Category Archives: Taxes

Tax Cuts For The Rich, Budget Cuts For The Poor.

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Following are a few numbers that clearly show the results of more than 40 years of Republican economic policies:

1 percent of Americans now control more than 40 percent of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 40 percent of Americans control 0.2 percent of the wealth.

46.2 million Americans are living in poverty. 3.9 million working Americans are paid at or below the minimum wage. 12 million Americans are unemployed. 650,000 Americans are homeless. 50 million Americans, including 17 million children, don’t know where their next meal is coming from. 48.6 million don’t have health insurance.

Naturally, Teapublicans in Congress want to protect these people from further harm. I’m referring, of course, to the 1 percent! Even though taxes for the wealthy are at historic lows, Teapublicans believe they’re overtaxed. They absolutely refuse to consider asking these people to pay one more cent of their enormous wealth.

Those other people, according to Teapublican leaders, are merely the freeloaders who rely on the federal government for assistance. 

Is it any wonder, then, that Congress is locked in a budget standoff with the president? The austerity cuts resulting from sequestration will cut 9 percent from unemployment checks and $175 million from energy assistance for the poor. Sequestration will cut rental assistance to 125,000 low-income families. It will put 100,000 previously homeless back on the streets. It will cut 70,000 kids from Head Start. And it’s projected to cost up to 750,000 jobs.

But these cuts are less cruel than the Teapublican demands to end sequestration. They want to cut SNAP food assistance for the poor. They want to cut Medicaid health assistance for children and low-income families. They want to cut Medicare, Social Security and more.

But don’t worry about the poor. They’ll get by. After all, they still own 0.2 percent of our nation’s wealth.

The Real Hunger Games.

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What’s your definition of a third world country?

When I was a child (far too long ago) third world countries were defined as those that didn’t produce enough food for their own citizens. I remember photographs of these faraway places…photos of people with blank stares and bellies bloated by starvation. If I failed to clean my plate, I was reminded that children in China were starving. (I never quite understood how my cleaning a plate helped the Chinese, but I felt sorry for them anyway.)

Today, many of those going hungry are right here…in the United States!

According to the directors of a new film, A Place at the Table, 50 million (1 in 6) Americans, including 17 million children, don’t have reliable sources of food. 1 in 2 American children will need food assistance in their lifetimes.

These aren’t the lazy layabouts who suck off the government teat that Teapublicans want you to think they are. More than 80 percent are from working families. The parents simply don’t earn enough to pay for rent, for clothes, for day care, for school books, for transportation and for food.

How is this possible in America?

It’s made possible by politicians who continue to cut taxes for the wealthy and powerful; by corporations that pay millions to CEOs and poverty level wages to workers; by politicians who refuse to raise the minimum wage even though it has lagged far behind inflation; by politicians who believe in corporate welfare but not human welfare; by politicians who want to balance the budget by cutting food stamps and access to medical care rather than our bloated defense budget.

We can change this.

We can donate to food shelves. We can volunteer to help those in need. We can support government programs to help raise families out of poverty. We can make certain that anyone who is willing to work can afford a roof over their heads and food on the table. We can demand that our politicians prioritize people over corporations. We can demand that they put people above partisanship; children above debt reduction.

We can end hunger in America. 

Since Most Americans Want Compromise, Why Elect Those Who Don’t?

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A variety of polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans want their elected officials to compromise. Yet the US House of Representatives is controlled by those who view compromise as a weakness.

Speaker Boehner can’t even bring himself to say the word!

As a result, President Obama was forced to sign an order implementing the most ill-advised, ham-handed budget cuts in history. $89 billion will be indiscriminately cut from every federal program except critical national defense and Social Security. If allowed to stand, these cuts will have devastating effects on our nation – especially those who are out of work, the working poor and others struggling to survive.

