When you couple that information with the fact that (the) GAO, searching publicly available data filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, determined that 83 of the 100 largest publicly traded corporations and 63 of the 100 largest federal contractors maintain subsidiaries in countries generally considered havens for avoiding taxes. Dorgan and Levin said they requested the updated report from one several years ago because they are focused on combating offshore tax abuses, which they estimated cause $100 billion in lost U.S. tax revenue each year. This report reveals that the bulk of America’s corporations are paying little or no taxes - yet somehow, the Obama administration and Speaker Pelosi believe that rewarding these tax cheats with taxpayer money will help to restore stability to an economy that is effectively self-destructing.
It was greed and corruption within the financial sector that helped to bring ruin upon America’s economy, they pay little or no taxes, yet this is where the bulk of our taxpayer money is being funneled - evidence that Obama is following in Bush’s footsteps, aiding the rich while ignoring the poor. Is this what we voted for when we elected Barack Obama to the Presidency? The public and even some members of Congress have deep reservations in regard Obama’s bailout plan, and while some of their concerns are well justified, the GOP’s reluctance to authorizing Obama’s stimulus plan is pure hypocrisy! It’s important for us to remember the GOP were the enablers of the corrupt Bush administration, and while they now come forth with their partisan arguments against Obama’s bailout plan, they gave President Bush a green-light to anything and everything that aided the wealthy and placed the burden on the shrinking middle-class (which is becoming almost non-existent) and the poorest segment of our population.
As reported in a previous article, the total spent on lobbying of Congress and federal agencies was $2.55 billion. Data are from the Center for Responsive Politics and include all data made available through April 2007. When you grasp that billions of dollars are being spent by lobbyists each year, ask yourselves where this money is going? Is it being spent on Golf Junkets, gifts, or is a large portion of this money being pocketed by members of Congress and hidden in offshore accounts? When President Bush illegally accessed the SWIFT Banking System, he became privy to many of these accounts and who held them, which I believe, aided by illegal wiretaps, helped him to blackmail Congress, including Democrats, into rubber-stamping whatever he wanted - even though anyone in Congress had to know it was destroying our country from the inside out! Lobbying Congress and spending billions of dollars to influence our government is legalized bribery - and if the public doesn’t react and protest under one of our most basic constitutional rights - taxation without representation - the graft and corruption is bound to continue and affect every decision that is made in our Congress.
John McCain, in a CNN interview I’m listening to as I write this essay, just stated that we need more tax cuts, to repeal payroll taxes, and a host of other absurd ideas which is still holding true to a policy that if followed, is guaranteed to permanently destroy our economy and allow the United States to fall into utter chaos. If the bulk of our major corporations don’t pay taxes, the wealthy are using many of the same tax havens as corporate America - so where exactly is the tax revenue to come from to keep our government running and attempt to pay down our foreign debt?
When will the bail-outs stop? In an article that appeared on Rueters in regard Nancy Pelosi signaling her “willingness” to add to TARP Funds, this paragraph substantiates my belief this recession will get much worse and we haven’t even begun to feel the pain that is forthcoming:
“Billions of dollars in auto and credit card debt held by banks are expected to default in 2009, after the billions in mortgage-backed debt that initiated the financial crisis.” LINK
In a staggering breach of the rule of law, which is predominantly occurring in the banking and financial sectors, huge monopolies are being formed which is contrary to our Anti-trust laws. On the watch of President Obama, another monopoly is being created in the pharmaceutical sector with the upcoming
merger:
Pfizer to buy Wyeth for $68 billion
Cash-and-stock deal will keep Pfizer the No. 1 drugmaker. Company announces sharp drop in profit, and will cut about 10% of workforce.
By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Pfizer announced Monday that it has signed a deal to acquire the smaller drugmaker Wyeth for $68 billion, and thousands of job cuts will follow.
New York-based Pfizer, already the world’s leading drugmaker, becomes even larger following the cash-and-stock deal with Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J.
Pfizer said it would cut 10% of its staff and close five of its manufacturing plants. The company said it employed 81,900 staffers at the end of 2008. The company already cut 4,700 jobs in 2008. MUCH MORE
Besides becoming an even larger monopoly, please note the closure of plants and job losses. When AT&T reached monopoly status (again…) when they merged with BellSouth and it cost Americans a staggering loss of 10,000 jobs. Wal-Mart, our largest monopoly, has forced the closure of how many stores and small businesses? The actual number may not be calculated, but the numbers are bound to be staggering and the resulting job losses make it almost necessary to shop at Wal-Mart if you want to survive in this economy. If that doesn’t meet the definition of a monopoly, nothing does.
Why should we care that these monopolies are being created? Number one, it’s against the law, and Presidents, when they take the oath of office, pledge to uphold our constitution and the rule of law. Presidents do not have the right to decide which laws to enforce, and all should be treated with equal respect to what were the core values of our nation. The danger that monopolies present is the lessening of competition, and when there’s little or no competition for any item or service, the price will be whatever the market can bear which is well demonstrated by the pharmaceutical companies. It’s end result is less jobs and higher prices for the entire public. The Pfizer/Wyeth merger is happening under the watch of Barack Obama. Why? He pledged to us that change was coming, and it is, the continued consolidation of corporations throughout the United States.
Consider the facts:
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