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Scuba

(53,475 posts)
Mon Jul 21, 2014, 08:14 PM Jul 2014

I absolutely love this idea: The Bad Boss Tax [View all]

http://billmoyers.com/2014/07/21/the-bad-boss-tax/


The Bad Boss Tax
July 21, 2014
by Sarah Jaffe



TakeAction Minnesota, a network that promotes economic and racial justice in the state, wants to make that fee a reality. It’s developing the framework for a bill that it hopes will be introduced in 2015 by state legislators who have worked with the network in the past. As conceived, the “bad business fee” legislation would require companies to disclose how many of their employees are receiving public assistance from the state or federal government. Companies would then pay a fine based on the de facto subsidies they receive by externalizing labor costs onto taxpayers.

TakeAction Minnesota’s plan is one prong of a larger national effort. As progressive organizations grapple with how to turn years of public outrage over income inequality into policies for structural change, a network of labor and community organizing groups has seized upon the bad business fee as a solution that might take off.

...

Just how much money are low-wage businesses draining from local, state and federal coffers? A study released in April by Americans for Tax Fairness, a coalition of more than 400 organizations that advocate progressive tax reform, estimated that Wal-Mart alone costs taxpayers $6.2 billion annually in public assistance. That report draws from a 2013 study by the Democratic staff of the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which estimated that Wal-Mart cost taxpayers, on average, between $3,015 and $5,815 per worker. For a hypothetical 300-person Wal-Mart Supercenter in Wisconsin, that added up to as much as $1.75 million in public subsidies per year. Those taxpayer dollars come in the form of joint federal-state programs such as Medicaid and the School Breakfast Program, as well as federal ones such as the National School Lunch Program, the Section 8 Housing Program, the Earned Income Tax, Low Income Home Energy Assistance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps).

Americans for Tax Fairness used the House Democrats’ study to extrapolate Wal-Mart’s public-assistance burden on each state. In Minnesota, for example, where Wal-Mart has 20,997 employees, the public burden totaled $92.7 million per year. That’s $92.7 million Wal-Mart isn’t paying in wages or benefits, but that instead is being borne by taxpayers — taxpayers who, of course, include Wal-Mart workers.



