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What's your take on taxes?
- We all pay 'em. We all have an opinion. Share yours.
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- NON-PAID ASSIGNMENT
- FORMAT:
- ENDS: 09/26/2008 02:30 PM
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Should religious schools get public money?
" A federal appeals court ruling that a Christian university in Colorado can receive state scholarship money is the latest in a string of legal victories for religious schools seeking public dollars.
The most recent case involved Colorado Christian University, a college of 2,000 students in suburban Denver where most students must attend chapel weekly and sign a promise to emulate the life of Jesus and Biblical teachings.
Colorado Christian faculty must sign a statement that that the Bible is the "infallible Word of God."
Students "attending institutions such as CCU who take their faith-based commitment seriously should have an equal opportunity to participate in Colorado's financial aid program," said Paul Cortis, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
But critics called it the latest example of a worrisome trend.
"The bottom line is that taxpayers will now end up having to pay for religious indoctrination," said Barry Lynn, executive director of the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The law wasn't discrimination, but "a sensible judgment by Colorado that some colleges are so religious that they cannot expect taxpayers to support them."
The ruling cuts to a conundrum in the First Amendment, which prohibits the state from establishing any religion, but also prohibits religious discrimination. Religious colleges have argued their students shouldn't be deprived of a state benefit everyone else can get."
" A federal appeals court ruling that a Christian university in Colorado can receive state scholarship money is the latest in a string... more -
Mother of all bailouts granted by Congress
House approves bill that:
- writes blank check to bailout mortgage industry
- increases Federal budget by $800B
- requires all mortgage brokers be finger printed
- all credit card transactions to be reported to IRS
The long-con is coming to fruition as the Fed sets it self up to own all the foreclosures, only to auction this foreclosed real estate off as a package to the biggest mortgage company, who will be the only ones who can afford the large bids. It's a replay of what happened in the 1980's when HUD did the same thing.
Unfortunately, this time the American public is going to get stuck with hundreds of billions of dollars in bills, an increased national debt, and a vastly depreciated US Dollar. What a racket if you can get-in on the upside. House approves bill that: - writes blank check to bailout mortgage industry - increases Federal budget by $800B ... more -
Housing bailout bill - another $800 billion gift from the taxpayer to Wall Street
This bill will probably pass in Senate tomorrow. You, your children and generations to come will pay for this. All taxes will be spent servicing this debt.
Cost of 5 years of Iraq war: $560 billion
Cost of this bill: $800 billion
It will be spent bailing out the same fraudsters who got us into this mess. Call your senator now and demand they vote against this! If you don't, it will probably pass. If you care for your country and your children's future, vote this video up.
The clock is ticking... This bill will probably pass in Senate tomorrow. You, your children and generations to come will pay for this. All taxes will be spent... more -
Jobless claims rise to 406,000
The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest in almost four months, a sign the slowing economy is weakening the labor market.
Initial jobless claims increased by 34,000 to 406,000 in the week ended July 19, from a revised 372,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The filings exceeded economists' forecast and were the most since 406,000 in the week ended March 29.
U.S. employers are reducing workers as surging fuel costs, a three-year housing slump and a crisis in credit markets restrains demand. Rising joblessness reinforces concern that consumers will pull back on spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy.
``The underlying picture is one of a labor market that is weak,'' said David Sloan, senior economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York, whose forecast of 410,000 was the closest to the actual number in a Bloomberg News survey of 44 economists. ``The economy is growing slowly so you tend to see job losses rising. The weakness could increase further in coming months.''
Treasuries were higher, pushing yields down. The benchmark 10-year note yielded 4.09 percent as of 8:50 a.m. in New York, down 3 basis points from yesterday.
Near 2005 High The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest in almost four months, a sign... more -
Does the Government Owe You Money?
The state of Pennsylvania owes me money.
My uncle was perusing the PA treasury website when he found a search field for people who may be owed money from the state. For fun, he started entering family members’ names, and BINGO! I’m the big winner.
