In an earlier post I detailed how last year you paid more income taxes than ExxonMobil, Bank of America, and General Electric combined, even though they made billions of dollars in 2009! In fact, Bank of America and General Electric received billions of dollars in tax refunds and credits last year.
But the rich and powerful not only receive mega income tax breaks but also property tax breaks. Yankee baseball player, Alex Rodriguez, will only pay $1,200 per year on a luxury condo on the Upper West Side of Manhattan when the customary real estate tax would be $60,000 for property with a fair market value of $6 million! Is this tax equity in our laws? A $33 million per year baseball player only pays $100 per month of real estate taxes on a $6 million condo in the plushest of areas of Manhattan?! When will the American taxpayers awake from their catatonic stupor and tar and feather all of these crooks in Congress, the White House, City Hall, Governor’s mansions, state legislatures, mayors’ offices, and municipal councils?
In this particular instance, how does Alex the $33 million man get away with paying less real estate property taxes than you? Needless to say, the local politicians of New York City inserted a little tax loophole called the section 421A program, which grants as much as a 98% percent tax abatement for up to 25 years to condo owners in newly built housing. But since land values are extraordinarily high in Manhattan, anything newly constructed would need to be luxury in order to be economically feasible. Smart, huh? Those crafty demons.
It is estimated that this one more tax cut for the rich costs the City of New York as much as $1 billion every year! And A-Rod pays virtually no real estate taxes while the middle class gets hammered with real estate taxes in Manhattan and elsewhere. LOL!
Isn’t America a great country? If you’re rich, that is.
Wisconsin State Senate yet to vote on anti-union bill.
Obama Taken To Task by Cenk Uygur on MSNBC TV, February 25, 2011 For Not Supporting Wisconsin Workers .
President Barack Obama’s response to labor protests in Wisconsin hasn’t been forceful enough for many political leaders in his party… Cenk Uygur lambasted Obama on MSNBC for not showing more solidarity with the workers — even though back when he was running for president, he vowed he would.
00:00:00 That we can do which is creang jobs.
00:00:02 All of us get things done.
00:00:04 We’re about getting things done.
00:00:06 We’re not primarily and ideological group of people.
00:00:11 >> A distraction.
00:00:13 It’s a distraction.
00:00:14 People finally stand up.
00:00:15 They’re fighting for their rights.
00:00:17 <÷ And they even agreed to the spending cuts.
00:00:20 All they want is can we have an ability to negotiate together?
00:00:23 And to yo you that's a distraction.
00:00:25 Look, these protesters and legislators in wisconsin having fighting this unbelievable heroic fight in the street.
00:00:33 And democratic governors from across the country have this response?
00:00:36 I've got to ask, did the white house instruct them to do that?
00:00:39 Did they say hey, you know what, go out there and shush, don't talk about wisconsin.
00:00:43 I'm going to come about that in a minute.
00:00:45 And I'm actually going to ask one of the governors who was there about that as well.
00:00:51 We'll also try to find out why the white house and the national democrats seem so lukewarm about what's happening in wisconsin.
00:00:56 Can we get a pulse?
00:00:58 Can we get a heart beat, can we get fighters?
00:01:01 We actually have one on the show.
00:01:02 So let me talk to a real fighter.
00:01:04 Joining me now is wisconsin state representative cory mason who was on the house floor when the republicans rammed through the bill.
00:01:13 Cory what happened?
00:01:15 What did they do in those matter of seconds that got you so angry?
00:01:20 >> It was unprecedented.
00:01:21 We had been in the midst of debating and trying to persuade independent-minded republicans to come over to our side.
00:01:28 We were debating for 61 hours and abruptly they shut down the debate and immediately we went to a vote.
00:01:37 We think maybe unethically and unlawfully.
00:01:41 >> Could this have been so illegal?
00:01:43 >> They closed down the vote so quickly.
00:01:53 They closed the rolls.
00:01:53 There were thousands of people waiting to be recognized.
00:01:57 They’re willing to resort to any tactic to ram this through.
00:02:01 >> As you’re sitting there pointing at them saying shame, shame, shame!
00:02:08 Obviously the relationship with the republican side has to be disastrous.
00:02:14 Is there anyone there to talk reason?
00:02:15 Or is it like ha ha, we got you and they run out of the building.
00:02:19 >> It was pretty cowardly, I’ve got to be honest with you, to do this and cut off debate.
00:02:24 The minority, the one right we still have is the right to dissent and make sure our voices are heard.
00:02:31 They didn’t even want us to do that.
00:02:34 It’s a ridiculous pattern of taking away workers’ rights.
00:02:37 Now they took our rights away to dissent on the floor.
00:02:41 >> Let me ask you, how do you feel about the rest of the country here?
00:02:44 Obviously you have a lot of passionate people in wisconsin, whether it’s you guys or the protesters that have been there day after day after day.
00:02:50 And then from the national democrats, you hardly hear a peep, how does that make you feel?
00:02:56 >> I will tell you what makes me most heartened is the rank and file grassroots support we’ve been getting from people around the state and around the country.
00:03:05 And not just from democrats, from independents and republicans who are outraged this governor is trying to take away people’s rights.
00:03:15 >> Have there been any fallout?
00:03:19 That’s it, to the senate with 14 senators out of the state.
00:03:28 >> What this proves is the 14 senators can’t come back until we know they’re willing to treat us fairly.
00:03:34 >> All right, cory mason, thank you for your time this evening.
00:03:37 >> Thanks.
00:03:38 >> We always appreciate it.
00:03:39 Now let’s turn to the people who think wisconsin is a distraction.
00:03:43 We showed you governor o’malley saying it wasn’t right to focus on wisconsin.
00:03:47 No look, I’m going to ask you a real question temperature do you think he came up with that on the own?
00:03:54 Or do you think it’s possible in the white house, the white house said be cool, be cool, don’t talk to the press about wisconsin, or else it will seem like the democrats support the unions.
00:04:03 No!
00:04:06 God forbid, the guys who helped get you elected, the guys you said you would support.
00:04:11 Now all of a sudden no, no, no we don’t want washington thinking that.
00:04:19 Let me meet you to a different man, this is candidate obama in 2007.
00:04:23 >> And understand this, if american workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the white house, I’ll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself and walk on that picket line with you as president of the united states of ç america, because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner.
00:04:45 >> Oh, that is so true.
00:04:48 Where is that man?
00:04:48 Where is he?
00:04:52 What happened?