Emphasis mine.
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K & R !!! WillyT Jul 2014 #1
Oh Hell Yeah! Erich Bloodaxe BSN Jul 2014 #2
Make it gradually hurt more. Half-Century Man Jul 2014 #10
. BlancheSplanchnik Jul 2014 #17
An Excellent Idea, Sir The Magistrate Jul 2014 #3
Great idea! truebluegreen Jul 2014 #4
I love it! Brigid Jul 2014 #5
Superb! Sherman A1 Jul 2014 #6
Please do that in CA nt abelenkpe Jul 2014 #7
My sentiments exactly. KamaAina Jul 2014 #68
This should be federal. BrotherIvan Jul 2014 #8
TOTALLY AWESOME OneAngryDemocrat Jul 2014 #9
Tax Them Big Time colsohlibgal Jul 2014 #11
Another great thread! woo me with science Jul 2014 #12
Works for me. secondvariety Jul 2014 #13
I'm pretty sure SCOTUS™ will have none of it. GeorgeGist Jul 2014 #14
And maybe make them incorporate some sort of Scarlet Letter into their logo Jackpine Radical Jul 2014 #15
YES! BlancheSplanchnik Jul 2014 #16
Great Idea... supercats Jul 2014 #18
K&R. Brilliant idea. Fair to the best bosses who pay living wages. JDPriestly Jul 2014 #19
Someone needs to fix the rec button. Phlem Jul 2014 #20
Real numbers makes income inequality harder to deny rickyhall Jul 2014 #21
While I believe this 'bad boss tax' might be helpful in taising wages Jenoch Jul 2014 #22
knr HCE SuiGeneris Jul 2014 #23
+++ ReasonableToo Jul 2014 #24
Makes sense. What do Hillary supporters say? grahamhgreen Jul 2014 #25
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Jul 2014 #26
Kicked and recommended! Enthusiast Jul 2014 #27
Bad Idea possiblylogical Jul 2014 #28
Any sources to back up your claim, or is this just your opinion? Scuba Jul 2014 #29
Common sense. possiblylogical Jul 2014 #32
So it's just your opinion. Got it. Scuba Jul 2014 #33
Does anything I say seem incorrect? possiblylogical Jul 2014 #35
Yes. Scuba Jul 2014 #37
May I ask what? possiblylogical Jul 2014 #41
Do you think these corporations aren't already hiring the cheapest labor they can find? Scuba Jul 2014 #46
But the people that are more reliant on welfare are no longer the cheapest labor. possiblylogical Jul 2014 #47
The problem here is employers shifting their costs to the taxpayers. There needs to be a penalty .. Scuba Jul 2014 #50
Why are you so concerned about penalizing companies? possiblylogical Jul 2014 #53
Perhaps "penalizing" is a poor choice of words on my part. What the law really does ... Scuba Jul 2014 #57
I'm not sure why it's the company's "cost" Abq_Sarah Jul 2014 #67
Presumably the law would take into account things like different sized families. Scuba Jul 2014 #69
How would you make that work? Lee-Lee Jul 2014 #76
I wouldn't. Please re-read my post. Scuba Jul 2014 #77
So then why not use a minimum wage? possiblylogical Jul 2014 #88
This is how intellectual discussions work joeglow3 Jul 2014 #45
Taking steps to avoiding discrimination would be a mess. possiblylogical Jul 2014 #48
We'd better repeal all laws then, if people are just going to work around them. Scuba Jul 2014 #49
No. When designing rules and regulations, we should make sure to consider incentives. possiblylogical Jul 2014 #51
Your argument seems to be .... Scuba Jul 2014 #56
In the real world... Lee-Lee Jul 2014 #78
In the real world, employers are shifting billions in costs to the taxpayers. Want to fix it? Scuba Jul 2014 #79
Sure I want to fix it Lee-Lee Jul 2014 #80
This could work brilliantly IF you also make it illegal to ask Lyric Jul 2014 #84
When people apply for jobs they reveal information about themselves through the application process. possiblylogical Jul 2014 #86
My argument is that there is really no reason to use this method as a solution to the problem.. possiblylogical Jul 2014 #87
The unintended consequence- if you get assistance don't apply Lee-Lee Jul 2014 #30
Please see my post #56, particularly the part on hiring discrimination. Scuba Jul 2014 #59
I like this idea. Once in a while, we agree on an issue. badtoworse Jul 2014 #31
I don't care how we re-distribute it - TBF Jul 2014 #34
Be better if they gave the money to the workers, though. n/t DirkGently Jul 2014 #36
Chicken or the egg? Indydem Jul 2014 #38
I think this one's obvious. The corporations don't care if the workers get taxpayer help .... Scuba Jul 2014 #39
I'm not entirely sure about that. Indydem Jul 2014 #40
If you look at developing countries, possiblylogical Jul 2014 #43
I could be wrong... but it is a relatively recent phenomenon salin Jul 2014 #70
Sweetness! nt MrScorpio Jul 2014 #42
Why didn't democrats fix the minimum wage when they controlled the whole government? joeglow3 Jul 2014 #44
When did Democrats control the whole government well enough to do that? jmowreader Jul 2014 #62
That is a cop out and you know it joeglow3 Jul 2014 #72
Facts are a cop out? Where am I? JaneyVee Jul 2014 #73
The idea of a bullshit Bad Boss Tax? jmowreader Jul 2014 #75
I sooo love this idea. MoonchildCA Jul 2014 #52
kicking because I love the idea nt navarth Jul 2014 #54
This thread was just promoted on the Thomas Hartmann radio show GusBob Jul 2014 #55
K&R n/t myrna minx Jul 2014 #58
Where would the demarcation line of low wage/fair wage be drawn...and who would decide that ?nt clarice Jul 2014 #60
From what I can gather it would be based on a wage that still leave the employee ... Scuba Jul 2014 #61
Just seems like there is a lot of grey area. nt clarice Jul 2014 #63
So would the fine equal the subsidies or be something like .0005% of the subsidies? valerief Jul 2014 #64
This. Is. Brilliant. n/t TygrBright Jul 2014 #65
The real welfare cheats... annabanana Jul 2014 #66
K & R They_Live Jul 2014 #71
This is a GREAT idea! PatrickforO Jul 2014 #74
Why Not... delphi72 Jul 2014 #81
How awesome an idea is that! K&R Jefferson23 Jul 2014 #82
Walmart will be history in Minnesota! redstatebluegirl Jul 2014 #83
The pay outs for CEO's, top management and stock dividends are the reason... L0oniX Jul 2014 #85
Me Too! RiffRandell Jul 2014 #89
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