Working Life

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Burger King’s tax inversion strategy–you know, the clever tax dodge strategy that’s all the rage among the corporate elite because it funnels hundreds of billions of dollars overseas and outside the reach of the IRS. Well, that apparently isn’t the half of it. Burger King has a two-pronged approach to screwing the country–at the waistline and at the bottom line.

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It never ceases to amaze me how, either because they are intentionally trying to mislead people or because they are just dumb/incompetent, “analysts” or public commentators and/or politicians profess to be flummoxed by the weak economy, the stop-and-go nature of growth and economic activity. Well, this isn’t rocket science: when you have an economy powered mostly by consumer spending and people don’t have money to spend, shit won’t get bought…is this not obvious? And that’s the message–the correct one–being delivered this week to the G20.

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Certain things I get no pleasure being right about. Like the lack of jobs. But, hey, I said back in July no one should be celebrating short-term hype on the economy. Sure enough…

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Today, as many people know, fast food workers went on strike, marched and some participated in acts of civil disobedience in support of a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Here are some pics from New York. PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN–EITHER FROM NYC OR OTHER PLACES!   Going to jail for justice Signs of the times: McDonald’s needs […]

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Well, of course, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development wouldn’t quite say it that way. But, that is the upshot of what a relatively mainstream operation tells us: the financial crisis is still being felt worldwide, with millions of people out of work who would have been working but for the greed of the bankers and stupidity of politicians, including those in the U.S.

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A louder rumble is brewing in the fight to end poverty–also known as the fight to hike the minimum wage. Filling some jails is on the agenda…

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Politics is full of really asinine ideas–let’s see, the Iraq War counts as a good example. But, for perhaps the dumbest one going I’d offer up the mumbling, coming from even some Democrats, to eliminate the corporate tax. It is stupefyingly idiotic–in the midst of the greatest divide between rich and poor in 50 years, and corporate profits rising to record levels even as wage growth remain at its lowest level in half a century.

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Before I rip Burger King a new one, a moment of full disclosure: I haven’t walked into one of those joints in I dunno 25 years. So, maybe it’s worth the whatever it costs now to choke down and swallow that stuff. But, know this: every dollar you put into that place now is basically a contribution to yet another tax dodge–theft from the public’s right to have a decent society.

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Truthfully, this is not particularly a new idea. For a long time, I, and others, have been pointing out that the data about the economy and jobs does not reflect how bad it really is–and this was true way before the financial crisis. But, drumroll, a little academic cover joins the chorus.

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A problem that I’ve been writing about for several years is the grim reality that the top bankers and Wall Street guys, who were responsible for the financial crisis, have never been out in jail–and jailing these guys is the only way that there is a chance that the same thing won’t happen again. Which brings us to the story of Angelo Mozilo.

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