managers pay a lower tax rate on their income than everyone else

Closing this loophole could provide billions in revenue to support paid leave & other programs

But the billionaires aren't going down without a fight

popular.info/p/treating-bil…

@USChamber

2. The @USChamber, the powerful lobbying org that represents nearly every major American company, produce a report claiming that making private equity managers pay the normal tax rate would result in THE LOSS OF 4.9 MILLION JOBS

It's completely bogus

popular.info/p/treating-bil…

3. On the surface, the claim is ludicrous. Why would taxing private equity managers at a higher rate cost even one job, much less 4.9 MILLION, equivalent to every job in the state of Georgia?

But when you dig into the details it gets even worse.

popular.info/p/treating-bil…

Read 7 tweets

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