What class warfare really looks like

July 12, 2011 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Class Warfare

By: Dee Dee Myers, Politico.com
July 11, 2011 10:22 PM EDT

Here we go again. Democrats single out glaring examples of tax preferences or spending priorities that favor the wealthy and Republicans cry “class warfare!”

The latest round came in the wake of President Barack Obama’s calls to eliminate tax breaks for corporate jet owners. Ending special deductions for the depreciation of corporate aircraft would save roughly $3 billion over the next decade. Republicans argue — correctly — that amounts to less than half of 1 percent of the current national debt. So it was striking how quickly, and passionately, conservative pols and commentators rose to defend the subsidy.

“Dangerous!” “Full-fledged demagoguery!” cried Rush Limbaugh. The president’s “aim is for one group of Americans to hate and despise another!”

“Unprecedented class warfare!” claimed Glenn Beck. The president again showed “his sheer, unadulterated disgust for the wealthy, the successful and anyone who’s ever tried to do anything with their life here in America.”

Really? Closing a single loophole worth less than one-half of 1 percent of the national debt is all that?

The knee-jerk conservative response confirms two things. First, they know the president landed a punch. Second, they’re utterly unwilling to acknowledge how much the playing field in American life has now tilted in favor of the haves.

We know the president’s proposal was largely symbolic. He doesn’t believe that eliminating a $3 billion tax break is really going to break the back of a $14 trillion problem.

But he does believe that highlighting small, but galling, inequities can stimulate a broader conversation about fairness. In our collective effort to deal with our very real fiscal challenges, how do we share the burden? The president’s argument resonated with ordinary Americans precisely because it’s a stand-in for their growing sense that things are out of whack.

This is the conversation conservatives don’t want to have.

It’s indisputable that the gap between the rich and everyone else in this country has grown dramatically. The top 1 percent of Americans now take home nearly a quarter of all income and control more than 40 percent of the country’s wealth — roughly the same amount as the bottom 90 percent.

It’s also indisputable that that gap has gotten far bigger in the past 25 years. In the past decade alone, the wealthiest percentile has seen its income grow by a robust 17 percent, while the middle class has seen its real income fall.

What could possibly account for such gross distortions? Are the superwealthy really that much smarter and productive than the rest of us? Are the organic veggies and hormone-free meat that affluent parents feed their children paying off?

Or could it be something else?

How about the tax structure? The 400 Americans with the highest adjusted gross income saw their effective tax rates plummet from 30 percent in 1995 to 17 percent in 2007.

That’s not according to some left-wing think tank. It comes from a recent cover story in Bloomberg BusinessWeek. General Electric paid no corporate taxes in 2010. ExxonMobil, one of the most profitable companies in the world, still benefits from hundreds of millions of dollars in government subsidies — and it still couldn’t explain, let alone prevent, a devastating oil spill in the Yellowstone River.

Even tax breaks that are supposed to help the middle class too often skew toward the wealthy. Consider the mortgage interest deduction. While political leaders in both parties have long considered it untouchable, it actually helps those at the top of the income scale far more than those at the bottom.

First, low- and middle-income earners are less likely to itemize deductions, so most aren’t even eligible for the benefit. If the mortgage interest deduction were eliminated, according to the Tax Policy Center, the bottom 40 percent of earners would be virtually unaffected.

Those in the middle brackets would see a small increase in their taxes. While those in the top brackets — the same folks who have seen their incomes and wealth skyrocket in recent decades — would take the biggest hit.

Second, it provides the biggest benefit to people who buy the most expensive homes. The deduction on a million-dollar loan at an elevated jumbo rate is worth a heck of a lot more than one for a $250,000 conforming loan.

Third, because people in lower brackets pay lower rates, if a person making $50,000 a year and person making $150,000 a year bought the same house, the higher earner would get a bigger tax break.

Reducing the amount of eligible debt from $1 million to, say, $250,000 is now under discussion. That would help. But it would still provide a bigger benefit to people with bigger incomes.

So the dirty little secret is that the pool man, who’s making $30,000 a year, is subsidizing the million-dollar mortgage for the family whose pool he cleans. No wonder people want to get rid of tax breaks for corporate jets.

And no wonder the American people overwhelmingly support raising taxes on the rich — as well as cutting spending — to reduce the deficit and improve income equality. They don’t believe it’s class warfare.

For generations, Americans who aren’t rich have been generous and admiring of their wealthy compatriots — they want a country where people who work hard can succeed, where the same rules apply to everyone. They expect to have their own shot at getting rich. But increasingly, they are seeing that the game is rigged.

