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Author Topic: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus  (Read 1004 times)

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The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« on: March 30, 2020, 04:48:59 PM »
The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin has decided how Russia is going to pay for the corona-virus.


He’s going to tax the rich.

It’s a remedy that most Americans would support if they were given the choice, but they weren’t asked. Instead, Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus package for which the American taxpayer will be held entirely responsible. Even worse, the new legislation contains a $500 billion allocation (another corporate giveaway) that the Federal Reserve will use as a capital base for borrowing $4.5 trillion. That massive sum of money will be used to buy toxic bonds in the corporate bond market. Just as Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) were used to fleece millions of investors out of their hard-earned savings in the run-up to the 2008 Financial Crisis, so too, “toxic” corporate bonds were the weapon of choice that was used to pilfer trillions of dollars from investors in the run-up to today’s crisis. (Same scam, different instrument) The virus was merely the proximate cause that tipped the sector into meltdown. The problem had been festering for years and everyone in the financial community (Including the Fed, the BIS and the IMF) knew that it was only a matter of time before the market would blow sky-high. Which it did.

What every American needs to know is that our crooked bought-and-paid-for Congress just passed a bill that transfers the credit risk for $4.5 trillion of corporate sludge onto the National Debt. A bailout of this magnitude could impact the nation’s credit rating (Fitch has already issued a warning), send interest rates to the moon, dampen economic activity for years to come, and pave the way for a long and painful slump. The much ballyhooed $1,200 checks for unemployed workers are merely a tactical diversion that’s being used to conceal the giant ripoff that is taking place right under our noses.

In contrast, Putin has settled on a more rational and compassionate plan. He’s going to launch a relief program that actually focuses on the people who need it the most. Then, he’s going to cover the costs by taxing the people who are most capable of shouldering the burden. His intention is not to “soak the rich” or to redistribute wealth. He simply wants to find the most equitable way to share the costs for this completely unexpected crisis. In short, Putin was presented with two very bad options:

1– Let the Russian people huddle in their homes (“shelter in place”) until the food runs out and the bills pile up to the ceiling.

2–Or tap into a temporary source of revenue that will help the country get through the hard times.

He wisely chose the latter option not because he’s a fiery leftist who hates the “free market”, but because he realizes that in a time of national crisis, the people who are more able to pay, should pay. It’s a question of fairness.

And who are the people who will benefit from Putin’s plan? Well, he named them in a speech he delivered to the nation just last week. Here’s a clip:

20 Years of Vladimir Putin: His Top Domestic and Foreign Policy Successes
“We also need to take additional steps, primarily to ensure the social protection of our people, their incomes and jobs, as well as support for small and medium-sized businesses, which employ millions of people….

First, all social protection benefits that our citizens are entitled to, should be renewed automatically over the next six months… if a family is entitled to subsidized housing and utility payments, they will not need to regularly confirm their per capita income to continue receiving this state support…all payments to war veterans and home-front workers timed to the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory, 75,000 and 50,000 rubles, respectively, should be made before the May holidays…

Second, it is essential to support families with children……..Third, we need to support those on sick leave and people who have lost their jobs.” (Putin’s Address to the Nation)

See? No big payouts to failing corporations, no welfare checks for Wall Street, and no tax breaks for fatcat bankers and their crooked friends. Just money for the people who desperately need it: Families with children, veterans, home-front workers, the sick, the unemployed, and the homeless. Simple and fair.

The strategy is aimed at everyone who is impacted by the virus, not just the people who filed taxes last year like the Trump Plan, but anyone who needs public assistance. At the same time, financial support will be provided for small and medium-sized businesses, incomes will be protected, jobs will be guaranteed. and mortgage payments will be suspended. It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s fairly comprehensive and targets the people that are most vulnerable. It also underscores the primary responsibility of government during times of crisis, that is, to ensure the health, safety and security of its people. That is Job 1.

The Putin plan also provides support for medical personnel, doctors, nurses, emergency staff, hospital employees, health care workers and first-responders. Here’s Putin:

“We have mobilized all the capabilities and resources for deploying a system of timely prevention and treatment. I would like to specially address doctors, paramedics, nurses, staff at hospitals, outpatient clinics, rural paramedic centers, ambulance services, and researchers: you are at the forefront of dealing with this situation. My heartfelt gratitude to you for your dedicated efforts.”

