Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Follow the Money

It's not too hard to figure out what's going on in Wisconsin and 14 other states. Statutory minimum wage was first proposed during the time of 'sweat shops'. Corporations would hire women and children at substandard wages. I wonder if minimum wage will become more minimal if/when the unions are busted.

Last night I watched Wall Street (1987) and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) both directed by Oliver Stone. The movies are chock-full of not so subtle hints, truth well-blended with fiction.






the following cribbed from: http://www.alternet.org/economy/150010/us_uncut_--_a_grassroots_uprising_against_corporate_tax_deadbeats?page=entire

The IRS estimates that individuals and corporations currently hold $5 trillion in tax haven countries. Nearly two-thirds of corporations pay no taxes at all, and Goldman Sachs, which received $10 billion dollars in taxpayer money during the bailout, negotiated their tax rate down to one percent. The entire tax haven scam costs taxpayers as much as $100 billion per year.




Hewlett-Packard, Verizon, Chevron, Ford, ExxonMobil and Bank of America. The biggest dodger is General Electric (GE), which, during a time of national economic crisis, actually made money on their tax filing in 2010. Though the company generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, it recorded $1.1 billion in tax benefits. Forbes calls this GE's "uncanny ability to lose lots of money in the US and make lots of money overseas, where tax rates are lower."

Conservatives frequently cite the fact that America's corporate tax rate is 35 percent, which is higher than the average of other industrial countries, but that doesn't take into account tax evading practices. In fact, 115 companies on the S&P 500 pay less than 20 percent in taxes, and that doesn't take into account the 37 companies, such as Citigroup and American International Group (AIG), that receive more in credits than they ultimately pay out (companies that pay less than five percent in taxes include Boeing and Amazon).



In 2010, if you made between $34,001 and $82,400, your marginal tax rate was 25 percent.

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