00:04:52 Now that you’re in the white house you couldn’t find a comfortable pair of shoes to get out there on that picket line.
00:04:59 He said I’ll be right there with you.
00:05:02 Since thursday, not a word, not a word.
00:05:04 What has he done since collective bargaining rights of the people in wisconsin have been challenged?
00:05:10 I’m telling you.
00:05:11 He doesn’t have comfortable shoes on, he has comfortable slippers on.
00:05:14 And he put them on.
00:05:15 Of course, the excuse he always uses is oh, no, it would be a distraction.
00:05:19 It would seem like — of course it’s political!
00:05:21 It’s a tough political fight.
00:05:23 You know who they could use?
00:05:25 They could use their leader.
00:05:26 But he hasn’t gone out there.
00:05:27 He hasn’t even said one word of support since last thursday.
00:05:31 Instead he sent out a spokesperson to talk about cutting spending instead.
00:05:36 >> On the wisconsin situation, congressman ellison and others have called for the president to come out to wisconsin and stand with the workers.
00:05:43 Is that under discussion?
00:05:49 >> And that I’m aware of, chip.
00:05:54 I think what we have made pretty clear is that the president thinks and we think, he’s stated this, that obviously a lot of states in the union are dealing with fiscal issues.
00:06:06 Big problems in their state budgets that need to be addressed.
00:06:12 They need to act responsibly, tighten their belts, live withinairewithin their means just as we in washington need to do with our federal situation.
00:06:23 >> I’ve got to ask you, even if you’re the most ardent obama supporter, could you tell that from any republican administration?
00:06:31 Fiscal issue, tighten your belts.
00:06:34 He later talked about shared sacrifices.
00:06:39 There’s never shared sacrifice for the rich which they just gave a huge tax cut, too.
00:06:44 Did he say president obama is in the middle of grabbing his shoes and getting out there?
00:06:48 He didn’t say that.
00:06:49 HE SAID THEY’VEyTu TO CUT Spending in wisconsin.
00:06:52 It sounds like he’s supporting the governor.
00:06:54 I don’t want you to get me wrong.
00:06:55 President obama isn’t the problem.
00:06:56 In this case, the republicans are the problem.
00:06:59 Governor walker wants to take away collective bargaining and balance the budget on the back of the middle class.
00:07:04 I get that.
00:07:04 But what I need you to realize, because it’s true and because it’s important is that president obama, while me’s not the problem, is also not the solution.
00:07:21 He’s never going to put on those walking shoes.
00:07:22 He’s not going to get out there and lead.
00:07:59 That’s not what he does.
00:07:59 That’s not who he is.
00:08:00 He’s a careful, calculating politicians.
00:08:01 Well, you know, in washington if I seem like I’m cutting spending more than the republicans, will they write good things about me?
00:08:04 Great, they’re writing great things about me in washington.
00:08:05 He’s going to try to get out there and frogt this sense that he cuts more than the republicans.
00:08:08 Get out there and support unions?
00:08:09 No, no, no nose are liberals.
00:08:09 I wouldn’t do that.
00:08:10 I’m in the white house, I’m not going to say a word.
00:08:11 He’s not going to get shaken off the political game he is plays.
00:08:13 in ohio it’s in your party, it’s among the people who voted for you, who supported you.
00:08:16 It’s in your country.
00:08:17 But don’t do it, don’t even think about obama coming out thereto and coming to the rescue.
00:08:19 And I want to tell you, thank god for the people of wisconsin.
00:08:21 They didn’t wait for him.
00:08:21 And that’s why I’m telling you this.
00:08:22 It’s not to blame obama, it’s to tell you that under no circumstances should you wait for him or anyone else to ride to the rescue.
00:08:28 That they’re not going to do it.
00:08:30 It’s not in them, it’s not in obama.
00:08:35 They’re politician he’ll only ride in on the cavalry, honestly, in t case of president obama, if he thinks you’re right about to win.
00:08:47 They’re for you.
00:08:48 You’ve got to wear them and you’ve got to wear them proud.
00:08:51 Don’t don’t wait for any politician.
00:08:55 Look what’s happened in the last eight days.
00:08:58 They’re not going to do it.
00:08:59 YMu GRAB THE REINS AND YOU DO It.
00:09:01 That’s what they’ve been doing in wisconsin and that’s what’s worked so well.
00:09:04 That’s why republican governors in ohio and florida and new jersey are running scared.
00:09:09 Because those are real people exercising their right to a democracy.
00:09:13 All right, now let me talk to a man who’s stuck in the middle of all this.
00:09:18 He’s joining me, now he’s illinois governor pat quinn who’s participated and helped by giving shelter to the democratic state senators from wisconsin.
00:09:28 But he was also at the meeting with president obama today.
00:09:33 I want to ask you about the wisconsin democratic senators.
00:09:36 It looks like illinois has become a bit of a sanctuary.
00:09:39 You had the indiana senators come in as well.
00:09:43 What is it about illinois?
00:09:45 You know, that you provided support for them?
00:09:47 >> We believe in unions, we believe in the right to collectively bargain.
00:09:51 We believe in offering hospitality to anyone who wants to come to our state.
00:09:55 I talked to mark miller, the democratic leader in the senate there in wisconsin.
00:10:00 I talked to him and welcomed him to our state.
00:10:02 He’s free to stay with his colleagues as long as they want, the same with our friends in indiana.
00:10:10 Illinois believes in unions and so do i.
00:10:14 I’m not in the middle.
00:10:15 I’m on the side of the working people in wisconsin.
00:10:17 I don’t agree at all with governor walker.
00:10:20 I’ve said that publicly.
00:10:24 And I was at the meeting with the president this morning.
00:10:27 He agrees with me.
00:10:28 He’s from our state, president obama, and he’s on the side of collective bargaining.
00:10:32 He made that crystal clear this morning.
00:10:34 We’ve got to have unions that have the right to sit around the table and negotiate wages and working conditions and benefits.
00:10:41 And that’s an article of faith, as far as I’m concerned.
00:10:43 I know that’s true of the president, too.
00:10:46 >> I meant you’re in the middle of the action, you’re at the white house, involved in the wisconsin state democrats.
00:10:52 But governor quinn, I want to ask you about that meeting you just mentioned there.
00:10:56 You said the president has made crystal clear he’s on the side of collective bargaining.
00:11:01 Really?
00:11:01 When?
00:11:01 >> He said it was an assault on the right ç to organize, the right to have a union.
