174 results for author: Dave Svetlik

Corporate Tax Dodger…Merck

This is the sixth in a series on corporate tax dodgers. These summaries are taken directly from the report on Corporate Tax Dodgers by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies Do everything in your power to drive America into debt by spending $9.5 million in 2012 alone lobbying congress to write laws allowing you to avoid paying taxes. Offshore $53.4 billion in profits on which you have paid no U.S. taxes. Pocket $8.7 billion in taxpayer funded contracts from Uncle Sam – largely for pharmaceuticals provided to Medicare. Then have your CEO, Kenneth Frazier, fight to “fix the debt” by cutting Social Security and Medicare, ...

Corporate Tax Dodger…Pfizer

This is the fifth in a series on corporate tax dodgers. These summaries are taken directly from the report on Corporate Tax Dodgers by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies First you use research from the National Institutes of Health and major public universities, funded by average American taxpayers, to help develop your highly profitable prescription drugs. Then you spend millions of dollars on lobbyists to convince legislators to write laws forbidding the U.S. Government to seek competitive bids on drug prices, thus ensuring American citizens - especially the elderly - pay twice as much for prescription medications as ...

Corporate Tax Dodger…General Electric

Corporate Tax Dodger . . . General Electric  This is the fourth in a series on corporate tax dodgers that will be presented over the next several weeks. These summaries are taken directly from the report on Corporate Tax Dodgers by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies  “Over the last 15 years, GE has spent more than $284 million lobbying Congress, an average of $100,000 every working day for the last decade and a half.” Given that General Electric (GE) is one of the largest tax dodgers in America, it is a complete mockery of hardworking, taxpaying U.S. citizens when they claim they are simply taking advantage of ...

Corporate Tax Dodgers . . . Citigroup

This is the third in a series on corporate tax dodgers that will be presented over the next several weeks. These summaries are taken directly from the report on Corporate Tax Dodgers by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies  It isn’t enough that Citigroup was among the Wall Street banks whose fraudulent and predatory “exotic financial instruments” caused the collapse of our economy. It isn’t enough that they were bailed out with hundreds of billions of public tax dollars. It isn’t enough that Citigroup’s tax dodging is driving America into debt. It isn’t enough the Citigroup’s multimillionaire CEO, Michael ...

Moral Monday – – – The Immorality of “Rocketship Education”

The educational immorality called “Rocketship Education” being imposed on the children of Milwaukee is the product of years of deliberate, calculated transfer of wealth out of inner-cities all across America. It is a well-researched fact that poverty is the single most important factor in any failure of our public schools. As stated in a report from the Economic Policy Institute: “Decades of studies have affirmed that the single most important factor affecting educational achievement are inequalities of wealth and poverty. Since the inception of testing under No Child Left Behind, students from poor or economically disadvantaged families have ...

Corporate Tax Dodgers . . . Bank of America

This is the second in a series on corporate tax dodgers that will be presented over the next several weeks. These summaries are taken directly from the report on Corporate Tax Dodgers by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies Bank of America is one of the "too big to fail" "to big to jail" Wall Street banks whose unethical practices led to the economic collapse in 2007-2008. Bank of America received billions of public tax dollars to keep it afloat during the recession. Because of the bank's abusive lending practices, hundreds of thousands of American families lost their homes. Like many of the corporations that pay ...

Corporate Tax Dodgers . . . Microsoft

This is the first in a series of articles on corporate tax dodgers that will be presented over the next several weeks. These summaries are taken directly from the report on Corporate Tax Dodgers by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for policy studies    It is a bitter irony that some of the wealthiest people in America, those most responsible for causing government debt, are doing everything in their power to balance the budget on the backs of average workers. Yet this is the case.  Multi-billionaire Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, one of the largest corporate tax dodgers in America, is on the steering committee of the “Camp...

We Are Not A People Divided

A version of this article was previously published in the Wausau Daily Herald It is said that Americans are divided, that conservatives and progressives have irreconcilable differences represented by the Republican and Democratic parties.  But perhaps a more accurate assessment is that we have been deliberately divided and are no longer represented by either political party.  Perhaps we are not as divided as we think. Conservatives and progressives alike feel anger for the looting of Americans that occurred in the bailout of Wall Street banks.  We are united in our belief that there should be criminal prosecutions at the highest levels of the ...

The Global Fast Food Workers Strike

As many are aware, the global fast food workers strike took place this past May 15th. There were participants all over America. Citizens of all ages and backgrounds took part, and these were some of the comments from the courageous individuals who marched in Wausau: “What 15 & a union means to me: Protection from wage theft and income inequality. As a worker, I’ve seen wage theft happen first hand. Whether it’s not getting paid during training, taking out the trash on breaks, or even counting registers off of the clock, these are all forms of wage theft and it happens every day. I feel that with the profits these companies make, they ...

“New Math” in America Today… 8 Billionaires = 1,401,069 Teachers

There were 1,401,069 public school teachers west of the Mississippi River* in 2013, including Hawaii, Alaska, and the two largest school systems in America – Texas and California. At a national average of $56,383 (a livable wage), their combined income was $78.9 billion. The top 8 incomes in America in 2013 were: In other words, eight people made as much as all of the teachers west of the Mississippi and had $4.3 billion to spare.   (* Average teacher salary used because it represents a fair and just wage – a wage level at which a person can support themselves, their family and be prepared for future needs) The combined income of ...