the top 1%

[saz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdVODFombco


The richest 1% of US Americans earn nearly a quarter of the country's income and control an astonishing 40% of its wealth. Inequality in the US is more extreme than it's been in almost a century — and the gap between the super rich and the poor and middle class people has widened drastically over the last 30 years.

Meanwhile, in Washington, a bitter partisan debate over how to cut deficit spending and reduce the US' 14.3 trillion dollar debt is underway. As low and middle class wages stagnate and unemployment remains above 9%, Republicans and Democrats are tussling over whether to slash funding for the medical and retirement programs that are the backbone of the US's social safety net, and whether to raise taxes — or to cut them further.

The budget debate and the economy are the battleground on which the 2012 presidential election race will be fought. And the United States has never seemed so divided — both politically and economically.

How did the gap grow so wide, and so quickly? And how are the convictions, campaign contributions and charitable donations of the top 1% impacting the other 99% of Americans? Fault Lines investigates the gap between the rich and the rest.

This episode of Fault Lines first aired on Al Jazeera English on August 2, 2011 at 0930 GMT.

[kaiser soze]

and I'm sure they have investments in the many corporations that didn't pay a penny in taxes

http://www.buzzfeed.com/gregp3/pay-your-taxes-these-10-companies-didnt-2nvq

[abbott]

is it possible that the President is really just an ass puppet for the top 1%?

[saz]

yep, and


Iowa’s GOP Governor Vetoes Tax Break For The Poor Because It Didn’t Lower Corporate Taxes

By Marie Diamond on Aug 3, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Think Progress (http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/08/03/283386/brandstad-tax-break-poor-veto/)


Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) has a curious justification (http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/07/28/branstad-vetoes-tax-breaks-for-the-poor-promises-to-lake-delhi/) for vetoing a tax break last week for 240,000 Iowa families making $45,000 or less a year: the plan didn’t also include a tax break for corporations. Members of both parties (http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/07/28/branstad-vetoes-tax-breaks-for-the-poor-promises-to-lake-delhi/) in the Iowa House and Senate agreed to increase the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which reduces the amount of income taxes lower-income families owe:

The change would have saved Iowa families an estimated $28.5 million in taxes over two years.

Branstad vetoed that part of the bill writing that it is his desire to approach tax policy in a more comprehensive and holistic manner. [...]

Branstad additionally campaigned last year to slash Iowa’s corporate income tax rate by 50 percent, which he said would attract businesses while costing the state about $200 million a year in lost revenue. That proposal also failed.

Ironically, given Branstad’s fondness for expensive corporate tax breaks, he said he was concerned about the cost (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-branstad-vetoes,0,5873101.story) of the measure, estimated at $28.5 million a year. Branstad explained that he would only support “an overall tax reduction package that both fits within our sound budgeting principles while reducing those taxes that are impeding our state’s ability to compete for new business and jobs.”

Tim Albrecht, a spokesman for the governor, reiterated that Branstad would have supported the tax break if it had been part of a “larger effort (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-branstad-vetoes,0,5873101.story)” that included lower taxes for corporations. But since this tax break was only for poor families, Branstad suddenly abandoned his “strong support for tax relief.”

Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D), the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, points out (http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/07/28/branstad-vetoes-tax-breaks-for-the-poor-promises-to-lake-delhi/) that the EITC “is the most effective antipoverty program for working families.” Bolkcom said of Branstad’s veto, “He has again shown that he will only consider tax cuts that benefit Iowa’s wealthiest citizens and corporations.” The tax break for working families would have translated into more money for people to spend in Iowa’s economy, but Branstad apparently prefers “huge, unaffordable tax breaks for Wal-Mart and other wealthy out-of-state corporations.”

Branstad has the authority to veto individual items in spending measures. He also effectively shut down dozens of unemployment offices (http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/07/28/branstad-vetoes-tax-breaks-for-the-poor-promises-to-lake-delhi/) by vetoing language that would have prohibited the Iowa Workforce Development from closing 37 unemployment field offices across the state.




Firm gives $1 million to pro-Romney group, then dissolves

Records offer no clues who was behind mystery company that donated to 'super PAC'

By Michael Isikoff
National investigative correspondent
NBC News (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44011308)
updated 8/4/2011 6:01:38 AM ET


A mystery company that pumped $1 million into a political committee backing Mitt Romney has been dissolved just months after it was formed, leaving few clues as to who was behind one of the biggest contributions yet of the 2012 presidential campaign.

The existence of the million-dollar donation — as gleaned from campaign and corporate records obtained by NBC News — provides a vivid example of how secret campaign cash is being funneled in ever more circuitous ways into the political system.

The company, W Spann LLC, was formed in March by a Boston lawyer who specializes in estate tax planning for “high net worth individuals,” according to corporate records and the lawyer’s bio on her firm’s website.

The corporate records provide no information about the owner of the firm, its address or its type of business.

[Sir SkratchaLot]

The awesome thing is how the richest 1% dupe all the stupid people into thinking that they can actually "pull themselves up by the bootstraps". People really believe that shit will happen to them (just like the people in L.A. who are all convinced they'll make it in Hollywood). The rich wrap their pitch up in all sorts of American pride bullshit and these idiots believe it.