00:11:09 When this all began — >> many moons ago.
00:11:10 >> But governor walker in wisconsin, I think that’s the person we should real pli be criticizing.
00:11:18 He’s taking a very extreme position that’s anti-worker, anti-middle class, anti-the opportunity of everyday people to come together and ban together, to have a union.
00:11:29 They already made their they’re willing to do that.
00:11:34 I think americans all over the country feel that this is wrong and they joined together and they’re saying no.
00:11:44 >> Here’s the thing.
00:11:46 Is governor walker the problem?
00:11:48 No question.
00:11:48 We’ve been doing that for a week.
00:11:49 We’ been saying it over and over.
00:11:52 We showed the koch brothers call.
00:11:54 It’s obvious who he’s in the pocket of.
00:11:56 But a lot of progressives are asking, look, it’s been a long time.
00:11:59 It’s been eight days.
00:12:01 There hasn’t been a single word about this.
00:12:03 And then you have the meeting at the white house.
00:12:06 Internally we were discussing here.
00:12:07 I wonder what’s going to happen?
00:12:09 Are they going to come fighting or come out and say oh, no, no, no I don’t want to talk about wisconsin.
00:12:15 And the governors came out and said I don’t want to talk about wisconsin.
00:12:19 I’m asking what happened in the white house is that led to that press conference.
00:12:22 >> I think democratic governors are aggressive and progressive when it comes to this issue, whether it’s in wisconsin or ohio or indiana or anywhere else.
00:12:30 If there’s an effort to try and bust unions, I’m going to stand up.
00:12:52 The workers and the peop of wisconsin that come together and have a union and work hard.
00:12:56 Who’s clearing the snow in the blizzards we’ve had?
00:13:02 The hardworking public servants.
00:13:04 They deserve a decent wage and benefits and a union.
00:13:09 We’re going to fight hard until the last dog dies.
00:13:12 >> I wish I was hearing just as clear a message from the white ç one last specific question.
00:13:18 Did anybody in the white house tell the governors, when you go to talk to the press, let’s skip wisconsin, let’s not talk about that?
00:13:25 >> Oh, no, not at all.
00:13:27 I think every governor there felt the same way that I felt about.
00:13:34 We have dialogue.
00:13:36 I don’t always agree with the unions that represent the illinois worker, but we have an opportunity to visit, to have give and take.
00:13:43 And we come to a decent bargain and a decent contract.
00:13:52 The workers have a chance to get a little class wage and living.
00:13:58 That’s what we’re fighting for.
00:13:59 We’re not going to let governor walker in in wisconsin take that away from people in wisconsin or anywhere else.
00:14:05 >> Thanks for joining us tonight.
00:14:06 We really appreciate it.
00:14:07 >> Thank you.
00:14:08 >> All right.
00:14:09 Now, the progressive movement subpoena standing with wisconsin and proudly so.
00:14:14 Solidarity protests will be held all across the country tomorrow.
00:14:18 One progressive activist joins me to talk about that next.
00:14:21 And witnesses say a republican congressman laughed when a voter at a town hall meeting stood up and asked him, quote, who’s going to shoot obama.
00:14:30 Reverend al sharpton responds to that next.
00:14:33 And it’s also a swim and a misfor house speaker j boehner.
00:14:40 He went golfing in the middle of the shutdown showdown.
00:14:44 Which is exactly what he accused clinton of doing 15 years ago.
00:14:50 Usual hypocrisy.
Salon.com’s Glenn Greenwald talks about the alleged plan to discredit journalists who report on Wikileaks to keep big banks alive.
>>> here’s what the people in power have no interest in — all of you finding out what they’re up to. so they hate anytime there’s a journalist or a whistleblower who reports on them. yesterday we told you about ” rolling stone” revealing a program by lieutenant general caldwell to brainwash u.s. congressmen and senators who were visiting afghanistan. today general david petraeus says the military will investigate the allegations. but today’s papers were already chalked full of anonymous pentagon sources questioning the whistleblower, lieutenant colonel holmes. to which i say of course, that’s what they always do. but this isn’t just about the pentagon. t this was a push by the.
>> bobama administration in punishing whistleblowers who it’s not just our governments. it’s powerful corporations as well. in november, it was leaked that wikileaks might have information on bank of america. this month we learned that the bank’s law firm solicited proposals from private security firms to sabotage and discredit critics. now, those proposals were leaked to the web by a group of hackers. one idea was submit false information to wikileaks in hopes of damaging the site’s credibility. another important idea was threaten the careers of wikileaks supporters or important journalist s covering the story. one was “salon’s” glenn greenwald. if he could be intimidated, the gresz wou rest of the press would go along. without the support of people like glenn, wikileaks will fold. they get it. if you can discredit those covering them, then you can suppress damaging evidence and go on doing what illicit activity you’re engaged in. you’re not intimidated are you?
>> well, no, but they should be taken seriously given those involved. they do millions of sdldollars of work for the pentagon, intelligence agencies, large corporations. and you have a large law firm, one of the most connected in washington, d.c. that was recommended to bank of america by the justice department. and then these proposals are being developed on behalf of two of the most powerful entities in the country, the bank and the chamber of commerce. when you put all those forces together, it would be foolish not to take it seriously, especially since this seems to be a common sort of thing that happens in this world.
>> glenn, what was their plan? how were they going to go after you? how were they going to go after other journalists?
>> a lot do work for large media ? outlets and incorporations that can be threatened and bullied and intimidated in all sorts of ways. people who have tried to be more independent such as myself, i think it would be a lot more difficult. but when you’re talking about using government agencies an using people whop investigate on the internet and they’re talking about things like finding out what people’s family members do on the internet, where they go, what they do. gathering information about people is something that a lot of resourceful firms and certainly the government is able to do in order to intimidate or threaten or deter people from engaging in advocacy.
>> how common is this? obviously you see it in a case of corporate america. bank of america says they’re not involved, right? it’s their law firm. the law firm it hired these security people. but abundance it gets to the press it’s like what? it’s the law firm. it’s not just the banks and the corporations. it’s also the government. you say that obama has been tougher on whistleblowers than bush. really? is that true?
>> it’s actually “the new york times” in a news article, not even an op-ed, that documented, as aggressive as the bush administration was, the obama administration has been infinitely more aggressive in punishing whistleblowers. what makes it so remarkable is that candidate obama when he was running for office lavished praise on whistleblowers saying we need to encourage rather than silence whistleblowers. but president obama seems like the enemy of canada because the justice department has been unleashed to punish and prosecute a whole slew of whistle blowers in ways we ought to be grateful for.