Turns out, upon graduating in 2005, I failed to pick up my final paycheck from working at the University of Pittsburgh’s student newspaper. So the moolah has remained in the coffers of my alma mater for the past three years.
Money2_max200w
Why didn’t they just send it to me? I’m not entirely sure, they always seemed to get tuition bills and library fines to me with no problem. The state of Pennsylvania owes me money. ... more -
The broken promise of America: betrayal by America's rich
Who's paying the price for America's growing income gap? In the United States it is the richest among us who are most assuredly and solely benefiting, while the U.S. economy consistently fails over 30-million hard-working Americans primarily with substandard wages.
The U.S. government rigs the tax codes and contorts the laws specifically to over-burden the working classes while making the wealthiest in the United States more and more wealthy. The top one percent garners about 80% of all income gains. It is an extremely "lop-sided" system designed by the rich of this nation to benefit primarily the wealthiest top one-percent of our nation--particularly the top one-tenth of those wealthiest "one-percenters."
The working classes are simply and efficiently over-taxed to sure economic death working as much as 6 months out the year to pay "their" taxes, while the rich pay (as a percentage) MUCH less than their fair share. Is it fair that the wage earners are held to report literally ALL their income while the rich are exempted? Is it fair that American "corporations" (which the rich control with iron-clad fists) are shipping jobs, assets and intellectual property off-shore just as fast as they can?
The insolence and audacity of the rich to frame their own ideas exclusively in terms of purely "raw commercial value," serves as the primary excuse avoiding very real and generations-neglected social obligations and responsibilities to this nation--namely "to make society a more valuable place, to create involved participants...to form a more perfect union, to promote justice, to provide the common defense, to provide domestic tranquility, to provide for the COMMON wealth (the general welfare)--those are the reasons we created this country, and those should be the focus of our policies...but if our policies are merely pecuniary...then we're going to go down the wrong path." [quoting David K. Johnston, New York Times]
A devastating cast-like system is materializing in the United States at the behest of the rich who would have us remain ignorant or intentionally misled and deluded from the startling reality that is befalling hard-working Americans today... Who's paying the price for America's growing income gap? In the United States it is the richest among us who are most assuredly and s... more -
Click to Find Income Inequality of Rich & Poor in Your State
Click your state for recent statistics on the gap between its rich and poor residents.
Click to find and contact your congressional representative to tell them what you think about it.
(Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
Much very grateful thanks to PBS NOW and correspondent David B. and everyone who helped produce "Taxing the Poor" (what a laudable and profound service to this country!) Click your state for recent statistics on the gap between its rich and poor residents. ... more -
The luxury of taxing the poor
Are taxes being levied fairly when it comes to the rich and the poor?
PBS NOW correspondent David Brancaccio investigates and finds that, for the rich and those doing their bidding in government, their obstinance is their bliss. Many states are providing corporate welfare on massive scales to big business interests in the context of "providing jobs" that do very little to alleviate crippling poverty in the communities they exploit with staggeringly inadequate wages and benefits--and this even after decades within those very communities their presence was expected to improve.
While most of the rich carefully concern themselves about which set of new clubs may best improve their golf game, working class families are irresponsibly left to teeter on the edge of complete destruction for the privilege of footing the bills for so many of those very luxuries the rich enjoin for themselves.
It is a fact that growing numbers ***within the United States*** are barely subsisting, often in poor conditions, and often going hungry without food, and without so many of just the basic "necessities" most of us take for granted every day. (Perhaps you should read that again.)
Watch and learn about reality in the land in of the "free", because if it's true you may not be rich, you certainly are paying for it.
Are taxes being levied fairly when it comes to the rich and the poor? ... more -
Fannie, Freddie rescue may cost taxpayers $25 billion
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's rescue package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would probably cost taxpayers $25 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said.
``There is a significant chance -- probably better than 50 percent -- that the proposed new Treasury authority would not be used before it expired at the end of December 2009,'' the nonpartisan agency, which provides economic and budget analysis for lawmakers, said in a report today.