So as Republican congressional leaders stand their ground in the battle over raising the debt ceiling and lowering the debt — no net revenue increase! — Obama must stand his. He must ensure that any deal he may be able to strike moves us back toward a society where the burdens are shared equally — by all our people.

The U.S. now lags behind every country in Donald Rumsfeld’s “Old Europe” in terms of income equality.

“The more divided a society becomes in terms of wealth,” the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz wrote recently in Vanity Fair, “the more reluctant the wealthy become to spend on the common needs. The rich don’t need to rely on government for parks or education or medical care or personal security — they can buy these things for themselves. In the process, they become more distant from ordinary people, losing whatever empathy they may once have had.”

That, my friends, is what class warfare really looks like.

Dee Dee Myers, a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, served as White House press secretary in the first two years of the Clinton administration.

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Howard Dean to Obama: Get Out of Afghanistan!

April 19, 2011 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Afghanistan

The former Democratic boss says the Afghanistan war is not winnable, the Kabul government is corrupt, and Karzai is almost as bad on women’s rights as the Taliban. In an interview with The Daily Beast’s McKay Coppins, the emboldened pol also blasts Tea Party radicals on the budget. FULL ARTICLE HERE

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In 30 minutes, 18 state Senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten

March 9, 2011 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Latest News

Wis. GOP bypasses Dems, cuts collective bargaining

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Scott Bauer, Associated Press – 5 mins ago

FULL ARTICLE HERE…

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Senate voted Wednesday night to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers, approving an explosive proposal that had rocked the state and unions nationwide after Republicans discovered a way to bypass the chamber’s missing Democrats.

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Republicans Apologize to BP

June 18, 2010 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Oil

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I believe the GOP really doesn’t want the American people to have health care.

March 14, 2010 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Healthcare

Opinion
GOP has an unhealthy idea about health care

Sunday, March 14, 2010

To the Times:

I believe the GOP really doesn’t want the American people to have health care.

The reason: Eight years of Reagan, 12 years of Bushes and 20 years of not one health care bill.

How many Americans died in those 20 years? In 2009, 47,000 Americans died and in the next three years, 141,300 Americans will die because of lack of health care. The GOP says health care will cost too much — the Iraq War will cost about $3 trillion when it ends.

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said these famous words: “If we’re able to stop Obama, this will be his Waterloo, it will break him.” Mr. DeMint took $1,194,520 from health care professionals. The American people who will die, this year will be their “Waterloo.” He took his 30 pieces of silver.

Mr. DeMint and the Republican Party want to break the commander in chief of the armed forces of the U.S. in war time. I served in Germany many years ago — his words are an act of treason, he should resign, he is a coward. The Republican Party should be proud of its Benedict Arnold.

Almost 7,000 Marines died and 19,217 were wounded on Iwo Jima. In 2009, 2,300 vets died and in the next three years, 6,600 vets will die due to lack of health care in America. I repeat, in America. In 2008, 4 million vets don’t have health care (non related war injuries). HOW SAD!

A plea to U.S. Sen. John McCain: They were willing to die on the battle field but were not willing to die because of one vote short.

The Vietnam War is called the poor man’s war because the rich kids didn’t go. Reagan wanted to cut mental-health care from the Vietnam vets, tens of thousands committed suicide. Bush and Congress cut $85 billion from vet benefits in 2003 so he could make his second tax cut possible — support our troops — another reason why vets don’t have health care.

Mitt Romney, a future presidential candidate, said his kids served our country by running his campaign. As a vet, this really ticks me off.

Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld sent our sons and daughters into Iraq without the proper troop levels, proper equipment. The troops had to go into junk yards to find pieces of steel to weld onto their humvees. So many died, so many were injured. This makes me sick when I think about it.”

U.S. Sens. Lieberman, Snow, Brown, Collins: Congratulations if you kill the health care bill. You will also kill Americans. Your loyalty to your party is more important than your loyalty to your country.

If you care for the American people and the 4 million vets who don’t have health care, call Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell at 202-224-2541 and tell him to get this bill passed now. Someone once said: “Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles — it empties today of its strength.”

MIKE WALSH

Former 3rd Infantry Division,

U.S. Army

The Delaware County Daily Times (delcotimes.com), Serving Delaware County, PA

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WE CAN’T SIT IDLY BY WHILE THEY TAKE OVER OUR COUNTRY

February 16, 2010 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Election 2010

WE CAN’T SIT IDLY BY WHILE THEY TAKE OVER OUR COUNTRY

If you think the extremists on the right are going to go away, think again. Between the ultra right-wing religious fundamentalists and the neo-conservatives, they are taking over our country from top to bottom, and we, as progressives and liberals and Democrats, need to fight much harder against their distorted values and egocentric viewpoints. We must tell President Obama again and again he can’t be Mr. Nice Guy. The Republicans are the party of “No.” they’ve become the party of Tea-Baggers. They will never ever allow Obama a victory of any sort, no matter how good it may be for the country as a whole.