>> don rumsfeld said we got him to do all the things they wanted to do in the war on terror. what do you think happened between canada obama and president obam that?
>> this consortium of corporate and governor power. ? there’s a permanent power faction that has nothing to do with elections. dwight eisenhower warned 55 years ago of the military industrial complex. last year, “the washington post” talked about top secret america, these corporate factions so unaccountable that nobody even knows what nay ear doing. this is really the powerful faction that runs washington. even if he wanted to, it would be difficult to come in and challenge that. what they care most about is being able to operate behind a wall of secrecy. that’s who the president is protecting.
>> we see it everywhere and you see it in the pentagon, too. how do we get beyond such institutional power?
>> you do have instances like michael hastings who reported on what general mcchrystal really was, what the military is doing in afghanistan. and that’s why you see this group of government officials anonymously and media figures attacking him and trying to smear his reputation. the for few entities trying to bring transparency to what’s going on, end up being assaulted. that’s what these plans were in the plans that just got released.
>> that’s a cue for people. the minute something damaging comes out about people in power, oh, they attack the source. they must have done something wrong. whether it’s a sex crime in assange’s case that happens to come out at
Mary Boyle, Vice President of Common Cause, explains why a major big oil lobbying group is starting a new political action committee to donate to political candidates.
>> the oil industry is starting after pac to give money directly to candidates. they would usual liz send it to candidates for different things. they’re going to say well, i’m giving it to congressman fwob and congresswoman jane. congress is considering repealing the $46 billion the u.s. government gives out in oil subsidies. so i don’t think it’s a coincidence they’ve made this decision. now who is the american petroleum institute? well, api is the official lobby for the oil industry in washington and it spent $6.8 million on lobbying last year. but that’s the tip of the iceberg. our political system is drowning in money from oil and gas. the industry overall spent a grand teotal of o$349 million on lobbying and campaign contributions in 2009 and 2010. that’s more than $650,000 for each of the 535 members of congress. that’s like going over there and saying bh inin ining bob, would you like $635,000? he would say hell yes, i would. which way are they going to vote? they’re going to vote for the oil industry. that’s how it works. what’s interesting about this is how brazen it is. they used to hide which politician they’re giving the money to. it could hurt the politicians. now they don’t even care. they’re showing us their cards because they think there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. i’ve got two kings. what do you got? you don’t have anything better than that. it’s brazen. the capitol has become like a nascar rally where lawmakers are sponsored by oil companies. these are the three big oil companies that contributed the most to the 2010 midterm campaign. that’s koch. i heard that name before. exxon and chevron and we threw in halliburton just for fun. ? and what team do you think they’re playing for? well, they’re overwhelmingly paying for the team gop. midterm contributions went like this. koch, 93% to the gop. exxonmobil, 87%. chevron is down right bipartisan with only 82% to the gop and halliburton, dick cheney’s old company went 89% to the gop. and this is how our government gets bought. they think they’re so close to check mate they’re not even taking their normal precautions anymore. what they said basically today was gentlemen of the oil industry, start your engines. all right, joining me now is mary boyle, the vice president of common cause. they’re trying to fight this all the time. 234 not going too well, though. it does seem quite brazen doesn’t it? we’re telling you who we’re giving the money to and we don’t think you can effect i havely fight back.
>> they’re creating a new vehicle, yet another vehicle to contribute money directly to congress, to buy a congress that you point out is likely to do its bidding and fight pollution controls and environmental regulations.
>> so let’s talk about that for a second.
>> we talk in the context of koch 12industries, but it applies to the entire oil and gas industry. they want the subsidies but they want to make sure the air is polluted. not because they want it to be polluted but because they make more money. pollute the air, someone else’s kids get sick, well, who cares. i got paid.
>> corporations exist to be profitable. government exists to protect the public interest and to work for the public interest. when corporations get this, you know, stranglehold on government then whoa is advocating and looking out for the publg interepublic interest.
>> what on god’s green earth are we going to do about it? it looks pretty hopeless now.
>> we have to change the way we pay for political campaigns. we have to get special interests like oil and gas. there are about 14 other ones that are ahead of them in terms of giving more to politicians. we have to get them out of the business of paying for political campaigns and use public money, then you will have a congress that’s working for constituents, working for voters and not working for the people and the interests that paid for their campaigns.
>> i think a lot of them take the same money and do the same things, right?
>> but the republicans appear to be nearly a wholly owned subsidiary of these guys. how do you get beyond this problem when you have one party who will not budge in the terms that governor walker might use and say all right, look, when my donors daal me and they’re the oil guy, i will do their bidding and make sure i defeat you and basically our democracy.
>> yeah. you know, we are at a tipping point and the american public is just getting increasingly fed up with this. you probably know the supreme court decision last year allowed corporations to spend unlimited money to basically advocate per the electi — for the election or defeat of a candidate. you’re going to see more corporate money in the 2010 election. we think this is going to anger the public. finally it’s going to take a really bad situation to drive home the fact that if the public wants any representation in congress, then congress has got to do something. congress has got to feel the public pressure before they’re going to do something. that’s what we need to do, pressure congress to change.
>> rt wiall right, mary boyle of common cause. i want to say something to the audience before we go to break. guy, our democracy is on the line here. whether you’re a republican or a democrat, you can’t like these guys not working for you. in our democracy, they’re supposed to work for us, not work for the guys who are the highest bidders. we’ve got to find a way to change this. if we don’t, our democracy is r( t&h?hp &hc% companies or whether it’s the banks, and unfortunately, the one thing i think miegts ght be able to change it is when the banks crash. because they’re going to crash and they’re going to take more and more risks so they make more and more money in the short run. same thing with the oil gieps th — guys. pollution is a risk, but as long as i make money in the short run. eventually this thing crashes and that’s going to be a bad, bad moment. i want you to know who did it to you. it was these guys who only cared about the money. i hope to god we can get out ahead of it and stop it before it
A political panel debates the motives behind the GOP’s battle on public unions.
>>> coming up, how the battle in wisconsin might actually be the right wing’s waterloo. yeah, you heard me. i said it. this is where they may have hit a turning point and suffered a serious defeat. governor scott walker has now been exposed a radical. he’s shown he’s driven by a right-wing ideology. yesterday, he was joking about taking a baseball bat top democrats who he thought was a ballaire donor fropd. walker hads state troop troopers sent out to round up the democrats. the second thing we learned is he doesn’t really care about jobs much, certainly not middle class jobs.