Democratic lawmakers were seeking to determine the cost of Paulson's plan to offer emergency funding to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee almost half of the $12 trillion in U.S. home loans outstanding. Paulson today said Congress understands ``the demands'' of the housing downturn and will likely approve this week his request to help the government- sponsored enterprises. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's rescue package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would probably cost taxpayers $25 billion, the Congre... more -
One Pot Plant = Mandatory Minimum? (Canada)
"At issue is a new law that toughens mandatory minimum sentences for gun-related crimes. A proposed bill will do the same for anyone convicted of a long list of drug crimes, including those caught growing just one marijuana plant." "At issue is a new law that toughens mandatory minimum sentences for gun-related crimes. A proposed bill will do the same for anyone ... more
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What Does The Media Teach Us About Economics?
We are in this economic downturn by design. This has been a slow and careful process to turn our own perceptions of economy, media and government inside out.
Ronald Reagan said "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." so...If the government is "We The People," are we our worst enemy?
Is the economy serving "We The People" or the corporations?
Is the media serving "We The People" or the corporations?
Is the government serving "We The People" or the corporations?
Are we our worst enemy or will we get back in and reclaim our government of "We The People?"
We are in this economic downturn by design. This has been a slow and careful process to turn our own perceptions of economy, media an... more -
Hundreds of super rich under investigation
Hundreds of rich Americans whose names and secret foreign bank account information were turned over to US tax authorities could face criminal prosecution. A Senate committee is scheduled to convene tomorrow and among those called to testify are foreign bank account holders, including one of the wealthiest men in Los Angeles.
Are America's wealthiest citizens cheating the government out of billions?
48 year-old Peter Lowy and his family own the giant Westfield shopping center fortune and will control the retail space in the rebuilt World Trade Center in New York. Bob Bennett, a lawyer for Lowy, who is a prominent contributor to both Democratic and Republican candidates, told ABC News that Lowy's name was on the list of secret accounts from a Liechtenstein bank but that Lowy did nothing wrong.
Bennett said Lowy is out of the country tomorrow and will not be available to testify. Hundreds of rich Americans whose names and secret foreign bank account information were turned over to US tax authorities could face c... more -
Nevada businessman trumped the IRS in federal court, challenged America's dual mon...
"On a 106-degree May afternoon in 2003, government agents raided several establishments belonging to Southern Nevada businessman Robert 'Bobby' Kahre. With guns drawn, officials held more than 20 handcuffed workers in the sun without water as agents collected records and other materials.
Kahre hadn’t committed a crime. He had upset the Internal Revenue Service by paying his workers based on the face value of gold and silver coins, versus the market value in the Federal Reserve system (the value of the coins in U.S. paper dollars). Even though the coins were in circulation, displayed a face value, and were regulated by Congress, the IRS’s confusing and endless tax code did not determine how to handle these gold and silver coins if used for payroll. The tax code only references dollars. It does not distinguish between coined money and paper money.
Kahre didn’t opt for the precious metal bullion system without first doing his homework. He consulted monetary experts, engaged in extensive research, and even met with congressmen. Kahre’s conclusion was simple: While the currency in the precious-metal system was greater in value than the currency in the other system, as money and a medium of exchange, the law knows no difference between the face value of both currencies..."
(End of excerpt)
Full story at link by Mike Zigler// Liberty Watch
"On a 106-degree May afternoon in 2003, government agents raided several establishments belonging to Southern Nevada businessman Rober... more -
Americans for Tax Reform
Cost of Government Day: how many days does it take for the American worker to pay for federal, state, and local government? Today the average American worker is finished working for federal, state, and local government. This article also gives the listing and rank of each state. Cost of Government Day: how many days does it take for the American worker to pay for federal, state, and local government? Today the ... more
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Obama, McCain, and Financial Disaster - Reason Magazine
"Federal budget policy is a dry subject with far too many numbers and charts, which makes it uninviting to most Americans. But the theme of the current budget story is one that could have come from a blockbuster summer movie: We are doomed. There is a fiscal asteroid on course to pulverize us, and no one is coming to the rescue.