THE RELIGIOUS-RIGHT FUNDAMENTALIST STRATEGY:

Emphasize a patriarchal, male-dominated society, where father knows best.

· Women are just subservient child-bearers who make dinner, car-pool, and are obedient to the opposite sex. (Our view: we’re all equal—each and every one of us, no matter what we look like or believe in or don’t believe—as long as we don’t legislate or mandate or somehow force our views on others.)

Push No Child Left Behind–a ruse for killing unions and destroying public education by over testing and underfunding.

· Their intent is to raise the next generation of obedient, non-thinking rote learners, and push them into charter and parochial schools with federal funding.

· With one-size-fits-all assessments created during the Bush years, they use the excuse that failure by so many students on these tests proves the need to divert federal funds to parochial schools where discrimination is allowed because of federal religious exclusions. There, the curriculum doesn’t need to comply with public school guidelines.

· History can and should be rewritten to fit their beliefs.

(Our view: Education is all about creative thinking, arriving at answers through inductive and deductive reasoning, memorization only when necessary as part of the learning process, and developing children’s curiosity about the world around them.)

Get on local school boards and oppose “left-wing liberal elitism.”

· Once on the boards, they attempt to force school districts to teach creationism along side or instead of evolution and history.

· They design or purchase curriculum that follows a particular set of “values” rather than developing creative minds and tolerant view points.

· They rewrite history to fit their biases.

· They diminish the value of education that will keep our country competitive with other industrialized nations, thereby assuring the demise of this nation as an oasis of jobs, innovation, and justice.

· They refuse to let school children hear Obama’s motivating address to the children of this nation.

(Our view: Education is not about indoctrination but teaching students the love of learning, hearing opposing views, and learning from the past. Children should learn about all religions in comparative religion classes, but not in science classes.)

Say they’re “pro-life and then be the first ones to vote down social programs and entitlements for those who have children they don’t want or can’t afford.

· They scream for no government intervention in our lives except when it serves their personal beliefs, like the Terry Schiavo case or a woman’s right to choose or placing religious symbols on federal lands and buildings.

· They believe government should step in at conception, but step out the day the child is born, at which time everyone’s on their own and government has no role. Some even go so far as to say the use of contraceptives is abortion.

· They use the “bootstrap” argument when these same children and their parents don’t achieve and thereby become dependent on society for their basic needs.

(Our view: We’re pro-life as much as the religious extremists but we believe it’s a woman’s right to choose to give life. Children do so much better when they’re wanted and can be nurtured and loved from birth to adulthood. Then, society, as a whole, benefits. We strongly believe in every life—but life with dignity and quality and self-worth.)

Convince their followers that global warming and pollution and destruction of our environment are all left-wing liberal lies.

· They fight hard against any constructive changes to save our planet, even as our ice caps melt and our shorelines disappear.

· They insist that the filthy, contaminated water and air, and chemically poisoned foods are all just part of a natural cycle, and if the government just stays out of all this, the global warming cycle will reverse itself and corporations will self-correct their abuses of us and the planet.

· They explain away the increases in autism and other diseases as just the liberals playing with numbers, that nothing has really gotten worse.

Indoctrinate them to believe that regulation and government of any kind is bad.

· They work hard at breaking the connection between the fact that roads, schools, fire and police departments, parks, and so much more are a result of good government working.

· They insist that regulation is part of the left-wing scheme to turn America into a socialist country and is not needed to protect them from global corporations’ bottom lines and abusive practices.

(Our view: We need reasonable government regulation to assure the safety of the public. Without it, the pharmaceuticals will continue to sell untested drugs in off-label markets, misleading labels and disclaimers will be in fine print that no one can read or understand, our toys and other products will continue to be unsafe, our food will continue to be contaminated, our air and water polluted, imports from other countries will have the lowest standards possible, the healthcare industry will continue to work for profits over the health of the consumer, and the financial industry will continue to deceive and overcharge and bankrupt us.)

Tell them that health care reform is socialism, that it has failed in every other country, and that you have to wait six months to see a doctor.

· They convince them to listen to Fox non-news for their “facts.”

· They tell them that tort reform is the only real reason for skyrocketing costs, that no responsibility lies on the shoulders of the health care industry and its executives, and that exorbitant profits are good capitalism.

