November II. 2009
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Time to Support Real Health Reform
M ake your
voices heard
M aki H. M okial
A fric a n A m e r i­
cans, w ho have the
h ig h e s t r a te s o f
chronic disease and
m ake up the largest
p e r c e n ta g e o f th e
uninsured, should be
especially pleased that in the
last few w eeks. Congress has
acted to bring us closer than
ever to com prehensive health
care legislation that will make
health insurance accessible and
affordable for all.
The U.S. House o f Represen­
tatives has unveiled its version
o f health care reform . P revi­
ously, the Senate announced it
is nearing the introduction of
by
its own bill. Both bills are d e ­
signed to low er costs, and pro­
vide more security and stabil­
ity for people w ho already have
health in suran ce an d to
provide affordable insur­
ance to those who don't.
T h e H o u se b ill p r o ­
v id e s the best sta rtin g
point. It covers m ore of
the uninsured , and also
includes m easures to in­
crease health care equity by ex ­
panding M edicaid eligibility,
protecting M edicare, m aking
new investments in com m unity
health centers and p roviding
free preventive services.
The House bill also contains
a public option provision that
still needs to be improved. That
is w hy the N a tio n a l U rb a n
League along with the C ongres­
sional Black C aucus and the
Black Leadership Forum, an al­
liance o f m ore than 30 African
A merican civil rights and ser­
vice organizations, have joined
forces to ensure that a final bill
includes a Robust Public O p­
tion like Medicare.
issue o f affordability.
T he H ouse bill's public op­
tion w ould negotiate paym ent
rates with health care provid­
ers. T hat's not good enough.
We believe that only a robust
public option like Medicare will
No triggers. No opt out.
We need a robust public
option like Medicare.
Access to an option for gov­
ernm ent-issued health care will
provide com petition for private
health providers, low er costs
and help to close the healthcare
gap. We m ust be wary o f im ­
posing a m andate for health in­
surance without addressing the
actually expand accessibility
and low er costs, not only for
A frican A m ericans, but for all
Americans. But, now that C on­
gress has spoken, it is tim e for
the A m erican people to make
their voices heard.
T he B lack L ead ersh ip F o ­
Making Money and Paying a $10 Tax
W hether or not one thinks
that Oregon has gone too far
Some o f them use tax subsidies in handing out tax subsidies
— credits — to reduce their tax (there's good reason to think
so), w hether or not one thinks
liability to zero.
But the vast majority o f prof­ th at the loss carry -fo rw ard
itable C -corporations that have rule is a good one (there are
paid only the m inim um tax rely valid justifications for it) and
on the tax code accounting rule w hether or not Oregon should
known as "loss carry forward," ignore a C-corporation's O r­
w hich allow s corporations to eg o n p ro p erty an d p ay ro ll
apply losses from prior years w hen a p p o rtio n in g tax ab le
to the current y ear to reduce incom e to Oregon (there's no
their Oregon taxable incom e to g o o d a r g u m e n t fo r th a t
schem e), the fact rem ains that
zero or less.
In other w ords, these co m ­ a significant num ber o f prof­
panies m ade money in the tax itable corporations are paying
year, but paid just $ 10 in income only the $ 10 minim um corpo­
taxes because at some point in rate income tax.
M easure 67 w ould not end
the n o t-to o -d ista n t past they
the
system that allow s C-cor-
lost m oney and are allow ed to
porations
to keep tw o sets o f
subtract those earlier losses to
books.
It
w
ould not stop tax
make their current profits dis­
subsidies
nor
prevent profit­
appear for tax liability purposes.
able
C-corporations
from pay­
Finally, a few corporations
ing
just
a
m
inim
um
tax.
use a com bination o f tax cred ­
T he m easure would, how ­
its and the loss carry-forw ard
rule to get to the $ 10 minimum. ever, put an end to the $10
corporate m inim um tax that
And it's not necessarily cor­ tw o out o f three C -corpora­
porations with only a few hun­ tions have been paying.
So com e January, when O r­
dred or a few thousand dollars
o f profits that manage to reduce egonians vote "yes" on M ea­
their taxable income to zero or sure 67, they will be saying,
less on corporate tax returns. "Y es, a ll C - c o r p o r a tio n s
Indeed, am ong those that paid sh o u ld pay m o re th an ju st
only the $10 minimum tax in 2(XI6 $10."
Charles Sheketoffis execu­
were 31 C-corporations with tax­
able incom e o f $1 m illion or tive director o f the Oregon
Center fo r Public Policy.
more.
