1. Michelle
Seiler-Tucker:
U.S. Economy Continues to Grow
2. James Hirsen: Hollywood
Unravels
3. Jeff Ferry: In Corporate Taxes,
It’s the Tax Base That Matters
4. Lowell Ponte: The
Left’s Failed Civil War
5. John LeBoutillier: Gaming the Odds of
Any GOP Tax Bill Getting Signed into Law
U.S. Economy Continues
to Grow
The
U.S. economy grew 3.1% during the third quarter of 2017. This was higher than
expected after several states were damaged by hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Many
analysts believed that there would be a sharp slowdown in our economic growth
following the devastating results of this year’s hurricane season. However,
spending held steady, even though home building investment dropped. Consumer
spending had a 2.3% growth, added with the increased growth of exports;
business investments in equipment and intellectual property kept the GDP growth
rate at 3%. This was despite the fall of construction spending, mainly due to
the effects of the hurricanes this year. [more...]
Hollywood
Unravels
By
James
Hirsen
Hollywood is experiencing a seismic displacement that is impacting
its business, brand, and future prospects. Since the disgusting serial behavior
of Harvey Weinstein was made known to the public courtesy of the tenacious
reporting of journalist Ronan Farrow, some of the most powerful members of the
Hollywood community have been accused of various forms of sexual misconduct
ranging from sexual harassment to criminal sexual assault. The alleged
perpetrators comprise a list of some of the biggest and most heralded names in
Hollywood... [more...]
In Corporate Taxes,
It’s the Tax Base That Matters
By
Jeff
Ferry
In
their just-announced tax reform plan, the Republicans are focusing on the
corporate tax rate. But that’s the wrong variable to look at. The tax base is
much more important than the rate, because the tax base determines the
corporate profit that can be taxed. A broader tax base enables a lower tax rate;
and if Congress does not change the tax base, then cutting the rate will prove
a short-lived benefit, because continued erosion of the base will mean tax
revenue will decline further and rates will need to go up again in the future. The
core problem in today’s corporate tax system is that we say we have a worldwide
tax system but in reality we tax mostly corporate income (profit) booked in the
U.S. [more...]
The
Left’s Failed Civil War
By
Lowell Ponte
What
promised to launch an "Antifa apocalypse" for America proved instead
to be not a bang, but a whimper. Only a handful of the usual radicals
showed up in a few liberal cities to carry signs supplied by the Revolutionary
Communist Party, which idolizes the Marxist totalitarianism of Mao Zedong. Even
in New York City, mobilized by a full-page New York Times ad on November 1,
photos appeared to be only a meager menagerie of protesters huddled
together on a street in a city where large, boisterous left-wing rallies are
commonplace. [more...]
Gaming the Odds of Any GOP Tax Bill Getting Signed into
Law
What
are the odds that this new GOP tax bill - called The Tax Cut and Jobs Act
- passes and is signed into law? Let us go through the political calculations
and make a series of estimates: This particular bill itself - as announced last
week - will not be passed... ever. But that is normal. It will be changed,
tweaked, altered, bargained over and negotiated into a different bill... [more...]
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