Goldman Sachs has run the numbers and found that Wells Fargo -- the same Wells Fargo that's been caught in one scandal after another in recent years -- will benefit more than any other American bank from the GOP tax bill.
I doubt anyone necessarily expects Wells Fargo would use their windfall to invest in labor and company growth but, to be clear, Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan says they will use their tax cuts pay dividends and buy back shares until the end of time or until the economy crashes again.
At an investor presentation earlier this month, when asked about how regulatory rollbacks might impact those plans, Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan said higher returns for investors were in the cards.
"Is it our goal to increase return to our shareholders and do we have an excess amount of capital? The answer to both is, yes," Sloan said. "So our expectation should be that we will continue to increase our dividend and our share buybacks next year and the year after that and the year after that."
The bank has cut employees this year at its Charlotte, North Carolina, headquarters and at a Pennsylvania call center.
I feel like I shouldn't be laughing at this, but how could I not? America is a deeply absurd country; a dark comedy directed by the Coen brothers. We are currently governed by looters who are making promises on behalf of corporation who aren't making the same promises. And everyone knows it. Republicans in Congress know they are full of shit, but they aren't willing to admit it.
Goldman Sachs also found that telecommunication companies will reap the largest benefits from the GOP bill while major manufacturers like General Electric will see virtually no benefit because they don't pay any taxes right now. Cutting taxes for a company that doesn't pay taxes obviously won't make much difference.
I expect financial institutions will be among the first companies to become fully automated in our robotic future and the GOP bill will hasten that transition.