C orporations use system to pay the m inim um
by C harles S heketofe
come."
But that's wrong.
If you ask a corporation, ''Did
Some corporations paying the
you make m oney last year?” its
response may well be, "W ho's $10 m inim um have incom e,
though they may or may not
asking?"
It's no secret that co rp o ra­ have "taxable income."
W hat is "taxable incom e?"
tions keep tw o sets o f books,
one for shareholders and one It's the term used by the IRS to
for tax authorities. Those books define the incom e left after a
em ploy different definitions of co m p an y su b tra c ts b u sin e ss
w hat it m eans to m ake money, expenses and other deductions
which explains why in the same u n d e r ta x c o d e a c c o u n tin g
y ear co rp o ratio n s can report rules, not general accounting
p ro fits to s h a re h o ld e rs and rules — "profits for tax p u r­
have no taxable income on their poses," in plain English.
Acts by the Legislature can
tax returns.
It also explains why som e fi­ change a com pany's "taxable
n an c ia lly healthy, p ro fitab le income," even if real-world prof­
corporations doing business in its rem ain the sam e. F or in ­
O regon end up paying the cor­ stance, O regon stopped look­
ing at the extent o f payroll and
porate minimum tax.
T hat's not w hat you'll hear property that m ultistate corpo­
from some o f the opponents o f rations have in Oregon to ap ­
M easure 67 on the January bal­ portion the share o f their total
lot. That m easure w ould raise U.S. profits that Oregon can tax.
L arg e m a n u fa ctu re rs w ith
O regon's corporate m inim um
tax, which has been stuck at $ 10 people and property here saw
their Oregon "taxable income"
for over 75 years.
C onsider, for exam ple, the — and thus tljeir O regon tax li­
statem ent by A sso ciated O r­ ability — drop significantly, with
egon Industries lo bbyist J.L. no impact on the pre-tax profits
W ilson at a recent legislative the c o rp o ra tio n s rep o rted to
com m ittee hearing on the bal­ shareholders. Corporate profits
lot language. He said that the for tax purposes w ent dow n,
ballots should include the state­ not real profits.
So how do so many profit­
ment that "com panies that pay
the corporate m inim um tax do a b le C -c o rp o ra tio n s en d up
so because they have no in ­ paying the $10 m inim um tax?
rum , w hich 1 chair, is en c o u r­
ag ing citiz en s to flood C o n ­
gress w ith visits, e-m ails, tele­
p hone calls, faxes an d social
media, to make our point clear:
N o trig g ers. N o o pt out. We
n eed a ro b u st p u b lic o p tio n
like M edicare.
To m ake your voice heard,
call your Senator at 202-224-
3121 or e-mail www.senate.gov.
You can reach your C ongress­
man in the House o f Represen­
tatives by calling 202-225-3121
ore-m ailing ww w.house.gov.
A r e c e n t H a rv a rd s tu d y
d o c u m e n ts th a t m o re th a n
45,000 A m ericans die each year
due to lack o f health insurance.
And w hile this is an issue af­
fecting all A m ericans, it is es­
p e c ia lly c ritic a l fo r A frican
A m ericans. M ore than 1 in 5
A frican A m ericans are without
M A R K E T
better ta the (Seditar
Rain but Still a Game
pitched so fast at first, but d e­
S o m e p eo p le d o n 't know livery has been so slow, that no
where to start and others do not one seem s to know if there is
know how to not sw ing. A l­ en ough speed to reach hom e
though I hesitated to pick up this plate.
bat, I knew that it was time for
Within die same delivery cycle,
someone to pitch hit before the Tri-Met Rider Advocates were
clean-up batter came up.
on the chopping block while the
Therefore, as a self-designated M ayor welcomed the arrival o f a
hitter, there is no incertitude. I new, same day Amtrak service
know both how and w here to b e tw e e n
P o rtla n d
an d
swing in order to get on base. Vancouver, British Columbia.
Oftentimes hitters of such cali­
I know that these are different
ber are deliberately walked. But agencies cooperating in an in­
w hatever type p itch er on the ternational playing field. M ore­
mound, they usually get on base. over, in terms of ongoing trans­
O nce there, no on e w onders actions, tw o local entities col­
w h o ’s on first? T hey will be laborate in a Free Ride Zone.
closely w atched because they Maybe if half-fares were charged
are also know n from scouting dow ntow n, w here m ost riders
reports for their running capa­ can afford to pay, the Tri-M et
Advocates could still be w ork­
bilities.