>> i got layoff notices ready. we put out the at-risk notices. we’ll announce thursday and they’ll go out early next week, and we’ll probably get 5,000 to 6 now state wo 6,000 state workers will get notices for layoffs. we might ratchet that up a little bit, you know.
>> does he look like he’s trying to help the average wisconsin voter in do you think he cares about you? he doesn’t care about you. it’s obvious. look, it’s not just about you and i recognizing them, it’s about the voters of wisconsin that just voted for him going wait a minute, this guy told me he was going to create jobs and here he is tellinge donor friend, don’t worry, i’ve got 5,000 to 6,000 layoff notices coming. we’re going to hit him hard. that’s not what they elected you for. and the third thing walker has taught is that his real bos and his real aim is to help the koch brother. those are his bosses. that prank call made it crystal clear who he actually reports to. let me give you better context as to why walker cares so much are you ready for this? i hope you’re sitting down. it turns out, it’s all about the money. not just the $43,000 the koch industries gave to walker’s campaign directly. it’s also the $3.4 million the republican governor’s association chipped in for ads attacking his opponent. now, where did they get that money? well, at least $1 million of it came from the koch brothers. look, you can tell from the tapes that walker’s conversation with the fake david koch, that he thinks he’s, you know, pretty much untouchable. look, i have these guys running scared. i’m not top of this. i’m never going to bend. i’m going to grab a bat. he thinks he can’t lose. but the reality is the tide is turning. similar protests in ohio and indiana have legislators back ped pedalling. those are republicans back pedalling. their bills have been weakened or killed all together organize. john kasich and mitch daniels almost sound like they’re praising the democrats who left their states to prevent the votes.
>> you know, i could have seen a day in washington when i was down there as a congressman where the democrats were using dictatorial rule where we would just get out and walk out of the chamber, okay? let’s be fair, if you were down there you might walk out of the chamber, okay?
>> the activities of today are a perfectly legitimate part of the process, even the smallest minority. that’s what we’ve heard from the last couple of days has every right to express their views and i salute those who do.
>> they’re saluting the democratic protesters. that’s a fullback pedal, back pedal, back pedal. that’s better than spitz. the old swimmer, right? okay, now even chris christie of new jersey is running away from this issue. he said, quote, he was ready to embrace the collective bargaining situation. they got christie embracing the situation. no, not that one, the collective bargaining situation. ? now, not only are the other governors running away from him, he’s actually become a bit of a punch line for other republicans.
>> i want to thank you for coming. i was detained. i had a phone call from david koch and that lasted almost 20 minutes, but i was finally able to be with you.
>> look, he’s joking around about walker, but huckabee says he might not even run for president because he hates raising money. guys like walker relish talking to the billionaires and firing you if they have to if that’s the orders they go the. — got. some governor walk ear er’s republican buddies might be losing heart. themajori majority leader’s wife got a layoff notice today. is he in a little bit of a panic now that it’s his family that might get affected? his wife who might get fired. i’ve got to find those democrats. oh, my god, my family might be affected. yeah, all our families are affected if you go off these guys. the bottom line is this, as walker remains intransgent, whether he wins in the short run on this particular bill, it appears he might have done great damage to himself and even worse damage to the right-wing idea of going after the middle class, saying it’s their fault, they caused the deficit, i’m going to take it out of their hide. that idea might be losing. so win or lose on this bill, this might be the right wing’s waterloo since the people in wisconsin and the american people overall are realizing how radical they are, where they get the money and just how little they care about the average voter. joining me now is milwaukee mayor tom barrett. he lost to walker in the 2010 gubernatorial election. mayor, they spent a lot of that money against you. $3.4 million came from the republican governor’s association. when you see the koch brothers uk access to the with their ? governor, knowing that some of that money got funneled through the koch brothers to him, are you surprised at all? or do you think, well, of course, that’s who he works for.
>> well, cenk i really don’t look back to 2010. to me, that’s water over the dam. but what i’m concerned about is what’s happening to the state. this is a state where historically, we’ve had strong democrats and republicans. if you listen to that transcript of what he was talking about yesterday, governor walker when he thought he was talking to mr. koch, it was clear this is not about a budget crisis. it’s consider clear this is all about an attack on people’s right to organize and bargain. that’s what the agenda is here. it’s a national agenda. unfortunately the state that i love, wisconsin, has been kwhochosen to play this out in. i realize we’re the butt of late-night tv jokes and other politicians around the country. but the sad part is, these are real people and real lives are being affected by this. and what i want to do is see a resolution to this. and there is a path to resolve this so you do have public enl pl — employees pay more for their pensions and health care, but you don’t have to rip apart the rights that were established in thf state 50 years ago to collectively bargain and organize.
>> what’s your sense of the people in wisconsin? i get the sense — because i see the national polls, nearly 2 to 1 advantage, people saying of course you need collective gr bargaining. we saw the afl-cio poll within wisconsin. nor polls are going to come out showing walker in trouble here. do you think the people of wisconsin are saying this guy is too right wing, too radical?
>> well, my sense the majority of the people in the state agree that public employees have to pay more for health care and pensions. that’s something he ran on, that’s something he talked about during the campaign. i talked about that during the campaign, but what he didn’t talk about was — this came out of thin air, the whole notion that the rights to collectively bargain and collectively organize would be thrown out the window. that’s all just occurred really in the last three weeks. ? and so it has sparked a fire across the state where people in many communities are very, very upset about this. he said he was going to exclude firefighters and police, and then we have firefighters from around the state who are there in madison saying they’re opposed to this bill because they know what’s going on. they might be excluded now, but they’ll be the next ones. they’ll be the next ones that will be included. the private unions feel the same way, they may have be excluded from this, but this is the natural step the right to work people want. first they go after public employees then public safety unions, then private unions.
>> does he back down? or is he just going to sit there and go to the bitter end here, no matter what the people of wisconsin say?
>> well, cenk, you have to look at who he’s talking f iing to. you could see it yesterday with the conversation with mr. koch. the people he’s talking to are on the far right of this country. that’s his constituency. he was making fun of the a democratic state senator saying he’s just a pragmatic person saying that as a negative term. he’s pragmatic, he wants to get things done. his base, they’re loving this. i think he’s having the time of his life because he has the national spotlight on his state right now what he’s doing to try to break unions. and for his bread and butter, his constituency, this couldn’t be better for him. this could not be better for him because he can really play to the hard, hard right base.