· They scare them into believing that health care reform will destroy the health care they now have, no matter how bad it is and how costly, and mislead them into thinking that this same corrupt, greedy industry will best serve their needs unfettered by government.

(Our view: We range from Medicare for all to a public option to compete with the private sector, and we may not agree on the best solution, but we all know that we must do something to improve the quality of care, stop skyrocketing costs, and increase the number of Americans covered. We do know that we are not here just to fill the coffers of the medical industry by denial of coverage, increased premiums, and limits on coverage. Exorbitant malpractice insurance premiums are more the result of greed by the insurance companies than actual pay outs in claims, with a payout ratio of only 43% of premiums on average. And many of us believe health care is a right, not a privilege for the few.)

Work to put right-wing advocates on the courts to steal elections, insist they vote the Right way on fundamentalist issues, and give more power to the corporations that now own this country.

· They advocate allowing the Supreme Court to decide questionable presidential elections for their candidate.

· They talk about values, but remain quiet when elections are stolen. Diebold voting machines are fine as long as they skew the results the Right way.

· They fight paper trails that would assure fair and honest elections.

(Our view: Voting machines must be built, owned, and operated by companies that have proven to be independent with no declared allegiance to a particular party, and we must allow certified non-partisan groups to easily access the results of both the voting machines and paper ballots.)

Espouse hatred for gays and lesbians.

· They make fear and hatred of “those people” one of their strongest rallying points. They insist that there is no place for them in society—clear and simple.

(Our view: We are all equal under the law. We don’t accept legislating how everyone else should act and believe if they are not adversely affecting the lives of others.)

Support “capitalism” at any cost and call the rest of us socialists, communists, Nazis, and fascists.

· They don’t question the authority of the military-industrial complex.

· They don’t question outsourcing valuable American jobs to China, India, Mexico, and elsewhere.

· They don’t question what corporations and ideologues on the Right have done to influence and control every aspect of our lives—doing so would be unpatriotic.

· They keep insisting that President Obama is not really our president and, therefore, they can say anything about him or dishonor anyway and any time they choose.

(Our view: We don’t like labels. We don’t fear those who are different. We like and welcome diversity. Our fragile democracy cannot survive with hatemongering and lying in the name of false “patriotism.” The extremes of fascism and communism are about people who blame others for their problems and want everyone to believe, behave, and look like themselves. That’s not us.”

Declare that government funds are fine when used as part of the Faith-Based Initiative in direct violation of the Constitution and its mandate of separation of church and state.

· They support laws that allow and encourage hiring and firing based on religion even when using federal funds in schools and the workplace.

· They keep the pressure on for maintaining the Faith-Based office in the White House and every department of government.

· They encourage houses of worship to preach politically from the pulpit.

· They prod their followers to rise up in defiance of legitimately elected Democratic politicians.

(Our view: Religion is an extremely important part of our heritage and diversity, but there is no one correct religion. Everyone is entitled to practice or not practice as they see fit as long as they don’t force their beliefs on others. That’s why our founding fathers basically believed in separating religion from government. As religion creeps more and more into our government, there is less and less room for divergent views.)

Take control of the media by putting in as many conservative faces on the FCC as possible.

· They use the “fair and balanced” argument to get the right-wing slant out to the audience.

· They push for conservative boards on PBS and NPR and fire the likes of Bill Moyer.

· They insist on a right-wing slant being aired as truth even when there is no basis in facts. In front of the cameras, they scream and yell their hatred for the Democratic-controlled government and, in particular, President Obama—it works every time.

· They put out tidbits in the rumor mill knowing that if they’re heard enough times, they’ll be believed.

· They call Fox a news group when, in fact, they preach deception, misinformation, and outright lies.

· They encourage the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and Limbaugh to spew their vitriol.

· They let Ailes, Luntz, Rove, O’Reilly, and Murdoch to set the political agenda.

· They push for right-wing media conglomerates to buy as many TV and radio stations and newspapers without anti-monopoly restrictions. And they hope Congress will allow Comcast, a conservative, right-wing media company, to take control of NBC.

· They fight network neutrality.

· They don’t read, don’t think, and don’t question.

· They just obey orders and spew their hatred of Obama.

(Our view: When no other voices can be heard, a democracy cannot exist. If Comcast, a conservative company spending millions on lobbying, gets a 51% of NBC, the right-wing grip on the media will be even greater. One more door will be closed in fair and unbiased reporting and divergent views on the airwaves.)

Justify support of George Bush’s war, a war based on lies.

· They claim family values and oppose a draft, but be the first ones to remain quiet when the nation’s other children are sent to war.

