Once again, CNBC pulls out the big guns!
No sooner does the market begin to show signs of life than our favorite financial networks goes to the bench and pulls out interviews with both Dr. Doom, Nouriel Roubini (7:30) and Mr. Gloom, Mohammed El-Erian (8:30) to tell us how awful everything really is – no matter what we may dare to think.
I’m not generally for censorship but, in CNBC’s case, I think it’s tme we make an exception. At least make them stop pretending to be a news station and make them come out of every break disclosing the fact that their parent company, GE, not only benefits from a poor economy that forces the Government to maintan low interest rates and offer them bailouts, but that they (GE) are also the nation’s largest abuser user of “uncertain tax positons,” with $8.7Bn of questionable deductions.
Raise taxes?!? Are you joking? CNBC’s parent company refuses to pay taxes at the Bush cut rates – there is no way they are going to put up with paying their full share. Just 500 US companies did not pay $200Bn worth of taxes last year in deductions that even their own auditors were forced to list as “questionable accounting strategies.” That’s 50% more than the entire $138Bn paid by all US corporations last year, which happens to be just 1/14th as much money as their employees had to pay to support the economy, even though the corporations and the top 10% made $9Tn in profits and income last year while the bottom 90% made just $4Tn.
The current corporate rate of 35 percent is higher than that in many other developed countries. But Congress has larded the code with so many deductions and loopholes — including a dollar-for-dollar credit for taxes paid to foreign governments and generous deductions for depreciation and debt financing — that the effective rate paid by most companies is below 22 percent, lower than in most developed countries.
Outrageous or business as usual in America – we report, you decide… Meanwhile, CNBC is going for the gusto this morning wth a string of bears leading up to the unemployment report at 8:30 but, like last week’s number, expectations are getting so dire it’s going to be hard to shock people. Of course, that won’t stop our GE’s public relations and lobbying arm from trying.
You will hear all about how bonds are not in a bubble on CNBC (and I…