>> that’s a good point, he seems to be trying to address the nation saying look, i’m more right wing than anybody else and the real constituency are those who got them elected. his huge, huge donors. pointing out with his constituency is, that’s exactly right, i think.
>> well, i think those donors love it, but i don’t think the general populous here in the state of wisconsin likes it.
>> that’s his problem. we’re going to see how that gets resolved the next time ?he’s up for an election. thanks for your time tonight. really appreciate it.
>> thanks, cenk. joining me now is the president of the international association of firefighters. and i want to talk to you about the national scope here. what do you think? do you think the momentum for the hard right wing ideology has stopped cold in its tracks, given what you’re seeing out of the governors, daniel in indiana, kasich in ohio or even chris christie saying oh, no, no, no collective bargaining is totally okay.
>> first, this is truly an organized, coordinated earffort all across the country to try to silence workers’ voices and try to deny them their basic rights. many of those rights, as in wisconsin they’ve enjoyed for over 50 years, if you take a look at what’s going on, this is about governors promoting, collective bargaining withdrawal or undermining collective bargaining rights. in at least eight states, nebraska, ohio, oklahoma, michigan, wisconsin, ohio. if you layer that on top of 12 states, right to work laws, now being considered, new hampshire, just passing it in their house of representatives, a bill to undermine and gut workers’ rights an unions to represent workers. if you take a look at paycheck deception laws, that they call protection laws, to silence workers in the political arena, 15 states. if you take a look at the laws passed in alabama to deny workers the ability to simply deduct dues from their paycheck so that they could be members of their yuan i don’t saunion, now in tenne ssee, moving into other states. ? this is a coordinated attack to try to assault and gut america’s labor movement. hoping that we would battle amongst ourselves while they just stand on the sidelines. and that’s not working. we are united in wisconsin.
>> and it’s a credit to the firefighters who say hey, look, even though this didn’t affect me, i’m still going to fight for my fellow worker. the real critical question i want to ask is did this work against the republican. they wanted to spread it to other states. we’ve been showing it all week, their attempts to spread it to other states. but now it looks like they’re in a little bit of a retreat. was this a tactical mistake? did they lose?
>> well, it does look like we have some governors that are taking another look at this strategy. obviously you mentioned indiana, and now it appears that right to work that was moving through that legislature has been withdrawn. mumy, the governor there looks like he’s slowing down the effort to undermine their i don’t underestimate governor walker’s resolve. he says he’s not going to bend or break. this is what’s really sad, the public needs to understand, the employees in wisconsin have been trying to meet with the governor. he refuses to meet with them. they’ve made it clear they understand they have to pay more towards their pension, more towards their health care. but this isn’t about the budget. this is just old fashioned union busting right now and he sees this as an opportunity to be ground zero to start undermining and dismantling america’s labor movement. and we are taking a stand and we are fighting back.
>> and it looks like your stand is working to some
The other day I was reminded of an old Woody Allen joke.
Two guys go into a restaurant for lunch. The first guy remarks that the steak is too tough, the vegetables mushy, the bread hard as a brick, and the soup cold as ice.
The second guy agrees and then adds that the portions are too small.
I thought of this joke while talking to another Certified Public Accountant. He was going on and on complaining about tax season, saying he had too much work, that his clients were bringing in records that were a mess, that virtually all of his clients were questioning his bills, that many were not paying him, that he couldn’t find good help for tax season, and that his wife threatened to leave him because during tax season he was a total stranger and too tired to have sex.
And then he complained about tax season being too short.
Six years ago when I served on the Board of Finance and Taxation of the City of New Britain (population 70,000) in Connecticut, our municipal budget was $190 million. Of that total amount, as much as $130 million went to the Board of Education. The Superintendent of Schools was paid an annual salary of $155,000; her several Assistant Superintendents, $130,000; a bunch of Principals, $120,000; their Assistant Principals, $100,000. The median salary of teachers was $80,000 for a 183-day work year. Moreover, municipal employees received family health insurance benefits costing nearly $20,000 per year.
Similarly, a number of firemen and police officers earned $80,000 per year, since their union agreement required the funding for unfilled positions, resulting in considerable overtime pay. After twenty or twenty-five years of service, they were entitled to retire at 70% of their last three years’ average salary, conveniently padded with unnecessary overtime.
When collective bargaining in Wisconsin prevented the governmental employees of Wisconsin from agreeing to contribute 12% to their healthcare and retirement benefits, I did not feel particularly sympathetic toward the disgruntled governmental employees. Most of us who are fortunate enough to be employed in the private sector have been contributing 20% to 50% to our healthcare insurance, while picking up the entire cost of insurance on our family members. Many of us do not even have health insurance or retirement benefits offered by our employers. Furthermore, our pension plans are not defined benefit plans but paltry contribution plans, often a 3% simple IRA.
Without the willingness of governmental employees to refrain from salary increases and to contribute more to their benefit plans, we, the taxpayers, will be burdened with more property and income taxes. Consequently, the battle may not just be a battle between governmental employees of Wisconsin and Governor Walker, but that between all governmental employees and taxpayers.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a pro labor President, had spoken out against collective bargaining for governmental employees:
All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service…Particularly, I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place in the functions of any organization of Government employees. Upon employees in the Federal service rests the obligation to serve the whole people, whose interests and welfare require orderliness and continuity in the conduct of Government activities. This obligation is paramount. Since their own services have to do with the functioning of the Government, a strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government until their demands are satisfied. Such action, looking toward the paralysis of Government by those who have sworn to support it, is unthinkable and intolerable.
Governor Walker has to resolve a budget deficit of $3.6 billion. His choice is simple: pass it all onto the private citizens in the form of taxes; or ask governmental employees to contribute 12% to their benefit plans and share the pain. The unions initially refused to contribute 12%, saying it violated their collective bargaining agreement. In recent days little has changed since then.
In Madison, while government union bosses have said that government workers would be willing to contribute to their pensions and pay a slightly larger portion of their healthcare premiums, local bargaining units are unwilling to accept those contributions. In Janesville, government workers are proposing a contract that includes 2% pay increases for the next three years, with the government paying all of the workers’ pension contributions and 92% of their health insurance premiums. In La Crosse County, government workers have agreed to a one-year contract with health and dental premiums at the same level as 2010, with the county covering the full pension payment of most government workers. Government workers with the Milwaukee Area Technical College agreed to a new contract where the workers contribute nothing toward their pension. In Madison, government workers have proposed a contract for a 3% pay raise with their current pension and health benefits for the next two years. In Racine, government workers have agreed to a contract that includes pay raises. In Sheboygan, government workers agreed to a contract where nurses pay nothing toward their pensions.