Will Putin and his advisors make mistakes in containing the virus and ending the contagion as swiftly as possible?

Probably, but it certainly looks like they’ve got their priorities right. Putin seems to understand that the health and welfare of the Russian people has to be put before the stock market, finance capital or the voracious corporate kingpins. In contrast, Trump wants to put more people at risk of infection by sending them back to work after Easter. That’s just not the way responsible leaders behave, not if they really care about the health of their people. Here’s more from Putin:

“There are two more measures I would like to suggest. First, all interest and dividend income that flows from Russia and is transferred abroad into offshore jurisdictions must be taxed properly….I suggest that those expatriating their income as dividends to foreign accounts should pay a 15 percent tax on these dividends….

Second, many countries levy income tax on interest earned by individuals from their bank deposits and investments in securities, while Russia does not tax this income at all. I propose that people with over 1 million rubles in bank deposits and debt securities pay a 13 percent tax on this income…. I propose using the budget revenue from these two measures to fund initiatives to support families with children and help people who are unemployed or on sick leave.”

What does it mean?

It means that Putin is closing tax havens and tax loopholes so he can get the money he needs to pay for the epidemic. It means he’s taking on the wealthiest and most powerful people in Russia so he can provide relief for the people who are stuck in their homes trying to survive. It means he’s risking his own political future in order to do the right thing.

Here’s Putin:

“People of Russia, we need the state, society and the people to work together.. We have to be mindful that we bear personal responsibility for our close ones, for those who live near us, and who need our help and support….It is our sense of solidarity that underpins the resilience of our society, as well as an unwavering commitment to mutual assistance and the effectiveness of the response we come up with to overcome the challenge we are facing.”

Shared sacrifice, solidarity and brotherly love. That’s what he’s talking about, isn’t it? The threads that bind a disparate group of people into a sovereign nation.

In America, we make the working poor pay for the excesses of the crooked rich, while in Russia, the wealthy are asked to make sacrifices for the sake of the country. Which approach do you think is better?

Original posted By Mike Whitney on the 30 March 20202 Putin Says ‘the Rich Must Pay’ for the Coronavirus
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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2020, 04:40:11 AM »
If everyone is taxed, the rich already pay for the virus Russia is no different in that regard.

I suppose everyone knows the story of friends going for a beer, but if not, here it is:

10 Friends are going for a beer, every night in the pub.

The total bill of of 100 Euro is thus divided.

1 to 4 friends are freeloaders, they simply have no means but because they are friends they are welcome.
5 to 6 have minimal wage jobs. They pay 1 and 3 euro each.
friend 7 pays 7 Euro
friend 8 pays 12 euro
friend 9 pays 18 Euro

The last friend, is really well-off and pays 59 Euro each night.

Months passed and every friday all friends were happily drinking the beer and footing the bill according to the division above.

Then the bartender came to them and said: Coming 6 months i made a terrific deal on beer, and because you all are such good customers you get to profit equally. From now on the bill will be only 80 euro's instead of 100.

The friends decided to give each person a discount of the total bill.

Thus:
1 to 4 friends are freeloaders, nothing changes for them. Still free.
5 gets a 100% discount, he now pays nothin just like the other 4.
Friend 6 will get 33% discount, he now pays only 2 euro.
friend 7 pays 5 Euro (28% discount)
friend 8 pays 9 euro (25% discount)
friend 9 pays 14 Euro (22% discount)

The last friend, is really well-off and gets the smallest discount. He now pays 50 Euro each night. (15% discount). However absolutely speaking, it is the biggest discount. 9 whole euro's off.

Types like moby think like the latter. Biggest discount evah!

But lets continue the story. The friends were drinking like before and now 5 friends payed nothing. They all were in happy spirits and drank their beer.

Come night , on the way home each however started to become disgruntled and ask themselves:

Friend 6 said: I only got 1 lousy euro discount whilst friend 10 got 9 whole euro!
Friend 5 said: Yeah! I also got only 1 lousy euro discount! Friend 10 had 9x as much!
Friend 7 said: God you're right! Why does Friend10 get 9 euro discount whilst I get only 2? Rich people are always lucky *snip*s!
The first 4 said Wait a minute, we didn't get a thing! This system is exploiting the poor!

So 9 friends gathered and beat up friend10, the rich guy for being an asshole and not sharing the discount.

The next night, 9 friends came for beer in the pub. They were a bit silent and shaken from the previous day. Number 10 thought  :censored:  those fake friends and stayed home.

The bill now was 72 Euro. Cause 1 friend was missing.
They quickly found out the remaining friends could not even pay HALF of the bill, let alone everything.
OO===[][]===OO
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My road trip to Crimea: Roadtrip to Evpatoria

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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2020, 06:03:27 AM »


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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2020, 06:08:57 AM »
If everyone is taxed, the rich already pay for the virus Russia is no different in that regard

If all the rich oligarchs were paying their correct taxes........ why do they need to have OFF Shore accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere?

Let me remind you what happened in Russia in 1991........ MIL has still the voucher for $15 to get food and survive..... thanks she owned a cow and had a big garden in her village home.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqhns7



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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2020, 06:12:56 AM »
The Russian rich keep their emergency reserves in physical gold and commodity currencies in CoL, Swiss vaults as well as Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

So question is which Moscow hotel Putin invites them all too for the Mohammed Bin Salman attitude correction  torture and wealth sharing initiative because that is the only way the Russians recapture this wealth for redistribution...

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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2020, 06:23:45 AM »
If everyone is taxed, the rich already pay for the virus Russia is no different in that regard

If all the rich oligarchs were paying their correct taxes........ why do they need to have OFF Shore accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere?

Let me remind you what happened in Russia in 1991........ MIL has still the voucher for $15 to get food and survive..... thanks she owned a cow and had a big garden in her village home.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqhns7

This post is proof positive the Wizzwaankster is a true Greek Marxist Communist at heart.

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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2020, 06:59:22 AM »
CATASTROIKA OFFICIAL MULTILINGUAL


Maybe this is better for those talking English
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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2020, 07:09:24 AM »
If everyone is taxed, the rich already pay for the virus Russia is no different in that regard

If all the rich oligarchs were paying their correct taxes........ why do they need to have OFF Shore accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere?

Let me remind you what happened in Russia in 1991........ MIL has still the voucher for $15 to get food and survive..... thanks she owned a cow and had a big garden in her village home.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqhns7

This post is proof positive the Wizzwaankster is a true Greek Marxist Communist at heart.

The only onanist in this board... it is you who cannot post an answer without making a very rude and personal attack.

Your behaviour is totally unacceptable and I would suggest you go back to primary school and learn how to talk and understand other people. >:(


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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #8 on: April 01, 2020, 04:33:07 AM »
If everyone is taxed, the rich already pay for the virus Russia is no different in that regard.

As you were foolish enough to mention my 'nick' and how I'd behave in a bar ... and post BOLLOX about rich Russians ...

In order of importance:

1/ As you only visit Russia on the way to an occupied part of Ukraine, I'm interested to know how you know how Russian-person-in the street feel about 'wealth distribution' and it's fairness  ?..

2/ When we last met for a meal was I 'stingy' re paying ?

Really, I think you 'example' sucked ....  :chuckle:
I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #9 on: April 01, 2020, 04:41:43 AM »

The only onanist in this board... it is you who cannot post an answer without making a very rude and personal attack.

Your behaviour is totally unacceptable and I would suggest you go back to primary school and learn how to talk and understand other people. >:(

 :ROFL:

Wiz is always calling me a 'Malaka' ( onanist ), too ... It's about the only thing he get's right ...  when I'm separated from Wifey..

That he refers to 'personal attacks' when RECEIVING said title is hilarious ..  One wonders why he'd be insulted ...


Cyprus has loads of RU money in it's banks and despite the 'haircut' of 10% in accounts with over 100k Euro during the crash .. is STILL a place Russians put their money ... many associated with the RU govt - even serving members via 'proxies' ( ex PM ) and firms the govt give biz to

That the RU money didn't desert Cyprus is indicative of how 'safe' they feel their money is there - rather than in Russia ..

So, you'll excuse me' when I read that Rich Russians pay tax ( well, in the proportion they would -if the monies were in RU bank accounts ) if I'm roaring with laughter


I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

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Re: The Rich Must Pay for the Coronavirus
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2020, 05:02:17 PM »
Holy Wizzbang Batman I feel lost in space on a Twilight Zone episode... Must be Corona Cabin fever getting to me when I agree completely with Il Mobsterino.

Next it will be Afi seeming kind and magnanimous...oh the delirium... For Wizzbanger well once a Greek socialist Anarchist always a...