Neil Cavuto hosted his economic downward spiral special this morning, “On the Brink: Answers from the Abyss,” which seems like a much less dramatic title since S&P downgraded our credit rating last night. And as with any mess, there’s more than enough finger-pointing going around. Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich joined Cavuto today to call for corporations to “pay their taxes,” which Cavuto seemed to see as an unfair accusation: “why are they responsible and not you guys?”
Rep. Kucinich attributed much of the decline to corporate outsourcing and the moribund job industry. “We need to invest in America,” he cried, a claim Cavuto argued he was wrong on. Instead, Cavuto proposed that it was Congress spending too much money and earmarks that was hurting the economy. “We need an initiative to stop people from coming up with initiatives,” he joked. “We need an initiative to get the top ten corporations to pay their taxes,” Rep. Kucinich retorted, calling for them to also invest in America, but Cavuto wondered whether there was enough security for them to do so.
“Where is their loyalty to this country?” Rep. Kucinich asked, a question that, though rhetorical, Cavuto did not entertain. “Why are they responsible and not you guys?” he asked, referring to Congress. “They’re chased overseas because of regulations and taxes.” “Believe me,” he argued, “they want to bring that money home, but they’re spanked big time if they do.” At this the Congressman began reading a list of corporations that paid little to no taxes, including Exxon Mobil, which Cavuto countered was “one of the top ten federally taxed corporations. Cavuto concluded, contrary to the Congressman, that corporations “would invest if they had an environment that was hospitable.
The segment via Fox News below: