Day: September 25, 2012

Bill Clinton Reveals Something Not Generally Known: Only Chile And Mexico Among OECD Nations Taxes Capital Gains Lower Than US!

OECD, the Organization For Economic Cooperation And Development, consists of 34 nations, that promote democracy and the market economy, and consists of nations in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Canada and Australia and New Zealand.

Their goal is to promote economic growth, and they hold regular meetings of delegations to accomplish that goal.

But former President Bill Clinton, arguing today at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City, made the point in interviews, that wealthy people in America are indeed very privileged, and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also made that point in a speech.

The reason for both Clintons stating this is the statistic on Capital Gains on the wealthy, and the stunning reality that our 15 percent Capital Gains tax on investments in this nation, brought about by Republican action in Congress in the past decade, and helping to cause the budget crisis we face now, is the THIRD lowest of all the 34 nations in OECD, with only Chile and Mexico being lower!

So wealthy people are getting a real advantage on capital gains, as for instance Mitt Romney has had in the past decade, but also with income tax cuts for the wealthy in the past ten years, one could say that the wealthy are “making out like bandits”, as the saying goes, which is much too accurate!

The US Senate Balance At Stake In 2012 Elections

Presently, there are 51 Democrats, two Independents, and 47 Republicans In the US Senate.

There are 33 races for the Senate this year, with 23 being Democratic or Independent seats, and just 10 being Republican.

So the odds would seem to be in favor of the Republicans gaining seats, and possibly the majority of the Senate, if they can gain four seats, or three seats if Paul Ryan becomes Vice President.

Eleven Senators are retiring, 6 Democrats, one Independent (Joe Lieberman of Connecticut), and 4 Republicans.

Sixteen Democrats are seeking reelection, while six Republicans are seeking another term.

Many of these seats are seen as “safe”, with 11 Democrats out of the 16 seemingly safe, and four out of six Republicans considered to be assured reelection.

So the real struggle for the US Senate is for five seats held by Democrats, plus seven seats being vacated, for a total of 12 seats—plus three seats of retired Republicans, and two seats of Republicans running for reelection, for a total of 5 seats.

So 17 seats are up for grabs, and the maximum number of seats that could be gained by the Democrats would be five, making a possible total of 58, including two Independents, and for the Republicans, the maximum number of seats that could be gained is 12, for a possible total of 59 seats.

Will the Democrats have 58 seats, or the Republicans have 59 seats, in reality? The answer is NO, but it leaves the future of the Senate very much in play.

These races will be examined in the upcoming weeks until the election six weeks from now!