The Jubilee Blog

The Debt ‘Trial of the Century’ – Vulture Hedge Funds v. Argentina

By: Jennifer Tong

Today, two holdout vulture funds, including Paul Singer’s NML Capital, are in a New York Federal court versus Argentina. The Financial Times has dubbed the proceeding the “‘the trial of the century’ in sovereign debt restructuring.” The US Government filed a friend-of-the-court brief noting a ruling against Argentina could make it much harder for countries in financial recovery or countries facing economic stresses to access credit and debt swaps.

In Case You Missed It…

By: Chris Besse

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama spoke on tax reform and how to reduce the $16.4 trillion dollar deficit that the government is now facing.[i]  President Obama talked about the impending sequestration and cuts in programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and social security. However, what you may have missed in the President’s address is his call for a tax reform “with everyone doing their fair share.”[ii].

The State of Haiti: Three Years Post-Earthquake

By: Bryant Lewis

The rebuilding process for Haiti, a country so torn and tattered even before the life-altering earthquake of 2010 has been and will continue to be a long process. Three years after the horrific event, Haiti has been slowly rebuilding but the work is far from done. It will take many years to create better infrastructure, a stable economy and a better standard of living for the Haitian people.

The Impending Sequester and the CUT Loopholes Act

By: Chris Besse

As the “fiscal cliff” came to an end in 2012 many questions were left unanswered. One of the issues that will need to be addressed with haste is the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts know as “sequestration” set to come up this month.[i] The sequester was deferred for two months so that the country would not fall off the impending fiscal cliff that would have created $109 billion in automatic spending cuts, but now the deadline is approaching once again. To reduce the $16.4 trillion dollar debt, there have been talks about cutting social security, Medicare and Medicaid programs. The better answer to the sequestration and the US debt is to raise lost revenue through corporations’ use of tax loopholes and tax havens.

The Corporate Tax Fairness Act: A powerful bill for the US and globally

 

Senator Bernie Sanders speaking at a press conference on his newly-introduced piece of legislation the Corporate Tax Fairness Act.

By: Chris Besse

Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Corporate Tax Fairness Act and Representative Jan Schakowsky introduced its companion measure in the House. This Act would yield more than $590 billion in revenue for the US over the next decade by closing corporate tax loopholes that allow corporations to shift profits oversees and avoid paying taxes in the US.  With the US at a debt of $16.5 trillion, the swift passage of this legislation is urgently needed.[i]  Not only is this legislation a good thing for the US, it is also good globally as it would send a “strong message that this kind of corporate behavior worldwide is unacceptable. This is behavior that makes dodgy business practices the status quo and perpetuates the cycle of poverty around the globe,” noted Eric LeCompte, Jubilee USA’s Executive Director.[ii]

Daisy Rojas’ Reflections on Cuba

By: Roberta Badger-Cain and Bob Brown from Jubilee Oregon

Daisy Rojas’ simultaneously translated presentation, “Cuba, the People, the Embargo and the Economy,” held at Central Lutheran Church, Portland, Oregon, on October 9, 2012, held some surprises and important little-known information. Co-sponsored by Jubilee Oregon, Witness for Peace NW and Portland Central American Solidarity Committee, 55 people were in attendance, filling the room.  The atmosphere was electric!

The ease in which Daisy and her superb translator, Diego Benitez, communicated, showed that they had much experience as a team.  Never dull and sometimes funny, Daisy weaved and danced, gesticulated, and was, intermittently, serious and intense, smiling and laughing.