These cuts have been made because traditional Republicans are afraid of the Tea Party nitwits within their own party. They’re afraid to end tax loopholes that allow multinational corporations to stash money offshore. They’re afraid to end tax loopholes for the wealthy who are enjoying tax rates that are near historic lows. They’re afraid to compromise with the president for fear of being “primaried” and replaced by even more teabaggers. 

Although, I admit the prospect of even more angry teabaggers in Congress is frightening, it’s time for traditional Republicans to grow a pair.

It’s not that President Obama hasn’t reached across the aisle to avoid sequestration. After stabilizing our economy in the first year of his administration, the president has cut the deficit each year. In fact, we have already seen the largest deficit reductions since the years immediately following World War II. Yet that isn’t enough for the extreme wing of the Republican Party. Teapublicans have refused offers of $2 to $3 in cuts for every $1 of revenue created by eliminating tax loopholes.

Still there is no compromise from the radical right. They refuse to negotiate with the president and they refuse to listen to the American people. Of course, they won’t suffer as the result of their actions. We will.

I hope voters remember that next election.

Unrestrained Greed.

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Our nation is just a few days away from across-the-board austerity cuts that will likely send our fragile economy back into recession…all because the GOP (Guardians Of Privilege) refuse to consider increasing or reforming taxes. The GOP would rather cut programs for the poor, the unemployed, the elderly and the very young than cut subsidies for Big Oil and corporate farming. The GOP refuses to consider increasing taxes that are at historic lows because raising them would “cost jobs.”

Yet thousands more jobs are likely to be lost as the result of austerity.

In reality, the GOP position has little to do with jobs and everything to do with greed. They want to repeal Obamacare so the healthcare industry can maintain its double-digit increases in profits. They want to protect oil and gas subsidies so that companies like Exxon-Mobil can continue to make record profits. They want to further cut regulation for the financial industry so it can steal trillions more from the rest of us.

There is simply no other explanation for the GOP’s “no more tax revenue” stance.

But the Guardians Of Privilege are just a symptom of our culture. The US celebrates greed over hard work in almost every aspect of our society. We treat billionaires as celebrities. We allow corporations to establish patents on genes. We allow pharmaceutical companies to charge us far more than they charge those in other countries. And we fail to prosecute corporate scam artists like the bankers who brought our economy to its knees in 2008.

Greed has even corrupted our sports world. The NBA created “Jordan Rules” for Michael Jordan in order to increase his star power and make the league more money. Long-standing college conferences and rivalries have been torn apart in order to chase more TV revenue. The NCAA plays favorites to make sure traditional basketball and football powers remain on top in order to increase TV ratings and earn more income. And, of course, the officials call games accordingly. 

Greed trumps hard work and fairness in virtually every aspect of our society. It has caused the beneficiaries to feel entitled. And it has generated anger among the rest. Ironically, it drives both sides of the political spectrum. The Tea Party believes government is taking away the things they hold dear. On the other side, the Occupy Movement believes that corporations and the very wealthy are preventing them from reaching their potential.

If you ignore the politics and simply look at the root cause, both sides are right.

Teapublicans Can’t Have It Both Ways.

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Upon reviewing a leaked document purporting to be the White House plan for immigration reform, Teapublican boy wonder Senator Marco Rubio issued a response stating, “It’s a mistake for the White House to draft immigration legislation without seeking input from Republican members of Congress.” He went on to call the plan “half-baked,” “seriously flawed” and “dead on arrival.”

This comes from the same party that has denounced President Obama for taking a hands off approach to legislation. They accuse him of a lack of leadership. They have said that he needs to provide Congress with clear direction…that he can’t just sit in the corner and wait for Congress to do its job.

So Teapublicans want the president to provide proposals. Then, when he does, they accuse him of overstepping his role? That seems about right.

After more than four years of obstruction and backstabbing; after the president was overwhelmingly re-elected; after polls showing Congress is less popular than cockroaches, Teapublicans show no signs of letting up. They show no signs of willingness to do anything that will benefit the nation and our economy for fear that it might make the president appear more successful.

