Posts by Craig Ranapia
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Hard News: Dropping the Bomber, in reply to Kate Hannah,
However, in my NZ, people get to rant on public radio.
In my New Zealand, the whole rationale for the government owning radio and television networks is to supposedly do things that the Darwinian marketplace, red in tooth and claw, can’t. Or won’t. Perhaps I’m just a snotty pointy-headed elitist but if TVNZ and RNZ isn’t going to aim a little higher than Paul Henry’s sniggering bigotry and an hour of access radio for Tourette trolls every weekday between four and five what’s the point of it?
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Hard News: About Occupy Wall Street, in reply to 3410,
Sure, but that discredits Gates, not the FTT, right?
There’s intellectually respectable arguments to be made pro- and anti- FTTs (personally I’m a ‘devil in the details’ agnostic on the subject), but I don’t think either side helps itself with a poster boy so intimately connected with Microsoft. On Gates' watch, Microsoft had a long and grubby history of aggressive tax avoidance and lobbying against attempt to close profitable loopholes.
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Meanwhile, I’d be rather more impressed by Bill Gates if his support for so called ‘Robin Hood’ taxes was backed by an equally public calling out of shit like
his own company’s multi-billion dollar tax dodges.Things were rosy in the giant software company’s just-ended fiscal fourth quarter, which produced record sales of nearly US$17.4 billion, a 30 percent increase in after-tax profit, and a 35 percent gain in earnings per share.
But for the US Internal Revenue Service and foreign tax authorities, things weren’t so rosy. Microsoft reported only US$445 million in taxes in the US and other foreign countries, just 7 percent of its US$6.32 billion in pre-tax profit.
Given the rancour in Congress and in the country about how to tackle the nation’s budget deficit and debt, including how companies stash profits overseas and enjoy lucrative tax breaks, it is instructive to see how the top brass at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters achieved this eye-popping tax result.
Partly it was because the company had a one-time refund of US$461 million from the IRS for previous overpayments and because of its over-estimation of tax rates in previous quarters. There may be increased sales of products to consumers overseas, though it is not clear from company disclosures how much of a factor this might be.
But Microsoft is straightforward about the core reason for its lower tax bill: It is increasingly channelling earnings from sales to customers throughout the world through the low-tax havens of Ireland, Puerto Rico and Singapore.
Microsoft’s pre-tax profits booked overseas nearly tripled over the past six years, to US$19.2 billion in the fiscal year that just ended, from US$6.8 billion in the year ended in June 2006, according to company filings.
Hypocrite.
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Hard News: About Occupy Wall Street, in reply to Sacha,
hardly an impulsive splurge
No, but you didn't exactly have to be Ron Paul at his ding-battiest worse to ask whether eye-watering levels of low-quality-debt-fuelled consumption -- cheerfully enabled by banks who I can't believe didn't know better -- wasn't going to leave one hell of an bitter aftertaste. I don't think that's all on the Evil Trolls of Wall Street.
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Hard News: Dropping the Bomber, in reply to Paul Williams,
Craig, I’m not. I don’t recall Clark avoiding media or being criticised for avoiding media. I don’t think you’re right.
Well, there’s no point in continuing this since you’re convinced I’ve lied. Repeatedly. In extreme bad faith.
What, so Key *has* appeared on Morning Report? when?
And I'm out...
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Hard News: Dropping the Bomber, in reply to NBH,
gree Paul, and the idea that the previous government used to engage in behaviours like refusing to front for the media, extensive use of urgency etc. is a pretty pernicious one that needs to be stamped out.
Actually, NBH, if you and Paul want to call me a liar please go to. I'll happy accept the word of anyone connected with Morning Report during her tenure as PM that Clark never turned down an interview request on "substantive" matters, or referred it on to a relevant minister/spokesperson. But I doubt they will, because it just ain't true - nor do I think it's ipso facto some horrible assault on democracy. That's one wolf both the loony left and the rabid right cry far too often.
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Hard News: Dropping the Bomber, in reply to Paul Williams,
(perhaps you mean speeding tickets or paintings rather than substantive matters).
No I don’t, Paul as I think you’re perfectly well aware.
so Key’s perfect 0% attendance record says what?
That you might want to qualify that statement so it's true?
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Hard News: About Occupy Wall Street, in reply to Russell Brown,
I really hope so. I just get twitchy about things that look even a little like John Birch-style banking conspiracies.
Yeah, and I guess it's not wise to ask the 99% how many of them were willing to gorge on cheap credit fuelled by a shell game of breathtaking proportions. I'd also risk suggesting that there are might be people in the world looking at the Occupy Palookaville folks and muttering "Welcome to the club, gringos."
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Hard News: Dropping the Bomber, in reply to James W,
However, the media’s still so in love with the Key government that National have no fear of reprisals. They won last election with a policy of no policy; I reckon they can get away with another one.
Balls – Clark was pretty damn good at being “unavailable for comment” when there was no possible advantage for her getting pummeled for five minutes on Morning Report. That’s what you have a Cabinet and a small army of spin things for. Really, please say that it’s appalling and there’s better than even odds I’d agree with you. But don’t shit on a cracker and expect me to swallow the nonsense that it never happened before November 8 2008.
They won last election with a policy of no policy;
And that’s crap too – you’re entitled to your opinion that National’s platform was awful in all kinds of ways, but it’s just twanky twaddle to say they had “no policy”. (Though I guess on the bullshit buffet, it's a fine whine that matches well with the not-at-all secret "secret agenda".)
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Hard News: Dropping the Bomber, in reply to hamishm,
Bradbury's opinions are just his opinions and if this had been delivered by Michael Laws about Helen Clarke, would be just another unremarkable day at the office.
On National Radio? Oh, I'll take that bet.
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