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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2016)
Page 6 December 14, 2016 Your Carpet Best Cleaning Choice O PINION Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $45.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) : $40.00 Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $109 - $139 Chair or Recliner: $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Area & Oriental Rug Cleaning • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 Counting on the People Who Rigged the Economy Who voted for Wall Street bankers? J oSh h oxie During the campaign, Donald Trump said he want- ed to fix our rigged eco- nomic system. And we can’t do that, he said, by counting on the people who rigged it in the first place. He talked a big game about Wall Street and the big banks. He repeatedly called out Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street behemoth, by name in ads and speeches, characterizing the firm as con- trolling his rivals Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz. So it should come with some shock, at least to Trump voters, that now President-elect Trump has chosen a consummate Wall Street insider, Steve Mnuchin, for treasury secretary. Mnuchin spent 17 years as an executive at Goldman Sachs be- fore continuing his lucrative ca- reer as a banker and investor. Is this not the swampiest of charac- ters that Trump vowed to drain away? Trump’s anti-Wall Street mes- by saging resonated with millions of voters. A poll taken just before the election showed that nearly 70 percent of undecided voters in key swing states wanted to break up the big banks and cap their size to avoid another financial crisis. The same proportion wanted to close the “carried-interest loop- hole,” an insidious provision that enables hedge fund managers to pay lower taxes than nurses. It’s unclear whether Trump’s continued on as its chair through 2015 — a period in which One- West foreclosed on more than 36,000 families. What exactly does Mnuchin want to do while in power? In his first announcement, Mnuchin exclaimed his “num- ber one priority is tax reform,” promising to work with Congress to pass the “biggest tax cut since Reagan.” He claims the benefits of this tax cut will go to middle class families, rather than the up- These former Wall Streeters will have serious power overseeing major parts of the government and the overall economy. anti-Wall Street messaging made the difference for these voters. But it’s abundantly clear that he didn’t mean a word of it. In Washington, personnel is policy. And Mnuchin’s appoint- ment casts serious doubt that Trump will follow through with any of his bluster on Wall Street. Mnuchin isn’t just any Gold- man Sachs alumnus: He oversaw one of the largest foreclosure op- erations in the country. Mnuchin bought mortgage lender IndyMac in 2009, renamed it OneWest, and per class. Fortunately, tax plans, unlike campaign promises, can be easi- ly and quickly fact checked. Un- fortunately, Mnuchin’s statement comes back pants-on-fire false. Over half of the cuts in Trump’s proposed tax plan would exclusively benefit the top 1 per- cent, according to the non-parti- san Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The plan would in- crease their after-tax income by 14 percent, 10 times more than for middle-income earners. Mnuchin won’t be the only Wall Streeter in the Trump ad- ministration. Steve Bannon, the chief strategist for the presi- dent-elect and former head of the white supremacist news out- let Breitbart, is a fellow former Goldman Sachs employee. The Wall Street swampiness of both Mnuchin and Bannon, how- ever, pales in comparison to that of Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor selected by Trump to lead the Commerce Department. The 79-year-old investor built a career on greed, exploitation, and apparent tone deafness. Ross in- famously whined in 2014, “The 1 percent is being picked on for political reasons.” These former Wall Streeters will have serious power oversee- ing major parts of the government and the overall economy. It’s been just eight years since Wall Street bankers had to come to Washington, hat in hand and utterly humbled, to ask for a taxpayer funded bailout. The re- forms put in place to prevent a repeat of the 2008 crisis are ten- uous at best — and now they’re under serious threat from the same people they were designed to rein in. Josh Hoxie directs the Project on Taxation and Opportunity at the Institute for Policy Studies. Distributed by OtherWords.org.
