Federal judge files recusal notices in 138 cases after WSJ queries Coulter Jones, Joe Palazzolo and James V. Grimaldi Wall Street Journal November 2, 2021
Rodney Gilstrap initially argued he didn’t violate financial-conflicts law
How corruption ruined Lebanon Rania Abouzeid New York Times October 28, 2021
The deadly port blast, the triple-digit inflation, the energy shortages — Lebanon’s many crises have a shared root: misrule by a self-dealing elite.
Jan. 6 was worse than we knew Editorial Board New York Times October 2, 2021
In the days before the mob descended on the Capitol, a corollary attack — this one bloodless and legalistic — was playing out down the street in the White House, where Mr. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a lawyer named John Eastman huddled in the Oval Office, scheming to subvert the will of the American people by using legal sleight-of-hand.
Public policy and health in the Trump era Lancet Commission on Pubic Policy and Health in the Trump Era Lancet February 10, 2021
A very thorough examination of the effects of President Donald Trump’s health related policies.
How the Trump tax law created a loophole that lets top executives net millions by slashing their own salaries Robert Faturechi and Justin Elliott ProPublica August 19, 2012
Secret IRS files reveal how much the ultrawealthy gained by shaping Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Tax Cut” Justin Elliott and Robert Faturechi ProPublica August 11, 2021
Billionaire business owners deployed lobbyists to make sure Trump’s 2017 tax bill was tailored to their benefit. Confidential IRS records show the windfall that followed.
Prospect of massive economic packages unleashes lobbying bonanza in Washington Tony Romm and Yeganeh Torbati Washington Post August 4, 2021
Nearly 2,000 companies and other groups have already engaged with Washington officials about infrastructure this year, according to filings, and the intensity is expected to pick up
Biden administration imposes a new round of sanctions on Cuban government, officials Karen DeYoung and Anne Gearan Washington Post July 30, 2021
This is tax evasion, plain and simple Gabriel Zucman and Gus Wezerek New York Times July 7, 2021 (Opinion)
A very clear article with wonderful graphics. The article shows the drastic reduction in corporate taxes and rise in personal taxes that has occurred since 1950. In 1950 corporate taxes were more than 6 percent of US national income while payroll taxes were 2 percent. In the years that followed corporate income tax dropped to less than 2 percent of national income while payroll taxes increased to almost 8 percent, which is where they both are today. A second major point:, even if the global minimum corporate tax is approved, taxing multinationals at 15 percent would still leave them facing a lower rate than the average American pays in state and federal income tax.
Facebook’s FTC court win is a much-needed wake-up call for Congress Mark MacCarthy Brookings July 7, 2021
US antitrust law as conceived and practiced today is unable to cope with the growing challenges of Big Tech. The many references in the opinion to “lawful monopolies” underscore that current antitrust doctrine, a durable monopoly is not illegal. Indeed, current doctrine also encourages companies to treat the goal of a permanent lawful monopoly as an incentive to develop an attractive new technology or service.
Identifying the policy levers generating wage suppression and wage inequality Lawrence Mishel and Josh Bivens Economic Policy Institute May 13, 2021
This paper presents evidence that the divorce between the growth of median compensation and productivity, the inequality of compensation, and the erosion of labor’s share of income has been generated primarily through intentional policy decisions designed to suppress typical workers’ wage growth, the failure to improve and update existing policies, and the failure to thwart new corporate practices and structures aimed at wage suppression.
The land was worth millions. A Big Ag company sold it to Sonny Perdue’s company for $250,000. Desmond Butler Washington Post June 29, 2021 The story of a favorable land deal for the Trump administration’s Secretary of Agriculture.
The secret IRS files: Trove of never-before-seen records reveal how the wealthiest avoid income tax Jesse Eisinger, Jeff Ernsthausen and Paul Kiel ProPublica June 8, 2021
Wealthiest executives paid little to nothing in federal income taxes, report says Alan Rappeport New York Times June 8, 2021
An analysis by ProPublica based on I.R.S. documents showed billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk benefited from tax code loopholes and a focus on taxing income over wealth.
She exposed the truth about ‘dirty money’: It’s everywhere Mark Schoofs New York Times June 10, 2021 (Opinion)
On the same day that President Biden vowed to make global financial systems more transparent so that individuals and organizations engaged in corruption would find it harder to “shield their activities.” a federal judge imposed prison time on Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a former Treasury Department official who, by providing secret government documents to an investigative reporter, did more to bring transparency to the global financial system than almost anyone else in recent memory.
Biden ramps up fight against corruption Dylan Tokar Wall Street Journal June 4, 2021
Anticorruption push could lead to broader focus among federal prosecutors on corruption and bribery.
‘They have another door’: Kenya’s vaccine rollout exposes rich-poor divide Rael Ombour and Max Bearak Washington Post April 3, 2021
Kenya’s eligible essential workers say the government and hospitals are allowing the well-connected to skip the vaccination line.
Preliminary findings of the visit to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela by the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights Alena Douhan Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights February 12, 2021
“Unilateral sanctions against the oil, gold, mining and other economic sectors, the state-owned airline and the TV industry constitute a violation of international law… The announced purpose of the “maximum pressure” campaign – to change the Government of Venezuela – violates the principle of sovereign equality of states and constitutes an intervention in the domestic affairs of Venezuela…”
U.N. rebuke of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela met with stunning silence John McEvoy Fair March 10, 2021 Examines the lack of media coverage surrounding a UN report on the consequences of US sanctions.
Ray LaHood, Obama’s transportation secretary, failed to disclose a $50,000 check from an associate of a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Thomas Kaplan New York Times March 31, 2021
The road to clemency from Trump was closed to most who sought it Kenneth P. Vogel New York Times January 26, 2021
Of the nearly 240 pardons and commutations he granted during his term, only 25 came through the regular Justice Department process. The rest were a product of connections, influence and money.