Steller’s Friday Notebook: Wealthy interests feign ‘reform,’ run gov’t for themselves
That's what struck me when Sen.
Ages ago, back in
McCain claimed Thursday, in announcing his support, that this help-the-rich tax bill was arrived at through "regular order." That's bull. On Thursday, senators still didn't know exactly what was in the bill, even as they were preparing to vote on it. Highly irregular order.
Some features were clear though. Corporate tax cuts were permanent, the estate tax that affects only the richest was slashed, the carried-interest loophole that benefits only the rich was left in place. Tax cuts for some in the middle-class, though, were only temporary. Crucial deductions that make our tax bills manageable were also on the chopping block.
It's what today passes as "reform" -- something good for the wealthy and big corporations with theoretical-at-best benefits for the rest.
But we should not be surprised that McCain violated the principle that he established only two months ago when it came to this help-the-rich bill. That's because McCain is rich and so are his important campaign donors.
He married into the wealthy Hensley family, which owns the big
There were more such accounts, and that's just the beginning of the assets, held mostly in
The tax bill benefits people like them and the donors who underwrite campaigns.
But leave aside McCain and this tax bill. Look at one simple detail from Arizona's current politics. As the Legislature has steadily cut corporate taxes, the state has become increasingly strapped, and the staffing at the
The result, as
In
Former attorney general
That's a pretty high threshold, mind you. A
But you can bet the wealthy donors who support the campaigns will fight it. They're already claiming -- through Gov.
Sonoran governor released?
Hermosillo is alive with amazement and anger at the possible release of former Sonora Gov. Guillermo Padres from prison.
A judge found there was insufficient evidence that
More strangely, the federal attorney general's office initially failed to respond to the judge's decision in enough time to stop it.
That prompted a puzzled response from the office of Sonora's anti-corruption prosecutor, Odracir Espinoza, who said the federal prosecutors' inaction was "strange," considering that they had pursued the case vigorously at the beginning.
The Sonoran press is alive with talk of an "arreglo," some sort of unseen political arrangement reached between the PRI party leaders and
On Wednesday, a federal judge set a 10-day time period to decide whether
Antenori leads Post
On Sunday, a formerly prominent Tucsonan,
We all know Antenori's persona by now -- the ex-Green Beret who has made a macho-man stereotype of himself.
You can see why people from the
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Contact: [email protected] or 807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter
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