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11/30/2017: Sometimes, tax bills don’t do what you want them to do
Nov 30, 2017

11/30/2017: Sometimes, tax bills don’t do what you want them to do

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Republicans calling for lower corporate tax rates often say that the cash corporations save will stimulate growth, but the truth is, they may already have the cash on hand to do that.  And then there's the cautionary tale of what happened in Kansas, where five years ago Gov. Sam Brownback brokered deep cuts that stagnated growth and ballooned the state's deficit to $1 billion before the state legislature reversed them this year. In not-tax news, we discuss the bright future of Amazon's smart speaker assistant, Alexa, the uncertain future of Britain's economy as net migration declines more than it has in 50 years and a new transitional kindergarten program that's shaking up the status quo.

Segments From this episode

After Brexit, net migration to Britain tumbles

Nov 30, 2017
Britain’s government published its latest immigration figures today. They cover the 12-month period after the June 2016 vote to quit the European Union. Many who backed Brexit said they did so to curb the numbers of immigrants to Britain. Today’s figures show the sharpest fall in net inward migration since British records began more than […]

Chairman Brady has faith that the GOP tax cuts will pay for themselves

Nov 30, 2017
Differences in the House and Senate versions of the tax bill are solvable, the congressman says.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), center, and others arrive for a markup of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Capitol Hill on Nov. 6.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

With low pay, finding qualified early childhood teachers remains a challenge in some areas

Nov 30, 2017
If the early childhood education system is a food chain, district-run preschool programs in California are the new big fish, gobbling up a lot of the resources – including qualified teachers.
Selma Sanchez, program director of the Child Development Consortium of Los Angeles, oversees ten child care centers. When the majority of staff at this Canoga Park center left for other jobs, she stepped in to pick up the slack.
Priska Neely/ for Marketplace

Amazon’s Alexa wants to be your office assistant, too

Nov 30, 2017
Amazon announced plans to bring its Echo devices into conference rooms and cubicles through a platform called Alexa for Business. The new feature comes through Amazon’s cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services, not its retail side, and it’s the company’s latest move in the competitive voice assistant space. To start, Alexa for Business will let […]

Trade in bitcoin at your own risk

Nov 30, 2017
Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is on a wild and volatile ride. The price of a coin has grown ten-fold in the past year, hitting a high of more than $11,000 for one bitcoin yesterday, before tumbling some 20 percent this morning. Everybody, it seems, wants in on the action. But a growing number of economists and […]

What Congress could learn from Kansas

Nov 30, 2017
Making the rounds on Capitol Hill yesterday was Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback. He was talking up his tax cuts in Kansas from 2012 as a model for the GOP to follow in its national tax plan. Thing is, the five years since those Kansas tax cuts were put in place have not been kind to […]

How will corporations spend their tax cuts?

Dec 1, 2017
History points to companies spending tax cuts on paying dividends to shareholders.
 Legislation and regulation books related to the GOP's planned tax overhaul are stacked and ready in the House Ways and Means Committee hearing room in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Republicans calling for lower corporate tax rates often say that the cash corporations save will stimulate growth, but the truth is, they may already have the cash on hand to do that.  And then there’s the cautionary tale of what happened in Kansas, where five years ago Gov. Sam Brownback brokered deep cuts that stagnated growth and ballooned the state’s deficit to $1 billion before the state legislature reversed them this year. In not-tax news, we discuss the bright future of Amazon’s smart speaker assistant, Alexa, the uncertain future of Britain’s economy as net migration declines more than it has in 50 years and a new transitional kindergarten program that’s shaking up the status quo.

Music from the episode

Aminals Baths
Lost Frank Ocean
Orchids Monster Rally
Big Pimpin' / Papercut JAY Z, Linkin Park
At Last Etta James
Preservation Aesop Rock, Del The Funky Homosapien, Wu-Tang Clan
You Know I'm No Good Amy Winehouse
Sugah Daddy D'Angelo
When The Truth Is... Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam