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Monday, June 6, 2011

Ending Corporate Welfare

       The Obama administration has been portrayed by republicans as being anti-business. The truth is the administration has done more to help small business in their first year than the Bush administration did during it’s entire eight years. This lie was started because Mr. Obama wanted to end the tax breaks for corporations that ship American jobs overseas. Remember, the Bush administration gave these corporations subsidies so that they would create more jobs, and they did but the jobs created were not in the U. S. The corporations used the tax breaks to close down manufacturing in the U. S. and open factories in places like China, Mexico, India and Korea. When Mr. Obama threatened to end those tax breaks and the tax breaks that go to the top five oil companies he was labeled as anti business. Not only do these companies not pay any taxes but they also receive subsidies. Do you realize what that actually means? It means that we the taxpayers reward these corporations to send American jobs overseas and to overcharge us for gasoline prices.
      As far as corporate welfare is concerned let’s take a little further look. According to Citizens for Tax Justice we need to end Deferred Taxes on Income of U. S.-controlled Corporations Abroad because the law encourages the offshoring of jobs and capital. Savings over four years, $199 billion.
      Another law, Deductions for Domestic Manufacturing provides no benefit whatsoever for the economy. When was the last time manufacturing jobs were created by the corporations? It is just blatant corporate welfare. The Obama administration has passed a law to help small business to do so, which the Bush administration failed to do. Savings over four years $76.7 billion.      The law for Accelerated Depreciation on Equipment allows little or no taxes at all on corporate profits. Ending the law, $141 billion savings over four years.
      Ending Last In, First Out Accounting which was first allowed by the Bush administration during the ENRON-Arthur Anderson Accounting Firm years. Savings, $24.2 billion over four years.
      According to Taxpayers For Common Sense small farms are disappearing but Agribusiness rakes in huge profits with the help of corporate welfare support subsidies. Savings, $52 billion.
      During the Bush administration a law was passed that barred the federal government from bargaining with the pharmaceutical companies for drug prices. According to the Congressional Progressive Caucus permitting the government to use it’s massive bargaining power to negotiate with the major drug corporations would save an estimated $159.7 billion over a ten year period.
       Also ending tax breaks for drugs companies. These companies are so profitable that you might turn on your television at anytime, day or night, and see an advertisement for twenty different drugs. They don’t need or deserve our tax dollars. According to rep. Jerold Nadler the savings; $50 billion over ten years.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus has recommended enacting a law to impose Financial Responsibility Fee to repay some of the money lost to the major banks during the taxpayer’s bailout crisis which was caused by these same banks, banks which are now highly profitable but have never repaid the taxpayer’s money. Savings over ten years $80 billion.
       Another law recommended by the Congressional Progressive Caucus is a Derivative and Speculation Law that would force those who speculate on the stock market to put some skin in the game. That means that they would have to take physical possession of whatever stock they purchase. Right now there is no such requirement, which allows almost unlimited speculation on how high the price of oil will rise. That is why the price of gasoline is so high right this moment. A law like this will drive down gas prices and will allow consumers to make other purchases. Savings, $650 billion over eight years.
       And last but not least comes the Defense Department budget. The military budget is continually bloated when it comes to research, development and procurement of weapon’s systems that haven’t been proven to work and aren‘t needed to fight an enemy that doesn‘t exist, according to Sustainable Defense Task Force. Estimated savings over ten years $550 billion dollars. With all of these glaring discrepancies and the fact that the Bush administration gave the very wealthy not one, but two tax cuts at the same time that we were going to war, the republicans have still chosen to make the issue about cutting spending on needed domestic programs. Maybe some cutting still might be necessary, but not until all of these discrepancies have been addressed. Yes, Even individuals have gotten in on corporate welfare at the expense of the rest of the country.
        The mainstream news won’t report on these issues, either. They have become propaganda tools, reporting mostly what is dictated to them by their parent organizations, the corporations. A few cases in point are the anti-war demonstrations that were held in the runup to the Iraq war. Even many hundreds of thousands of people marched on Washington, the mainstream media refused to cover the demonstrations and then downplayed the amount of people who were there. Last the Tea Party gave a rally in which a couple of thousand people attended and the crowds were enlarged and shown on the corporate news over and over again for an entire week. At the same there were almost ten the amount of protestors in Washington rallying for health care but they barely received any coverage, and again their numbers were downplayed. They also did not want to cover Mrs. Sheehan, who was camped out at Mr. Bushs’ ranch, until they were forced to because so many other local news organization were giving coverage. If you really want to hear the truth you have to go to alternative news sources. The corporate media will repeat innuendo and outright lies or any rumor but they rarely do any more investigative reporting or checking of sources. Whatever they are told to say is what they say. There is hardly any integrity involved anymore.

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