The problem is simple and depressingly familiar. This year, federal spending will exceed federal revenue by more than $400 billion. Given the weak state of the economy, the deficit will get worse before it gets better.
Actually, it may never get better, because the current shortfall coincides with the start of the most dreaded fiscal event of all time: the retirement of the baby boomers, who will soon consume eye-popping amounts in Social Security and Medicare.
If that's not bad enough, Bruce Willis is not on hand to intercept the doomsday object before it arrives. Worse yet, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain wants the job..."
(End of excerpt)
Full article at link by Steve Chapman// Reason Magazine
Image by flickr user w.wabbit licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.e... "Federal budget policy is a dry subject with far too many numbers and charts, which makes it uninviting to most Americans. But the the... more -
Taxpayers buy Pelosi $16K worth of flowers
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent $16,000 on flowers since taking office, one reason why she spent 63 percent more in her high-profile inaugural year than her low-key predecessor did last year.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) spent a little more than $3 million in the first nine months of 2007, records show, compared to the $1.8 million Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) spent during the same period in 2006.
Republicans are spending more as well. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has increased spending 23 percent above what Pelosi spent when she held the same job. That would be 16 percent if some of Hastert’s closing-out costs were deducted.
The spending patterns indicate Pelosi is seeking to restore the Speaker’s role as a counterweight to the president and reclaim some of the responsibilities Hastert had ceded to his aggressive majority leader, Tom DeLay (R-Texas). Because of their different roles, Pelosi aides say it is unfair to simply compare Pelosi’s spending to Hastert’s.
'When Speaker Pelosi took the gavel, it was an historic moment. In the days since, the Speaker has hosted leaders from across the country and around the world — opening the People’s House to the people and discussing the work of the 110th Congress,' Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said in response to e-mailed questions. 'There are major new costs associated with setting up the new office of the new Speaker of the House.'
Republicans say Pelosi’s office spending undercuts her message that Democrats are restoring fiscal responsibility to the halls of Congress.
'They could have saved the taxpayer $16,000 by sending out an intern to pick flowers from the Capitol lawn, but I guess that would have detracted from the $4 million worth of pork they planted as part of the ‘greening’ project,' said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for Boehner."
(End of excerpt)
Full story at link by Mike Soraghan// TheHill.com "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent $16,000 on flowers since taking office, one reason why she spent 63 percent more in her high-pro... more -
McCain's Plan To Cut Taxes on Big Oil by $4 Billion
++McCain’s Tax Proposals++
Corporate tax cuts make up the largest part of the McCain tax plan. His two largest tax cuts are:
1. Cutting the corporate tax rate.
McCain says he will cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent to make U.S. corporations more competitive.
2. Allow expensing of corporate investments.
Under current law, corporations generally must deduct the cost of new investments over that investment’s useful lifetime, a tax and accounting practice known as depreciation. McCain proposes to allow corporations to immediately write off the entire cost of investments in equipment and technology.
These corporate tax cuts are extremely expensive, costing approximately $1.7 trillion over a decade. Assuming that corporate taxes are ultimately borne by investors—as the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Congressional Budget Office have traditionally assumed—then the tax cuts would be regressive as well.
Approximately 59 percent of the tax cuts would go to the top 1 percent of households. Only 11 percent would go to the bottom 80 percent of households.
++The Benefit for Large Oil Companies++
The McCain plan would deliver approximately $170 billion a year in tax cuts to corporations, including some corporations that are very large and profitable. Just one of the proposals—cutting the corporate rate from 35 percent to 25 percent—would cut taxes for five largest U.S. oil companies by $3.8 billion a year.
The five corporations analyzed—ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Valero Energy, and Marathon—are the five largest oil companies as ranked by Fortune Magazine. All are members of the Fortune 50.