During these dire economic times do we need to curtail collective bargaining of governmental workers? Or should our armed forces, also governmental workers, have collective bargaining rights, too, allowing them to go on strike for increased wages or benefits? Is the argument in Wisconsin really over the rights of governmental workers or is it about their raises and benefits? Did you hear any governmental worker cry out for employees’ rights when millions of private citizens lost their jobs and benefits?
In the coming months and years, with all of the municipalities and states suffering severe deficits, you, too, may see a similar battle occurring in your state. Will you join with the ranks of governmental employees, supporting their annual salary increments and their reluctance to share in the costs of healthcare and retirement benefits? Or will you be looking at the increase in your tax bills and complaining about their annual increments?
>>> he’s trying to fix the deficit by bugs the unions in wisconsin. but he’s about to hand out $40 million in new tax breaks over the next two years. so what happens? i thought you had a deficit problem? not when it comes to giving out cash to corporate interests, right? for gop governors across the country, it’s no the about balancing the budget or shared sacrifice. it’s about tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. it’s about you sacrificing and the middle class sacrificing and the poor sacrificing so republicans can distribute more and more money to their biggest campaign distributors. rich people and corporations. we’re going to show it to you. it’s a vicious psych. republicans like to talk about kitchen table finances. let’s do back of the envelope math for you guys. jo january br jan brewer says she wants to cut the deficit. it costs $541 million to give health care to 281,000 poor people through medicaid. so she cuts it, she cuts from medicaid and puts $541 million towards reducing the deficit. all right, great. except wait. she also wants to give out corporate tax break which is will cost arizona $538 million in loss revenue. so cutting medicaid didn’t really reduce the deficit at all. i’m amused by that. she turned around and mahanded the money right back to the corporations. that’s how it works. it’s a transfer of cash from the poor in that case to the rich. just took from one hand and gave it to the other. let’s look at more egregious example. michigan governor rick snyder wants to cut $1.2 billion from schools, universities and local governments. but you’re going to be shocked where he wants the money to go instead. it turns out he wants to give out $1.8 billion in tax cuts for business. shocking. as you see, it doesn’t even balance out. so how does he plan to close the rest of the gap? by raising taxes on individuals. any republican who tells you they want to cut deficits while cutting taxes, i’ve got to be honest with you, they’re lying or they’re terrible at math. or who knows, maybe both. katrina vanden heuvel. obviously they’re playing games with the numbers. take it from the middle class or schools or poor and gives it to the rich. but let’s talk about the consequence consequences. when you get $300 million from medica medicaid, to they get better. governor brewer, people who are mentally ill, she doesn’t want to treat them anymore. they’re going to be on the street.
>> this is about an extremist republican flank which wants to defund the priorities for people. they want to balance budgets on the backs of working people or low income people. there is an alternative. there’s always an alternative in politics and history and i think people are waking up cenk and seeing enough. enough to give tax breaks to corporations and the very richest, and that it’s not about deficits as you said. this is junk math. i think what governor walker has overreached. i really think it’s clear for the first time since reagan, just tried to break the back of labor. it’s the only counterforce for working people in this country. i think there’s more sympathy, unity and attention being paid to labor and working people and how these republicans are just out to lunch when it comes to their priorities.
>> katrina, i think you’re right in terms of in indiana, iowa and other places, republican governors running for the hills because they’re seeing the numbers for walker and it’s not good.
>> not good.
>> they’re looking at the national numbers we showed earlier in the show. people are in favor of collective bargaining. i get that part. but i wonder if everybody else gets what’s happening here. rick scott just won. here’s another example from florida, right? and rick scott says he’s going to give away $4 billion in corporate tax cuts and property tax cuts and he’s going to take away $3 billion from education. that’s what i’m wondering. do the people from florida realize they voted for this? fantastic, take away our education.
>> i think we’re in a turning point moment in this country in the last two weeks. people are waking up. and they’re in the streets. there are going to be 50 rallies around this country. maybe a million people in the streets of this country. and what are they saying? enough! you’re giving our people’s money away. invest in our country, invest in jobs, invest in education. keep cops on the street, keep teachers in the classrooms. enough with these perks for corporations. there’s a movement called u.s. uncut, inspired by an article in the nation. if we can recoup from the very richest who brought us this financial crisis and from corporate tax dodger, we can balance budgets in a fair way. justice, fairness, con cements that may be coming back to america in this moment.
>> and it’s also a matter of truth, too. rick perry in texas, bragging about how he’s got the texas miracle. he used 97% of the budget gap he had, he covered up with stimulus money, the money he kwlclaimed to be against.
>> and think of the idiocy of these governors b turning away recovery money. they’re so ideological they’re willing to hurt their citizens to stand for what? an ideology which is pay to play? pay for corporations, pay for the richest. there’s a reason why scott walker took david koch’s call. koch pac contributed $43 million to his campaign.
>> you see it all over the place. finally they’re getting called out on it a little bit. you’re right, kay sisich and walker turned down stimulus government 37 then you say i’ve got a deficit problem. yeah, because you didn’t take the money.
>> we’re seeing democracy in action. it’s not just about the ballot box. i think americans are decent, generous people and their priorities are not being reflected in these state houses. the polls begin to show that the center, as described in this country is, you know, the washington consensus, the beltway and now the state house governors. anyway we’ve got to fight back because it’s a culmination of a 30-year campaign of the right and governors now to try to bust the middle class working people in favor of what?
>> thank you so much. you’re absolutely right. because that is — washington consensus is nowhere near the scepter of the country. we’re seeing it right now. thank you so much for joining us. we really
Jeff Foxworthy compiled 300 reasons why you might be a Redneck. So I naturally in my own inimitable, obnoxious fashion started to consider the reasons why you might be a CPA. After all, you might be a Redneck and a CPA as well. Here goes…feel free to add to the list.
You might be a CPA if …
You like holidays because there is much less traffic on your work commute.
You wear a tie while cutting the lawn.
You shred yesterday’s newspaper.
You count change at the cash register.