· They don’t question the legitimacy of Republican wars. Republican leaders know what’s best.

· They oppose viewing the caskets of our soldiers when they come home.

· They oppose accurate reporting of the wars and pictures of the dying and disabled soldiers.

· They advocate access by the military to students’ private school records, as long as it’s not their children being urged to join.

· They talk of free speech and hatred of government, but have no problem when the likes of AT&T and the NSA spy on us in the name of “national security.” After all, if you don’t do anything wrong, you don’t have to worry.

· They scream and yell at the thought of Bush/Cheney/Rove being impeached for horrendous alleged crimes or honoring federal subpoenas, but get on their moral high-horse when it comes to Clinton.

(Our view: War should not be preemptive and should be only a means of last resort. The “need” to go to war can and should be questioned by the public. It’s our obligation, as citizens, to question the decisions of both parties.)

Claim fiscally conservative views, except when it comes to war and the war machine.

· They talk about their hatred for tax and spend policies while ignoring the fact that Bush, etal, spent $12 billion a month in a war based on lies.

· They remain silent when no-bid excessive contracts are awarded to Halliburton, Blackwater, KBR, and others.

· They blame the Democrats for spending to get us out of the mess Bush put us in.

· They conveniently “forget” that Bush came into office with a surplus during the Clinton years.

· They oppose giving one red-cent to help people retrain who’ve lost their jobs from corporate outsourcing and cutbacks–and then wonder why there’s so much crime on the street when no one can find employment.

(Our view: No one likes paying taxes, particularly abusive taxes with no accountability, but they are a necessity of life and part of the reality of living in a democratic society. There are necessary services that a society shares that can only be paid through taxes. And there are always many people, the sick, the disabled, the aged, those who’ve worked and lost their jobs, who cannot take care of themselves and our government must step in. If we don’t help people get back on their feet, we will just pay out even more tax dollars in unemployment compensation, crime prevention and prisons.)

Fly the flag on all the holidays while spewing hatred for everyone who doesn’t look and act like you or go to the same house of worship–particularly a Black president.

· They talk of patriotism when the Mark Kirk’s of the world go overseas and speak against the president.

· They talk of patriotism while our jobs are shipped overseas for corporate profits.

· They call union organizers socialists and communists, except when their own jobs are being protected.

· They call our president a liar in Congress, make up lies about where he was born, question whether he’s a citizen at all, and disrespect him every chance they get, but call others unpatriotic if they dare question Republican politicians and their misinformation.

· They remain moral hypocrites in every sense and on every issue—but they keep flying the flag.

When all else fails, use fear and the blame game—it works every time: fear of another attack; fear of the immigrants, the Blacks, the Jews, the Muslims, and Latinos taking over this country; fear of job loss; fear of changing neighborhoods; fear of all those others. Blame everyone else and particularly the government for our problems.

· They use code words: they don’t have our “family values.” We must defend ourselves from “them.”

· These are the same people, like the rest of us, who took out undocumented income loans and interest-only mortgages in the Bush years, often losing their homes in foreclosure and bankruptcy, but now, of course, they pass the blame to the Democrats.

· Government loan modifications are fine, but not for those “other people.” Those people are just government leeches. Even if the greed and excess started in earlier administrations, let’s just pass the blame to this administration.

· The break-up of the Glass-Steagal Act, deception and outright fraud by the financial industry, free rather than fair trade, outsourcing, corporate cuts to show profits for Wall Streets, and lost health insurance and other benefits—too complicated to understand?—then we’ll just simplify it all and pass the blame to Obama.

· Even if credit card balances soar because of usury interest rates, 401K’s and other savings and investments take a nose-dive because of risk-taking by the financial industry, and even if they’re adversely affected in every way because of the Bush-created recession and lack of transparency, they bury their collective heads in the sand, and insist on no intervention or regulation by the government.

· They love their social security but hate the government that’s paying for it.

· When confused, dissatisfied, and unhappy, they turn on Fox and Limbaugh. They’ll tell you whom to blame—it’s all clear: it’s those liberals, those Democrats, those progressives who are destroying this country. After all, there were no more attacks after 9/11 while Bush was in power. They forget that it happened on his watch, that Bush was warned, and that his family was good friends with the Bin Ladens. They forget that Bush, Jr. allowed the Bin Laden family to sneak out of the country, knowing full well that their son, Osama, was directly involved in the attack.

THE SECOND PART OF THE RIGHT-WING STRATEGY IS THE NEO-CONS AND THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.

They, like their religious extremists on the Right, are also patriarchal. They see themselves as tough parents, beneficent dictators, a view of world dominance in which they know what’s best for the rest of us—a global oligarchy.

