FLASHBACK: McCain Adviser Carly Fiorina: ‘There Is No Job That Is America’s God-Given Right Anymore’»

Today, John McCain is in Ottawa, Canada, speaking to the Ottawa economic club to affirm his support for free trade and reassure them that his economic plan would be good for Canada.

But McCain neglected to mention that he opposes a key way to encourage investment (and, therefore, jobs) in the United States: eliminating the tax incentives for companies to keep profits overseas instead of reinvesting them in the United States.

By leaving profits overseas, U.S. companies can indefinitely postpone (i.e. totally avoid) paying U.S. corporate taxes.

As Martin Sullivan of Tax Notes writes, “The U.S. tax system does provide an incentive to locate production offshore.”

McCain adviser Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is well acquainted with this fact. At Hewlett Packard, Fiorina oversaw the sheltering of over $14 billion in profits overseas, bringing the companies effective tax rate down from 35% to 12%.

At a recent McCain economic event, Fiorina acknowledged the tax incentives to move offshore and explained that Hewlett Packard “left billions of dollars in cash overseas.”

In fact, Fiorina, has shown a consistent callousness towards Americans who have lost their jobs through outsourcing and offshoring:

– During her time as CEO, Fiorina was an outspoken defender of Hewlett-Packard’s offshoring, referring to it as “right-shoring.”

– In 2004, Carly Fiorina gave a speech in which she said, “there is no job that is America’s God-given right anymore.”

This callousness extends to McCain’s policies. Even as McCain opposes eliminating these incentives (which would encourage the creation of American jobs), he advocates a $175 billion tax cut for corporations and a expensing deduction called “the mother of all corporate loopholes.”

Fiorina, speaking for the campaign, has insisted that eliminating these incentives is unnecessary if the corporate rate is cut from 35% to 25% as McCain proposes, but, as George Stephanopolous neatly pointed out during an interview with Fiorina, this argument is absurd on its face: corporations face zero taxes if they leave their profits overseas, and 25% is still a whole lot bigger than zero.

In an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press, McCain wrote, “those who would lead our countries must work to ensure that the benefits of NAFTA are understood throughout our countries.”

Perhaps it’s time McCain made his continued desire to put corporate profits ahead of American jobs “understood throughout our countries” too.

Dear Ms. Fiorina, We Found Those Numbers You Were Looking For»

Our guest blogger is Adam Jentleson, the Communications and Outreach Director for the Hyde Park Project at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Today on CNN, senior McCain advisor Carly Fiorina was asked to explain why McCain’s answer to these tough economic times is to double Bush’s tax cuts with another $300 billion in cuts that go mostly to the wealthiest Americans, and give ExxonMobil a $1.2 billion per-year tax cut.

Her response:

I don’t know where he gets those numbers. It was $300 billion, it was $1.2 billion. … I can’t make Barack Obama’s numbers add up.

Watch it:

Mystery solved! Those numbers come from our analyses, which document McCain’s hugely expensive and highly regressive tax proposal, and show that his tax plan amounts to a nearly $4 billion-a-year windfall for the top 5 oil companies in the U.S. – including $1.2 billion for ExxonMobil.

If today’s interview is a sign that Carly Fiorina has been willfully ignoring the facts about the tax plan she’s shilling for, here are some other numbers with which she may want to acquaint herself:

– $175 billion: The amount of money that would go directly to corporations each year under McCain’s tax plan.

– $12.7 trillion: The size the deficit will be after two terms of McCain’s fiscal policies.

– $267 billion: The number of dollars in savings McCain still has to account for in order to pay for his massive, $300 billion tax cut.

– Top 1%: The taxpayers who will get more than half of the benefits under McCain’s tax plan – more than they got under Bush’s.

So Ms. Fiorina, next time you need a citation in a pinch, remember that our Resource Library is just a click away.