You place your left socks in the left drawer, your right socks in the right drawer.
You keep all of your receipts for seven years or more.
You look like a deer caught in headlights.
You work while you eat.
You give up bathing for Lent.
You wouldn’t be caught dead in evening wear without a mouse or numeric keypad.
You acquired a brown coloring on the tip of your nose.
You characterize your spouse in terms of debits and credits.
You characterize friends as assets and liabilities.
You include an invoice for services in your Christmas cards.
You think sex is a waste of time.
You only indulge in sex via remote access.
You bring your laptop to bed.
You think a CPE course is a vacation.
You celebrate Christmas as the beginning of tax season.
You talk to yourself even in a crowded room.
You genuflect in the presence of a superior or client.
You often find yourself nodding in agreement like a bubblehead.
You ponder every item on an audit checklist as if it were your last will and testament.
You conveniently confuse the distinction between tax avoidance and evasion on behalf of your clients.
You believe in Santa Claus and the prospect of becoming a partner.
You not only count your spouse’s orgasms but chart them over time.
You audit your spouse’s personal bank statements.
You give your spouse every year a Master Tax Guide for Christmas.
You ask for change from the Church offering on Sunday.
You ask your spouse for his or her credit report.
You constantly remind your spouse how much money he or she owes you.
You charge your spouse interest compounded daily.
You log sex as billable time on your timesheet.
You do not understand how to have sex without an audit guide.
You take your Master Tax Guide to singles dances.
You ask to see your date’s W-2 and prior year’s tax return.
TRUMP TOLD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THERE ARE THE SECURITY STATE AGENTS WHO THINK THAT THEY RUN THE GOVERNMENT AND HE STOOD UP TO THEM AND CHALLENGED THEIR ORTHODOXIES AND PIETIES AND SHOWED AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ON THE RIGHT, THAT THESE INSTITUTIONS ARE NOT NOBLE OR BENEVOLENT BUT ARE HIGHLY PERNICIOUS. THEY […]
Joe Biden said, if you're fully vaccinated, the chances that you can get severely ill, not even die just get severely ill, are very low. And the statistic that he gave is, out of every 160,000 people who have been vaccinated, only one ends up going to the hospital with a serious illness. So the […]
Glenn Greenwald: "So you have huge number of journalists who believe that, they have the right to lie and even when they get caught, they don't care because they know their audience won't hold it against them." Continue reading →
THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE USING JANUARY 6TH. IT'S DEMENTED TO COMPARE 9/11 AND JANUARY 6TH BUT IT'S SO CENTRAL TO THE AGENDA OF THE SECURITY STATE, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, TO ESSENTIALLY INITIATE A SURVEILLANCE REGIME, A DETENTION REGIME, AGAINST PEOPLE ON THE RIGHT WHO ARE AGAINST THE ESTABLISHMENT. AND THEY’RE ALREADY DOING IT. AND THEY […]
Carlson: So now we’re arming the Taliban and marooning our own citizens in Afghanistan. Who could possibly have seen that coming. Glenn Greenwald is one of the few journalists who did see it coming. He writes for Substack where all … Continue reading →
And so that is what I call the birth of this woke industrial complex. It is a new leviathan, a new monster, that is far more powerful than what Thomas Hobbes might have envisioned 400 years ago, and it is the biggest threat to individual liberty today. It is not big government alone. Its conservatives […]
FBI CIA NSA are not only spying on American citizens but also are illegally unmasking their identities to journalists who support our fascist government Continue reading →
The government is instructing social media companies what should and shouldn't be allowed to be on the internet, these are the people least competent to judge what is misinformation. Continue reading →
Google, Facebook and Twitter should be treated as state actors under existing legal doctrines. Using a combination of statutory inducements and regulatory threats, Congress has co-opted Silicon Valley to do through the back door what government cannot directly accomplish under the Constitution. Congress is giving Big Tech immunity and more power in exchange for it censoring […]
THE SECURITY STATE HAS EXISTED SINCE THE END OF WORLD WAR II. THEY'VE BEEN OPERATING IN SECRET AND WITH NO DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EIGHT OR NINE DECADES NOW. DWIGHT EISENHOWER WHEN HE LEFT OFFICE WARNED THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE DANGERS THAT THEY POSE. Continue reading →
Darryl Cooper, AKA @MartyrMade, is a podcaster who had a Twitter thread go viral with 13k retweets and 20k likes of the first Tweet alone. This one is 36-Tweets long. It makes very cogent arguments of not only why millions of Trump supporters believe the 2020 election was stolen, but also why we are justified […]
COVID-19 antibodies have been found in blood samples as early as September, 2019. China knew about the virus' transmission to humans months before it announced such to the world. Why has the media and our government not investigated this gross negligence, if not mass murder? Continue reading →
Democrats and elites are making straight white men the enemy of their new world order. Blacks, hispanics, gays are now the good guys; straight white men are the bad guys. Continue reading →
This ruling class of administrative state, big tech, corporations: all of these people think that they can get rid of Trump and we'll go back to normal. They're wedded to a broken system that has sold out the American people. And now they're going to try to sell out the American people and the middle […]
The real threat is collusion. When journalists strike secret alliances with the very people they're supposed to be holding accountable, we are in deep trouble. Lies go unchallenged. Democracy cannot function. And that's what we're watching right now. Continue reading →
The CIA from the very first days of the Trump administration, even before he was inaugurated, devoted themselves to sabotaging the administration because Donald Trump questioned just a few of their pieties. And that can't be done in Washington. Whoever does that must be destroyed. And so the CIA and the Deep State operatives became […]
The problem is the corruption that is absolutely pervasive in the U.S. news media. There are newsrooms all throughout New York and Washington DC, where top editors are explicitly saying they do not want this story investigated. And they're being clear that the reason that they don't want to investigate it is because they think […]
So Apple isn't fighting for diversity. They're doing exactly what they appear to be doing: they're trying to keep wages down and keep their workers compliant by importing labor from abroad.This isn't about diversity. It's about exploitation. It always is Continue reading →
Accountants CPA Hartford, LLC
Accountants CPA Hartford Connecticut is an accounting firm in Hartford, Connecticut offering a variety of accounting & tax services.
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In an earlier post I detailed how last year you paid more income taxes than ExxonMobil, Bank of America, and General Electric combined, even though they made billions of dollars in 2009! In fact, Bank of America and General Electric received billions of dollars in tax refunds and credits last year.
Accountants CPA Hartford, LLC