(Our view: Most of us think capitalism is a critical part of a democratic society if it’s fair and equitable. We believe in making profits, but not at the expense of everyone around us. We believe in fair competition, not control of the markets by a few. We believe people are important—not just the corporations and their executives. We believe in paying our fair share of taxes and supporting the community as a whole. We don’t believe we have to build up our military bases everywhere in the world. We are not weak, we just don’t see globalization and military domination as our view of the world or in its best interest.)

· Neo-cons are usually the well-educated and wealthy corporate and university bigwigs working towards the same end as the religious-right–control of this country and the world–but coming at it from a different angle—dominating society through their views their money, and their power.

· They feel it’s naive to think people come first.

· They get on advisory boards and committees in the Oval Office.

· They get appointments to head the regulatory agencies for industries they once ran as CEOs.

· They share corporate boards across many companies, join the same country clubs, compete for the biggest and most elaborate estates, and the most powerful jobs in global corporations.

· They steal the resources from every other nation and then wonder why we’re hated so much by the rest of the world.

· They sell weapons to our enemies under the guise that the enemy of our enemy is our friend and then wonder why those weapons are used against us.

· They talk of capitalism and democracy, then prop up dictators and fascists.

· They deal with China and then talk about being anti-communist and for human rights. They deal with the Saudis and then talk about their hatred of theocracies.

· They ship our jobs overseas to sub-standard factories with human rights abuses; after all, why should they pay the best salaries for jobs when they can pay next to nothing with no government regulators looking over their shoulders, affording more profits to sustain their privileged lifestyles.

· They have no use for the rights of the individual or the middle class.

· They and the Pentagon push for huge and unneeded military budgets bought and paid for with taxes they hate and taxes they’ve tried every way to avoid paying. They do nothing about projects that have significant overruns or are poorly designed.

· They have complete contempt for the average worker and they hate organized labor. They often fire workers without any notice or benefits, many times escorting them out the door that same day with the excuse that they don’t want them to steal their intellectual property and company secrets. They often arbitrarily cut workers, their salaries and benefits to improve their bottom line for Wall Street or ship the jobs overseas for cheaper wages resulting in poor quality products and no human available for the consumer to contact after the purchase.

· They divert blame away from themselves to the workers and their unions when things go wrong. They rarely, if ever, will say they are at fault for lack of new, innovative, and creative products as a cause of a poor bottom line.

· They fight campaign finance reform and work hard to lobby on their own behalf in Congress.

· They spend billions buying off candidates and funding campaign coffers. Because of their activist Supreme Court and its latest decision on corporations as individuals, they can now throw billions at Congress and the media to indoctrinate the public on their specific ideas, products, and candidates.

· They stress globalism, NAFTA and CAFTA, free trade instead of fair trade, no-bid contracts, massive tax breaks, off-shore tax havens, deregulation, and they get away without paying any reasonable taxes to help offset the deficit they hate so much.

· They debunk global warming and refute scientific claims that we’re destroying our planet. They call global-warming Al Gore’s delusion.

· They caused the Great Recession through deceit and cheating and then expect their salaries, bonuses, and golden parachutes to be there when the government bails them out.

· They assure that their industries are too big to fail.

· They fight and continuously get around anti-monopoly laws.

· They remove the role of government as much as possible so that no one is looking over their shoulders when they cheat and deceive the public. They fight reasonable standards for emissions, pesticides, water run offs, food quality, and misleading labels. They produce food overseas and use chemicals and other preservatives to increase shelf life before shipping them back to the States.

· They use deceptive and misleading advertising practices with disclaimers that are too small to read.

· They say “made in America” when actually their goods are produced overseas but assembled here, or vice-versa.

· They protect the profits of the health care industry over that of the individual.

· They push for continued use of oil and gas-driven cars when we could have long ago produced cheaper, energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly vehicles. Brazilians and many parts of Europe and Asia have sugar-ethanol pumps and plug-in recharging stations alongside most of the gasoline pumps, but not here. BP and Exxon are buying up the Brazilian refineries to manipulate the world markets and selling sugar-ethanol everywhere but in the States. Our corporations are doing everything possible to avoid alternative energies and postpone the end of our dependence on oil.

· And just like the Right-Wing religious extremists, they use the corporate media to manipulate and misinform the public on the issues. They protect their interests over actually reporting news in an unbiased fashion. What they and the Right call the liberal media, is not at all liberal, except for a few shows like Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, Jon Stewart, and Keith Olberman. The three network giants are corporate mouthpieces. And not only does Murdoch own Fox, but he owns the Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Smart Money, MarketWatch, and many other sources of Wall Street information and misinformation on which we base our financial decisions. In actuality, liberals and progressives own very, very few stations and markets.