O ver the past few weeks the ing and “m onitoring potential
M ajor Baseball L eagues have flash points" around their former
had a series o f playoff gam es, base o f operations.
One other pitch delivered, a
leading to the World Series. Si­
multaneously, there has been a dead-locked percentage curb,
lot o f pitching, sw inging and had another mayor fighting for
pitch hitting in the local politi­ ‘his political life because o f a
controversial stance on tolls for
cal arena.
A rticles appearing in local a new 1-5 bridge over the Colum­
Portland newspapers have been bia River."
To keep this $4.2 billion Co­
very interesting to fans, key play­
ers and bystanders in both left lumbia River crossing project on
and right fields. Rookies in the track, political heads might be
dugouts and custom ers sitting rolling. 1 wonder if the $472,000
in the last row o f the Centerfield non-renewed contract terminat­
bleachers are seeing the game ing the Rider Advocates, in com ­
parison, could even be consid­
even during rainy innings.
Starting in late A ugust a co n ­ ered as a drop in the bucket of
sid e ra b le n u m b e r o f p itc h es this political rain game.
Tipping my Yankee cap, 1 bid
h a v e b e e n th ro w n to w a rd s
home plate and around the hom. you all so long and a fare well.
O.B.HiU
O ne is H 1N 1, better known as
Community Historian
“ sw in e flu " . T h is b a ll w as
N O W D E L IV E R IN G
Y o u r fa v o r ite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to r e n o w d e liv e r s
g r o c e r ie s r ig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
* *»Y
Marc H. Mortal is president
and chief executive officer o f
the National Urban League.
Lobbyists Take a Soak, On Us
And public needs go down the drain
NEW S E A S O N S J
A**'
health insurance, we have the
highest rates o f chronic disease
and we spend a higher percent­
age o f our incom e on health
care.
Clearly, passage o f co m p re­
hensive health care reform is
not only an econom ic im pera­
tive; it is a moral imperative and
a m atter o f life and death, espe­
cially for Black America.
The
N a tio n a l
U rb a n
L e a g u e , th e C o n g r e s s io n a l
B lack C au cu s and the B lack
L ead ersh ip F orum are w o rk ­
ing h ard for a ro b u st P ublic
O ption like M edicare and a fi­
nal bill that is w orthy o f the
A m e r ic a n p e o p le . We a re
clo se, b u t w e need y o u r su p ­
port to get to the fin ish line.
3i
cœsn
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m
you click, we deliver, (or pull up for pick up)
ber o f corporate lobbyists in
W ashington, D .C . A dding to
their clout are the thousands of
corporate ex ecu tiv es w ho je t
into o u r n atio n 's cap ital city
p erio d ically for c lo se d -d o o r
sessions with key law m akers
and regulators.
If you w onder w hy such c ry ­
ing public needs as health care
for all and environm ental pro­
tection are constantly bent to
serve private corporate inter­
ests, look to this arm y o f hired
guns and executive-suite d an­
dies.
But let's concede that influ­
e n c e - p e d d lin g c a n be h ard
work. Such tasks as glad-hand-
ing and passing out cam paign
contributions-that'll tucker you
out.
That's why the Ritz-Carlton
is so crucial to the system. This
sw ank hotel is a W ashington
oasis for frazzled lobbyists and
executives. F or one thing, no
ta c k y to u r is ts are th e re to
bother the sw ells, since room
rates at the Ritz start at $599 a
nig h t and run up to $5.800.
T hen there're the little touches.
For exam ple, where else do
guests get a "Bath M enu" in
their room ? "C hoose from an
a s s o rtm e n t o f b u tle r-d ra w n
baths to ease your concerns,"
says the menu. "A personal at­
tendant will be pleased to draw
the bath o f your choice."
T he m enu offers T he Inau­
gural Bath, with mineral salts
"from the depths of the bright
blue sea"; T he C apitol Bath,
with lavender, sea salts, and a
libation o f your choice; and The
Cherry Blossom Bath-actually,
rose petals are substituted for
cherry, but you do get a glass
o f cham pagne and strawberries.
Each bath adds 50 bucks to
the hill o f the soaking influence
peddler. But hey, as the Bath
M enu explains, a little rub-a-
dub-dub is no, an expense, it's
"a rew ard at the end o f a suc­
cessful business day."
They soak us, then they take
a soak, w riting the w hole thing
o ff as the cost o f doing busi­
ness.
Jim Hightower is a radio
commentator, writer, public
speaker, and author o f Swim
against the Current: Even a
Dead Fish Can go with the
Flow.