Together, they earned $80 billion worldwide in 2007.
[End of excerpt]
[Credit: americanprogressaction.org; Photo: Salon.com] ++McCain’s Tax Proposals++ Corporate tax cuts make up the largest part of the McCain tax plan. His two largest tax cuts are: ... more -
Death and Taxes: Refusing to Pay For War
This is a trailer for a documentary I'm working on about War Tax Resistance.
I'm posting this as a request for help from other 'citizen journalists' because I'm looking for additional footage.
i need more "action" material that is relevant to the topic - demonstrations, press conferences, protests, street theater, tax day rallies, even stuff like relevant signs or banners being held up (or t-shirts being worn, etc) at more general anti-war events.
Have you ever shot anything like this over the years anywhere as you've documented activists in your community? Do you know anyone who has? If so, please get in touch either with a Current message here or via my blog, at http://steev.hise.org
thanx! This is a trailer for a documentary I'm working on about War Tax Resistance. ... more -
Save Social Security the Easy Way
The best way to save Social Security is to raise the cap. Does everyone realize once you make over $102,000 a year the Social Security tax stops. All we have to do is make sure that this income is also taxed. I'm confused that in America, a country that gives so much to help people get to the top of their professions, why can't those same people stay in it with the rest of us so everybody can do well. Not just the stockbrokers, or CEO's but maybe the nurse-techs, and the EMT's or the car mechanics. Where would you be Mr. CEO, if you were in an automobile accident, and that poorly paid Paramedic weren't there to literally scrape you off the pavement and hold your life together until you got to a hospital? I've heard the criticism, nobody gets rich in the medical field, why didn't you get into something more lucrative? I know teachers that were told the same thing. The answer is we care about other people and want to do a fair share. I'd like to see some of the top wage-earners to step forward to save Social Security. We can't divert any of the currently deducted money to any separate account. Every penny that is being collected is immediately going out to pay current Social Security benefits. That's how the system was designed in the 1940's. Then they expected each generation to be bigger than the last. The best way to save Social Security is to raise the cap. Does everyone realize once you make over $102,000 a year the Social Secur... more
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Corporate taxes suffocate growth
The historical and current belief is that taxes in America are low, compared to the world in general. America is the model of free markets, low regulation, and economic freedom. Right? This is simply not the case. The United States has high taxes in general and higher corporate taxes in particular.
In the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom, assembled by the Heritage Foundation, personal income taxes and corporate tax rates are compared across the globe — along with many other economic measures. In regard to personal income taxes, the United States ranks 87th out of 156 nations. And in corporate rates, it ranks 125th out of 156. In other words, 86 nations have lower tax rates on personal income than the United States, and 124 nations have lower corporate tax rates...[2]
Lower corporate taxes are associated with economic growth. This can be shown a priori and empirically... [please see main article]
[B]y definition, corporations do not pay taxes — people pay taxes. A corporate tax is either a tax on shareholders of the firm, customers of the firm, or employees of the firm. Less corporate tax means more innovation, capital savings, and spending by these groups — also known as economic growth...
A corporate tax is really a tax on shareholders, customers, or employees of the firm.
Life Savers moved production to Canada. Nabor Industries and Tyco International moved to Bermuda. Halliburton has announced a move to Dubai. In a globalizing economy, is it really a puzzle that firms prefer to operate in lower-taxing, less-regulated environments?
These are examples of what can be seen. As Frédéric Bastiat reminds us, however, it is imperative to also account for what cannot be seen. What would the wealth of our nation be today if the corporate tax rate had always been 10% or less? What creature comforts would have been innovated? What new technologies brought to market? What diseases cured?
Due to a history of high corporate taxes these answers are not known, and we are worse off because of it.
(End of excerpt)
Full article at link by Sterling T. Terrell// Ludwig von Mises Institute (Mises.org) The historical and current belief is that taxes in America are low, compared to the world in general. America is the model of free mar... more
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