AND OBAMA, YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THOSE WHO PUT YOU IN:

· You’re taking too long to realize that you cannot negotiate with Republicans. They are obstructionists and the party of “No.” The Religious Right faction and Neo-Cons in Congress will do anything to keep you from serving another term.

· No more “Mr. Nice Guy.” Do what’s right and tell the corporations they can’t buy every issue.

· Rid yourselves of the likes of Rahm Emanuel and others who want you to do what’s politically expedient rather than what’s best for the country.

· Don’t put the same people in power that caused the problems and then expect them to fix it.

· If you give out billions and billions of our money, insist on tough standards for correcting the problems.

· Forbid outlandish salaries and bonuses for those who failed.

· Break the Faith-Based Initiative’s ties to government, schools, and the military. Religion needs to be kept separate from government. Encourage our diversity, cultures, and understanding of different beliefs, but stop the Right’s advocating one religion over the other.

· Stand firm on alternative energy rather that more drilling, coal, and nuclear power. Keep the emphasis on battery, solar, hydrogen, and ethanol.

· Our problems started with Reagonomics breaking the backs of organized labor, and then went to Clinton and others in his administration that dissolved the Glass-Steagall bill. We again need to pass legislation to keep banking separate from Investment houses and the “too big to fail” mentality.

· We gave our jobs away through NAFTA and CAFTA. Then Bush destroyed the economy with no-income verification and interest only loans. He allowed Wall Street to set up every deceptive investment strategy possible to deceive the public and sell these toxic investments all over the world as AAA investments. Bush encouraged everyone to own a home whether or not they could afford it. It was a house of cards ready to tumble. We need reasonable regulation for our corporations and protectionism for our manufacturers and agriculture industry so that we don’t keep importing more cheaply than our companies can produce here at home.

· Memories are very, very short in this country. We don’t study history and we don’t learn from it. The Republicans are cleverly deferring the blame to you and they don’t want you to keep reminding them what Bush did or didn’t do for eight years. We were not perfect, but most of the blame goes to them. They are getting the upper hand with their message that we are tax-and-spend liberals and socialists. You, President Obama, must strongly counter that and get our message out on the airwaves. You must not let them prevail as you come up with new and better approaches to solving these problems.

· You must stress a quality public education system, one that is successful for all our students, not those just in the charter programs. We must have the highest regard for individual differences and teach to that.

· Don’t worry about being loved by everyone. That’s not what you’re there for. Be tough and make the hard decisions. Don’t be a conciliator. It will get you nowhere. If you make tough speeches, follow through on them.

· Fight harder for health care reform, for financial reform, for reasonable and fair regulation to protect us from corporate abuses.

· We need job retraining and incentives for American businesses to rehire and start-ups to open shop.

· You don’t need the corporations. We will financially support your reelection if you work support us, the Democratic voter.

· You ran with great promise for those of us who believed in transparency, real health care reform, reasonable regulation, the public first, ending the Iraq occupation, and stressing education and jobs. You’re letting many of us down. We all know what a difficult position you’re in, but you wanted this job and you have the intelligence and ability to improve society. Please don’t hand it to the Right-Wing religious extremists and the neo-conservatives.

· Call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the right-wing Court’s decision on corporations as individuals.

· Work harder for campaign finance reform.

· Don’t forget who put you in—it was Democrats, liberals and progressives. Your loyalty should be first to your electorate, not the corpora

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County Democratic Organizations

January 2, 2010 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Illinois County Dem Organizations

There are 102 counties in the state of Illinois. Each has a Democratic organization. If you’re County Dem organization would like a free business-card type website, contact us!

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Health Insurers Bilked Patients Of Billions Of Dollars: Senate Report

June 25, 2009 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Environmental, Oil

“… a scheme by health insurers to defraud consumers by manipulating reimbursement rates.”

Senate Panel Hears of Health Insurers’ Wrongs, Ex-Insider Testifies to ‘Fear Tactics’

By David S. Hilzenrath
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 25, 2009

Health insurers have forced consumers to pay billions of dollars in medical bills that the insurers themselves should have paid, according to a report released yesterday by the staff of the Senate Commerce Committee.

