Economics
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 ...
Demand a New Approach in Iraq
President Obama's decision to sent 300 special forces “trainers” to Iraq is taking us back to war and the same mistakes of the past. It will not help the situation in Iraq. We spent 11 years “training” the Iraqi police and military. Why do we think 300 can do now what 150,000 could not do before?
The deteriorating situation in Iraq proves that our intervention and occupation failed. It did not build a stable country. It did not promote democracy. It did not defeat extremism or curb terrorism. It only killed people and wasted money. Why do we continue to throw ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
National Security: Less is More
The Pentagon, and all the other national “security” spending, is a major reason we have taxes, deficits, and budget problems.
The Center for Defense Information, a think tank run by former military officers say:
“Pentagon costs, taken together with other known national security expenses for 2015, will exceed $1 trillion.”
“There is much more than $495.6 billion in the budget for the Pentagon, and there are piles of national security spending outside the Pentagon...”
They list total national security spending outside the Department of Defense ...
WHAT DOES THE FARM BILL MEAN?
In February, the US Congress passed the Farm Bill in the amount of $958.6 Billion. This money will be spent in the next ten years. Its official title is the Agriculture Act of 2014. US farmers make up less than 2 per cent of the population. Why do they receive so much money?
According to the Wisconsin Farmers Union, this legislation is really about food and nutrition. Seventy per-cent of the funds will support SNAP, WIC and the U.S. school lunch program. SNAP is the federal food stamp program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. WIC is the public ...
How Is Wisconsin Faring?
1. Job Growth:
Wisconsin is ninth out of the 10 Midwestern states in private sector job growth. Only Illinois ranks lower.
Wisconsin is 32nd in all job growth from 2011 through 2013.
A job analysis by the Wisconsin State Journal shows Wisconsin, in 2010, ranked 16th in private sector job growth under Democratic Governor Doyle. At the end of 2013, Wisconsin ranked 36th.
Wisconsin ranks 45th in projected job growth.
Wisconsin placed 2nd in job losses during the month of February 9,500 jobs in the public and private sector were ...
Thoughts on Taxes
April 15th is coming up. For many of us, the problem with taxes is not how much we pay, rather it is what we get for our tax dollar. Taxes are the dues we pay to belong to a civilized society. Are we getting what we need? Are we getting our money's worth? Are we building a prosperous, healthy, sustainable, and truly civilized society?
There is too much sound bite and too little information on this topic in the media. Perhaps the facts below and some perspective will help ease the pain this tax day.
How much do we pay?
In 2011 Americans paid, as a percentage of ...
Inequality for All
The movie "Inequality for All," with former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich, is a humorous, enlightening expose on America's widening income gap where Reich answers questions like: What is happening with the distribution of income and wealth in the US? Why? And, is it a problem?
Reich notes some inequality is inevitable, but the US has by far the most unequal distribution of income of developed nations, ranking 64th in the world. In 1978 the typical US male worker's income was $48,000, adjusted for inflation, while someone in the top 1% made $390,000. In 2010, a ...