[kaiser soze]

The premise of "trickle down" has been proven time and again that it is a falicy

as the bailouts prove - it's more like trickle up

destroying the middle class will destroy jobs - if people can't buy shit people get laid off, people get laid off and people can't buy shit....

Compound that with perpetual high fuel prices (with obnoxious profits to boot), fucked up bureaucracies running health care, and rising food prices and eventually the middle class will be forced to only buy essentials.

This cannot be sustained in the long term, so the wealthy right now are trying their damnedest to pad their pockets so when they give a "break" it won't be much of anything but will better than what we're stuck with.

I don't get how conservative supporters support their politicians propping up the rich to shit on this nation. How is that patriotic?

[saz]

American Millionaires: 1,400 Paid No U.S. Income Taxes In 2009

Alexander Eichler
The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/04/irs-incomes_n_918458.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009)
First Posted: 8/4/11 07:49 PM ET Updated: 8/4/11 07:49 PM ET


New tax data from the Internal Revenue service shows that in 2009, incomes fell, unemployment claims rose, and the U.S. economy shed nearly two million taxpayers.

And of the 235,413 taxpayers who earned $1 million or more in 2009, 1,470 of them paid no taxes.

According to the data, the average income for American taxpayers fell to $54,283 -- a drop of $3,516, or about 6.1 percent, between 2008 and 2009. Not only that, but the overall number of taxpayers -- that is, individuals or married couples filing with the IRS -- fell by almost two million.

"What you're seeing is the devastation of the massive loss of jobs and the effects of the real recession on real Americans," said Ed Kleinbard, a law professor at the University of Southern California.

The numbers, part of a package analyzing 2009 tax returns (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/09inalcr.pdf)that the IRS has just made available, reflect a grim picture of the recent past.


.

[valvano]

The awesome thing is how the richest 1% dupe all the stupid people into thinking that they can actually "pull themselves up by the bootstraps". People really believe that shit will happen to them (just like the people in L.A. who are all convinced they'll make it in Hollywood). The rich wrap their pitch up in all sorts of American pride bullshit and these idiots believe it.

Yeah, that's stupid of people to think they have the potential to be worth billions by developing a product that the consumer wants in their garage.

Signed Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

[valvano]

and I'm sure they have investments in the many corporations that didn't pay a penny in taxes

http://www.buzzfeed.com/gregp3/pay-your-taxes-these-10-companies-didnt-2nvq

like General Electric, the part owner of liberal MSNBC ?

[Bob]

Yeah, that's stupid of people to think they have the potential to be worth billions by developing a product that the consumer wants in their garage.

Signed Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

literally everybody in america could be a billionaire if only they were willing to do a little work

[saz]

shocking, the racist idiot isn't making any sense.

[valvano]

racist

ah, the word racist. what a liberal calls you when they can't defend their position using common sense.

[Bob]

ah, the word racist. what a liberal calls you when they can't defend their position using common sense.

this happens to you a lot then, does it

[saz]

ah, the word racist. what a liberal calls you when they can't defend their position using common sense.

no, i'm just pointing out what you are



Hopefully the "schoochildren" can "ax" some questions to Obama :D


fucking racist.....and you do nothing but feed the stereotype of Republicans.

[valvano]

no, i'm just pointing out what you are

actually, you are the racists for assuming that only minorities use the word "ax" instead of "asks"

[valvano]

literally everybody in america could be a billionaire if only they were willing to do a little work

as opposed to sitting on their ass, blaming somebody else for their problem, waiting for the govt to come to their rescue?

remember this goody from the campaign, i wonder how this lady is doing these days:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI

[Bob]

actually, you are the racists for assuming that only minorities use the word "ax" instead of "asks"

don't worry valvano, i don't think you were being racist. i understand that you were only making fun of poor people, not minorities (except for the poor ones that talk funny)

as opposed to sitting on their ass, blaming somebody else for their problem, waiting for the govt to come to their rescue?

remember this goody from the campaign, i wonder how this lady is doing these days:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI

i was agreeing with you! i believe that everyone can be a billionaire if they want to work for it. everyone, all at the same time, and all the bathroom cleaning and floor mopping and other poor people work can just be done by robots, that everyone can build and maintain with their billions of dollars that they earned with their hard work and ingenuity. everything would be great if the stupid government would just stop letting poor people be poor by rewarding their laziness with tax dollars pilfered from the real working class—the billionaires

[saz]

actually, you are the racists for assuming that only minorities use the word "ax" instead of "asks"

i am the "racists"?

i wasn't assuming anything, but rather just pointing out how much of an idiot you are.

[saz]

mitt romney: "corporations are people" (http://youtu.be/hRXEnLHzIUQ)


Shiny Happy Corporate People (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/shiny-happy-corporate-peo_b_926211.html?ref=fb&src=sp):

If corporations are people, they're very special people. They're people who, thanks to the Supreme Court and Citizens United, have the unlimited ability to express their "free speech" with billions of dollars in campaign cash and lobbying loot...All this corporate cash is creating a wave of deregulation, tax cuts and other laws that benefit the corporate "people" and are ruining life for the flesh-and-blood kind.