The report was part of a multi-pronged assault on the credibility of private insurers by Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.). It came at a time when Rockefeller, President Obama and others are seeking to offer a public alternative to private health plans as part of broad health-care reform legislation. Health insurers are doing everything they can to block the public option.
Read more

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Republicans Seek to Block Obama’s plan on tax loopholes

May 7, 2009 by siteadmin · Comment
Filed under: Economy

Republicans Seek to Block Obama’s plan on tax loopholes

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer Tue May 5, 12:11 am ET

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama promised sternly on Monday to crack down on companies “that ship jobs overseas” and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens. It won’t be easy. Democrats have been fighting — and losing — this battle since John F. Kennedy made a similar proposal in 1961. Obama’s proposal to close tax loopholes was a reliable applause line during the presidential campaign, but it got a lukewarm response Monday from Capitol Hill.

Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the plan needed further study, even though similar ideas have been around for years.

The president’s plan would limit the ability of U.S. companies to defer paying U.S. taxes on overseas profits. At the same time, Obama would step up efforts to go after evaders who abuse offshore tax shelters.

Obama said his plan would raise $210 billion over the next 10 years, though no tax increases would go into effect until 2011. That’s an average of $21 billion a year, less than a 2 percent nick in a federal budget deficit that is projected to hit $1.2 trillion in 2010.

Lost revenue isn’t the only problem, Obama says. He contends the current system gives companies an incentive to invest overseas rather than creating jobs in the U.S.

“It’s a tax code that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, N.Y.,” Obama said Monday.

The business community argues the deferral system helps them compete against foreign companies that pay taxes only in the countries where they generate profits.

The bottom line?

“Nobody should miss the fact that this is about revenue,” said Raymond Wiacek, head of the tax practice at the law firm Jones Day. “These companies have the money, and the U.S. government needs the money.”

Obama also proposed a package of disclosure and enforcement measures designed to make it harder for financial institutions to help wealthy individuals evade taxes in overseas accounts. Obama said the government is hiring nearly 800 new IRS agents to enforce the tax code.

“I want to see our companies remain the most competitive in the world,” Obama said at a White House announcement. “But the way to make sure that happens is not to reward our companies for moving jobs off our shores or transferring profits to overseas tax havens.”

In exchange for the increased taxes some companies would have to pay, Obama agreed to make permanent a research tax credit that would provide firms about $75 billion in breaks over the next 10 years. The credit currently is to expire at the end of the year.

Obama has widespread support in Congress to crack down on tax evaders who illegally hide assets in tax havens. But he faces stiff opposition — even within his own party — to increasing taxes on the legal transactions of U.S. multinational companies.

“To the extent the president continues on the road of cracking down on tax abuse, he can count on my support,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. “But if he’s using tax shelters as a stalking horse to raise taxes on corporations at the cost of U.S. jobs, he’ll lose me.”

A coalition of business groups has already stepped up lobbying efforts to kill attempts to increase taxes on overseas profits, saying it would make American companies less competitive.

“We’re talking about American jobs at American companies and their ability to compete overseas,” said John J. Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable.

At issue is the way the U.S. taxes the overseas profits of American companies. Under current law, American corporations with subsidiaries in foreign countries can defer paying U.S. taxes on the profits of those subsidiaries until the money is transferred back to this country.

If companies leave the money overseas, where corporate tax rates in most countries are lower than in the U.S., they can avoid American taxes on those profits indefinitely. If the money is brought to the U.S., corporations can subtract foreign taxes already paid.

The U.S. has a top corporate income tax rate of 35 percent, which is among the highest in the developed world. However, most corporate income is taxed at much lower rates because of deductions and credits.

In 2004, large corporations paid an average effective tax rate of 25.2 percent on domestic income, according to a Government Accountability Office report last year. For foreign income, the effective U.S. tax rate was about 4 percent, the report said. That figure does not include taxes paid to foreign countries.

Obama’s plan would:

_Prevent companies from writing off domestic expenses that help generate profits abroad — until those profits are returned to the U.S. and subjected to American taxes. For instance, administrative tasks performed in New York for a London office would not be tax deductible in the United States.

_Prohibit companies from receiving foreign tax credits on income that is not subject to U.S. taxes.

_End a provision that lets U.S. companies legally shift income from one foreign subsidiary to another, making the taxes they owe to the United States “disappear.”

Former President Kennedy failed to end the tax deferral system in 1961, despite telling Congress the U.S. could no longer afford it. The system also survived overhaul efforts in the 1970s and 1980s.

Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, proposed a similar measure to limit the deductions of U.S. multinationals in 2007. But Rangel, a Democrat from New York, tied his proposal to lowering the overall corporate tax rate.

On Monday, he welcomed Obama’s plan.

“For too long, our tax laws have rewarded companies that invest and keep their money overseas and turned a blind eye to the use of tax havens by the wealthy,” Rangel said.

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