They have shown they are going to continue to abuse the filibuster…even to filibuster one of their own. They are going to oppose tax reform and tax fairness. They are going to oppose attempts to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. They are going to oppose any attempts to help the working poor out of poverty. They are going to continue to oppose women’s rights and gay rights. They are going to continue to suppress votes of minorities and the poor.

Teapublicans seem prepared to ride the same old horse into the sunset of oblivion.

Are We Willing To Settle For This America?

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There are those, particularly on the political right, who are satisfied with the way things are in the US. They truly believe that everything about the US is better than any other country in the world. And they believe it’s unpatriotic to criticize our faults.

But can we really settle for the way things are in the US?

Can we accept a nation where freedom and opportunity are still not shared equally? Are we willing to allow large, multinational corporations to buy elections, dictate government policy and send our jobs off-shore? Can we afford to watch our nation fall farther behind in education and technology?

Can we afford to allow our infrastructure to continue to crumble? Can we afford to have corporations devastate our environment in search of ever-larger profits? Are we content to allow military-style weapons to fall into the hands of the paranoid and the criminally insane? Can we watch more Aurora and Newtown-style massacres and do nothing?

Can we afford to be perpetually at war? Are we willing to accept that more of our soldiers now die from suicides than firefights? Can we settle for being the only advanced nation in the world that doesn’t provide healthcare to all of its citizens?

Can we accept ever-higher education costs and ever-lower salaries for our youth? Are we willing to cut pensions and retirement plans for our elderly in order for large corporations to avoid taxes? Are we content to put drug users and petty thieves in prison and let the bankers who stole trillions continue to walk free?

Can we any longer listen to those who demand “a return to Christian values” then turn their backs on the starving, the wounded and the infirm?

At his inauguration, President Obama spoke passionately of his vision for America. An America at peace. An America with freedom and equality for everyone. An America based on a growing and prosperous middle class. An America that provides opportunity for everyone. An America that is, once again, a true leader in the world.

It’s time to for all Americans to follow our president’s vision and stop settling.

A Fair Solution For The Debt “Crisis.”

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For the past four years, we’ve heard a lot of whining about the federal deficits and debt, primarily from red states.  Although quiet during the prolific spending spree of the Bush administration, once President Obama took office, Teapublican anger swelled throughout the old South and in states like Arizona.

Ironically, many of those who scream the loudest receive Social Security and Medicare. And many others take advantage of other federally-funded social programs such as food stamps, unemployment insurance and the GI Bill.

That caused me to wonder how the contributions of the most vocal states stack up compared to the largess they receive from the federal government. Certainly, given their angst, you would expect that they pay far more in federal taxes than they get back.

You would be wrong.

In 2007 (the most recent data I could find), Arizona contributed $35,485 million in federal taxes and received $48,012 million back in federal spending. So the state received $1,976 more per person than it contributed. In other words, it’s a state of “takers.”

In fact, of the 28 states that receive more than they contribute, the vast majority are reliably red!

On the other hand, the vast majority of the “giver” states are reliably blue. The top five (Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York) are all blue states, contributing $4,500 to $12,285 per person more than they receive.

Of the 22 states that pay in more than they get back, only Arkansas, Georgia, Nebraska, and Texas are red states.

So here’s my solution for the federal deficit: Let’s give red state Teapublicans what they want. Let’s balance the federal spending in those states to the amount they pay in federal taxes. All states can share the cost of national defense, natural emergencies, etc. But when it comes to the cost of highways, roads, bridges, universities, health care and retirement programs, each state is on its own. That means red states will have to raise taxes or dramatically cut services.

Then we’ll see if they still think the federal government is the enemy.

Looking Up To Cockroaches.

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Yesterday, Congress reached a new milestone. A survey measuring its approval ratings found that Congress is now less popular than cockroaches, head lice and root canals!