Stephanopoulos Stumps Fiorina On Corporate Tax Loopholes»

On This Week yesterday, McCain economic adviser Carly Fiorina restated her support of tax loopholes for big business. Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, has been a long-time defender of a gap in the U.S. tax code that enables American corporations to keep foreign profits overseas and abstain from paying domestic taxes.

The Wonk Room, which covered Fiorina’s preference for corporate tax breaks and offshoring back in April, wasn’t really surprised to hear her defending McCain’s stance on George Stephanopoulos’ show. But we were a little surprised to see how easily George was able to point out the flaw in her logic — and how transparently disingenuous Fiorina’s talking points really are.

Watch it:

Sen. McCain, according to Fiorina, understands that “you must focus on why jobs are going overseas.” That may be well and good, but what Fiorina seems to be missing, and what George points out, is that there are two separate issues. A cut in the corporate tax rate is not the same as closing a tax loophole — a tax loophole that allows business profits to remain completely untaxed if left overseas.

Even under Senator McCain’s plan, corporations would still pay 25 percent (down from 35 percent) on money they bring into the country — and that is a lot more than the zero that they pay now. As Stephanopoulos noted, this zero percent does nothing to incentivize businesses, or government defense contractors, from bringing profits back into the US.

Transcript: Read the rest of this entry »

McCain Adviser Carly Fiorina Acknowledges Tax Incentives For Corporations To Move Offshore»

Our guest blogger is James Kvaal, Domestic Policy Advisor at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

In Milwaukee yesterday morning, McCain campaign advisor Carly Fiorina described how –- as the former CEO of Hewlett Packard –- she parked profits overseas even though it negatively impacted the U.S. economy. Watch it:

American corporations can postpone U.S. taxes on foreign profits indefinitely by keeping profits overseas. Since U.S. taxes are effectively voluntary, it’s not surprising that few corporations choose to pay them.

While Fiorina was leading HP, the company aggressively exploited offshore tax planning. The company held more than $14 billion overseas in 2004, according to the Washington Post, reducing its tax rate from 35 percent to 12 percent. At the time, Fiorina was a prominent defender of the offshoring of American jobs –- or, as she called it, “right-shoring.”

Now she is advising Sen. John McCain, who has refused to support the elimination of incentives to invest overseas. He even voted against an amendment to require companies to pay taxes on money they earn from foreign-made products sold in the U.S.

The bottom line: While proposing $175 billion in corporate tax cuts, McCain would continue to allow CEOs focused on the bottom line to invest overseas, rather than at home. The result is lower wages and a higher share of the tax burden for American workers.

Where Does McCain Stand On Executive Compensation?»

Our guest blogger is Sam Davis, Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

This past Saturday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told reporters: “I think it’s unconscionable when the guy who apparently is the head of Countrywide and his co-conspirators make huge amounts of money while Americans are facing the threat of losing their own homes.”

This sounds surprising, but we’ve heard it before. In 2002, President Bush assailed CEOs who “collect huge bonus packages when the value of their company dramatically declines,” promising to give shareholders the leverage they need to ensure greater accountability over a company’s board. More than five years later, the same thing is happening again.

If Senator McCain wants to get serious about the “unconscionable” rise in CEO pay at failing companies, there’s plenty he could do that would bring fairness and accountability back into the executive compensation system — even measures as simple as requiring that public companies submit executive pay plans to a nonbinding shareholder vote.

Reporters should ask Senator McCain what he thinks of that idea.

– Sam Davis

UPDATE: Again, if Senator McCain truly finds it “unconscionable” and “outrageous” that CEOs cash out with millions while shareholders, consumers and employees lose out, and believes shareholders and directors should punish these CEOs, what does he think of his own top economic adviser, Carly Fiorina, and how should she be reprimanded?

The former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina presided over the first layoffs in the 50-year history of the company during her tenure, an imperious drive to acquire Compaq Computer that was ultimately deemed a “lemon,” a 50% drop in the company’s stock, and the layoff of over 20,000 workers. Unconscionably and outrageously taking home $180 million in total compensation and a $21.1 million severance package.