The Universal Income Tax Bracket of U.S. Hedge Fund Managers

The highest paid hedge fund managers and public equity managers are taxed at 15% which is much lower than virtually all other public income tax rates, because of the U.S.’ income tax code, specifically the “carried interest” provision which states that the income of a hedge fund and/or public equity manager is subject to the tax rate of capital gains, even though unlike normal capital gains, hedge fund managers and public equity managers are not required to risk their own financial capital, as they use the capital of their clients. This law is within U.S. income tax legislation because of the incredible lobbying effort of the private sector financial industry. Since 2006, every democratic president, including Barrack Obama, has strived to close the carried interest legislative loophole. The bill designed to strike down this provision passed the House twice, but consistently falls short of being passed as a bill into law due to pressure from the financial industry, a powerful collective who help raise record amounts of financial capital for the campaigns of members of U.S. politicians

The Cuban Wet Foot Dry Foot Policy

The Cuban “Wet Foot Dry Foot policy” describes the fact that since 1995, any Cuban who reaches the United States of America will be accepted by the U.S. and therefore able to live and work in the U.S. as a landed immigrant with paperwork to bolster their legitimacy when finding work, applying for loans, and paying income tax. The goal of bringing one’s family to join them in the future is why many Cubans have taken on this monumental challenge of traveling from Cuba to the U.S. by boat, often overcrowded and handmade which has lead to many deaths by drowning. If caught by the Cuban authorities for trying to flee Cuba, migrants are repatriated and given a fine or jail time in Cuba. Barack Obama ended the Wet Foot Dry Foot policy as his last act in office as President of the United States of America in the hopes of improving diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba