Treasury Nominee Wants Tax Cuts for the Rich - The Friday AM Quickie 1/16/25
This week's RIP goes to Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker, whose folksy wit on the mic made him an American treasure. -Jacob
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THE BIG NEWS
Treasury Nominee Wants Tax Cuts for the Rich
Scott Bessent, the ultra-rich hedge fund manager nominated by Donald Trump to be Secretary of the Treasury, really wants to keep taxes low for ultra-rich people like Scott Bessent. Speaking at a Senate confirmation hearing, Bessent said that extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts were "the single most important economic issue of the day. This is pass-fail. If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity, and as always, with financial instability that falls on the middle and working class."
How generous of the Wall Street moneyman to think of the hoi polloi and their economic struggles! Perhaps that is also why Bessent told Sen. Bernie Sanders that he opposes raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25.
The 2017 tax cuts were typical Republican tax policy. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities described the law, it gave huge rebates to top earners while offering paltry cuts for the poorest taxpayers. The resulting policy "was skewed to the rich"; "was expensive and eroded the US revenue base"; and "failed to deliver promised economic benefits," said the Center.
It's not a surprise then that extending the tax cuts is a priority for Trump and his Treasury Secretary. It also may not hit with the force of revelation to learn that Bessent is, according to Senate Democrats, a tax dodger himself. He owes $910,182 in taxes on his hedge fund income, reads a memo prepared by Democratic staffers on the Senate Finance Committee. That's it?
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Israel and Hamas Negotiators Sign Ceasefire Agreement
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been signed by their negotiators in Doha. It won't be voted on by Israeli officials until Saturday night. If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet accepts the ceasefire, then a hostage swap may begin on Sunday. That's if the deal happens. Netanyahu's cabinet could reject it. His government coalition may fall apart. Or, given that he was strong-armed by Trump into making this deal, Netanyahu may not intend to abide its parameters. The effect will be more of the same. Israel has continued bombing Gaza this week, killing at least 80 people.
Trump Readies Crypto Executive Order To Repay Industry Donors
President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly preparing an executive order that would designate crypto "as a national imperative or priority." The exact details of the order are unknown, but it's expected to essentially be a giveaway to the industry that ended up being the biggest donor of the 2024 campaign cycle. But the main benefit will be better access to US banking and the end of legal and regulatory investigations into a very shady industry.
Trump has called for a national Bitcoin "stockpile" – essentially, the government buying and holding Bitcoin, driving up the price for speculators and Trump's tech backers. More recently, there's been talk of the US government supporting a basket of "made in the USA" crypto tokens – which again, would just be another giveaway to venture capitalists who poured billions of dollars into worthless and often fraudulent crypto companies and products that no one wanted.
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- The DoJ Is Still Charging People For January 6 Crimes Days before the lead instigator of the January 6 riot returns to office, the Department of Justice is still charging people with crimes related to the attempt to forcibly stop the certification of the electoral vote. The latest defendant is a "San Francisco salami scion." We'll miss these little slice of life details when Trump pardons all these guys. via SF Standard and SF Chronicle.
- Joe Biden Won't Enforce A TikTok Ban Days ahead of the scheduled implementation of its own ban on TikTok, the Biden administration is now trying to figure out how to keep TikTok legal and available in the US. Buoyed by donations from TikTok investors, Trump has lobbied against a ban. He also invited TikTok's CEO to attend the inauguration. via NBC News and NYT.
- Security Goons Dragged Journalist Sam Husseini Out Of A State Department Briefing Independent journalist Sam Husseini was physically removed from a press briefing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Husseini, a regular at State Department briefings, passively resisted while yelling at Blinken, "Why aren't you at The Hague?" He was handcuffed and then released, as was journalist Max Blumenthal. via Ryan Grim, Willy Lowry, and Sam Husseini.
- If Joe Biden Wants To Fight Oligarchy, He Should Pardon This IRS Whistleblower In an op-ed, Abigail Disney argues that Joe Biden should pardon Charles Littlejohn, the IRS contractor who leaked tax information about billionaires to ProPublica. Littlejohn's leak helped show how billionaires take advantage of loopholes to pay almost no taxes. In return, Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison. via The Prospect.
SOME NUMBER
$1 billion
That's about how much money Anduril, a military tech startup backed by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, says it will be spending on a new factory it's building in Columbus, Ohio. Following in the footsteps of Palantir, Anduril is quickly becoming a major defense contractor, as right-wing Silicon Valley moguls embrace the lucrative possibilities of working for the security state.
ON THE SHOW TODAY
1/17: Happy Friday! Sam and Emma speak with Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo, to round up the week in news.
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Elon Musk's Fans ROAST Him For Cheating At Video Games
Secretly paying someone to level up your video-game character is huge loser behavior.
AOC Poised For 2028 Run?
Jeet Heer joined the show to talk about the future of progressives in the Democratic party.
PARTING WORDS
"Furthering the Recording's refrain that Drake is 'not like us,' the Recording alludes to Drake's Jewish heritage, saying that Drake is 'not a colleague' but 'a fuckin' colonizer.'"
-- From a lawsuit filed by rapper Drake against Universal Music Group in connection with his ongoing beef with Kendrick Lamar. As Emily Tamkin and the Washington Post noted, the "colonizer" line refers to Drake exploiting artists in the Atlanta hip-hop scene. But Drake seems to conflate his Jewishness with Zionism and colonialism. Interesting!
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