The latter seems particularly appropriate for those of us living in northern Arizona as we are represented by a dentist who has a lot to do with our current problems. Teapublican representative Paul Gosar is a proud member of the House’s Tea Party caucus which is trying to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly and the poor.

Gosar voted in support of Paul Ryan’s austerity budget which, if implemented, would not only plummet our economy into a deep recession. It would take the first steps toward privatizing Social Security and Medicare. And it would cut funding for the most vulnerable while cutting taxes for the wealthy and large corporations. Gosar has also repeatedly voted against women’s rights, Obamacare, and investments in our infrastructure.

In addition, he is one of 67 GOP representatives who voted against extending flood insurance funds to those affected by Hurricane Sandy!

Given the approval rating of Congress, the question is which group will come to their senses first? Our representatives in Congress? Or voters?

The Worse-Than-Do-Nothing Congress.

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In 1948, President Harry Truman labeled the 80th Congress the “Do Nothing” Congress since it refused to pass most of the bills of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and the Truman administration. Instead, it focused on passing a few bills to benefit big business.

Believe it or not, the recently ended 112th Congress was worse!

Not only was the 112th unproductive. It was counter-productive. At several points in the last two years, its approval rating among voters was 10 percent. That’s right, 10 percent! That makes it even more unpopular than communism which has an approval rating of 11 percent in the US.

Among the 112th’s few accomplishments was lowering the credit rating of the US government for the first time in history. By blustering and balking at raising the debt ceiling and threatening to pay debts that Congress had already spent, it nearly collapsed the world economy. And instead of focusing on creating jobs and improving the US economy, it spent most of its time trying to discredit President Obama.

It passed no bills to build infrastructure, to increase exports, to bring jobs back home from overseas, to reform immigration, to regulate the type of military-style weapons used in the Newtown massacre, or to bring fairness to our tax codes.

Indeed, the 112th passed the fewest bills ever.

The 112th rabidly talked of lowering the deficit and reducing the national debt, but it succeeded only in kicking the can down the road for 11 months. In doing so, it created an artificial “fiscal cliff” that nearly dragged us back into recession. Teapublicans in the 112th bragged that they didn’t know the meaning of compromise. Dominated by a rabid Tea Party caucus led by likely escaped mental patient Michele Bachmann, the 112th even refused to follow its own leadership.

Incredulously, it even refused to vote for financial aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy! An inaction that prompted several of its national leaders to say that if you donate to GOP campaigns, you must be “out of your mind.”

So goodbye, 112th! You will be forgotten, but not missed.

UPDATE: Following its failure to negotiate a long-term solution for the “fiscal cliff,” Congress’ approval rate is now in the single digits. Understandably, Congress is less popular than head lice and cockroaches! 

“Fiscal Cliff” Bill Includes More Largess For Wall Street.

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Avoiding the “fiscal cliff” should have been a simple matter of extending the Bush tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans. After all, this was the central issue in the presidential campaign. But the GOP (Guardians Of Privilege) have never passed up an opportunity to take from the poor and give to the rich.

So buried in the bill are a few very expensive gifts for the rich and the powerful.

For example, Section 322 is a $9 billion provision that allows banks and multinational corporations to defer taxes when they engage in “active financing.” Their lobbyists claim it’s necessary to help them compete overseas. But critics say that it’s a merely another windfall that encourages the banks and manufacturers to create more jobs overseas.

Yet another payoff to Wall Street is Section 328 which extends tax-exempt financing for the area around the former World Trade Center for another year. Originally intended to help fund reconstruction following 9/11, much of the financing has been used to build luxury apartments, instead. It even helped finance the construction of Goldman Sachs’ new headquarters (as if they actually needed the help).

Of course, news of the bill’s passage sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring. As a result, hedge fund managers and the other Wall Street executives can rest assured that they’ll be in line for seven figure bonuses again this year.

So congratulations, fellow taxpayers. Thanks to lobbyists and the GOP, we just gave the wealthy and the powerful a late Christmas gift.

And all we got in return was the shaft!