They are using all kinds of methods to make up for the loss in revenues caused by the tax breaks for the rich and the corporations.

Not surprising since the Republicans started to cut taxes for the very rich and the corporations way back when Reagan was President and have carried it through all these years making the matter worse and worse. It all culminated in massive tax cuts for the rich when George w. Bush, the genius that he was, decided that the government had far too much revenue and taxes had to be cut for the rich and the corporations under the assumption that “TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS” is a valid theory.

The result of such a policy on economics was a blunder of enormous proportions, a major fuck up to impact the economy and along with it the 98% of Americans who are not in the top of the food chain.

It's very frustrating for ordinary citizens to go about their day and encounter the lack of concern and the downright repression and milking of the poor and the middle class in their hands. One such incident happened when my youngest was in elementary school. I went to pick her up from school and I was teaching at the University at the time a class that started at 6 pm. I opened the front gate and the door to the house, kissed her and let her in. Unbeknown to me there were two burglars inside the house. My daughter hid behind a guitar and a plant and they didn’t see her or they probably would have killed her. I got out of the development where I lived and on the corner of Miami Gardens Drive and 87^th Ave there were no less than six squad cars ticketing motorists who just got off I75. You would think that they could have had four squad cars ticketing and two patrolling the neighborhood…Is that unrealistic to ask?

I have always been a law abiding citizen, never delved in drugs or did anything illegal. But I have had over the years numerous run-ins with law authorities. These have been mostly confined to traffic fines and the like; although I have been driving for 45 years, never had an accident and had only one ticket that as I will explain below was undeserved.

Driving North on the Palmetto Expressway around midnight in the car that I inherited from my father, a 1997 Cougar with blisters on both front tires I could not go over 50 mph or the vibration was unbearable. I was on the extreme right lane and I see a squad car passing me on the left at 100 mph. without flashing lights or a siren. I was startled but continued my slow pace. Then I looked in the rear view mirror and I see flashing lights coming from a squad car instructing me to pull over.

Enter this very butch woman patrol and she was downright rude. She said: “I clocked you at 96 mph, let me see your license and your registration” I tried to explain that the car could not travel above 50 mph but not only would she not listen but she became downright indignant. “You can fight it in court” was what she said. I did and she didn’t show up or the fine would have been $256.00 and point on my license.

I found out later that there were several people a friend of mine knew, including himself who had the same similar fine slapped on them under the same situation. It seems that the Florida Highway Patrol sends that squad car to travel up and down 826 and there are who know how many officers ticketing people under the same scam. You figure that they can trap fifty people in one shift period and out of those 90% or more will pay the fine. Most people can’t take off from work and go through the inconvenience of going to court. It is a nice racket, don’t you think?

Then there was another incident a couple of months ago when I went to take my computer to my computer geek friend in the City of North Miami. In Florida it is legal to turn right on a red light after you make a stop if there is no traffic coming. I stopped at the traffic light on US1 and 125^th St. looked and there was no traffic so I proceeded to turn right. There was a camera mounted on the traffic light and two weeks later I get a ticket in the mail from NMB and I had no choice but to pay it because you can’t challenge the evidence in film…no way I can prove I did stop and no way they would admit otherwise..

Same week, sitting outside of Java Boys drinking my coffee I watched as the City of Wilton Manor’s police pulled over drivers, one after another and in the short time I was there I counted a dozen. It is a 30 mph zone but you enter it from a 40 mph zone and most people are not quick enough to respond to the diminished speed limit. Nice revenue for the City of Wilton Manors.

But I think the one that wins the prize for racism, insensitivity and abuse was my very first experience with Los Angeles Police. I had gotten off work and waiting for the bus sitting on a bench across my job on Sunset Blvd and Fairfax. A squad car came screeching to a stop in front of me, two cops got out, they knocked me to the ground, one of them put his foot on my neck and I was eating the dirt. The other one says: “What are you doing in this part of town at this time of night, don’t you know your kind is not supposed to be here? Even after I explained I had just got off my job and was waiting for the bus to return to my East LA ghetto, the cop said: “yeah, but I saw you spitting on the ground”

Why am I saying all this? It is precisely because the law enforcement authorities and municipal, state and Federal governments are not really concerned with the safety of the citizenry. They function as a means of repression, tax collectors, Robin Hoods in reverse and all because Republicans have succeeded in lowering taxes for the wealthy and the corporations so that revenues are significantly less than the expenditures of cities, states and the nation.

How do Republicans intend to deal with budgets and the deficit? Well, surprise, surprise, they want to give even more tax cuts for the rich and stick the already beleaguered middle class and poor with the difference plus the balancing of their budgets. The Republicans are out of control going after the middle class, decimating Labor Unions and increasing fines and fees, traffic violation fees and the like. It is a direct assault on the middle class and the poor.

According to The New York Times, last year General Electric (GE) made over $14.2 billion in profit, but paid NO federal tax.¹ None.

In fact, thanks to the millions GE spent lobbying Congress, we American taxpayers actually owed GE $3.2 billion in tax credits.²

We have seen how splendidly well the stock market is doing. Corporations have record profits like never before while the incomes of most Americans have shrunk and their taxes and unjust fines are levied on them. Exxon, Walmart and many others are raking in the profits. Outrageous you might say but take a look at GE; a company that does not pay taxes and even gets us to pay them 4.1 billion in tax credits.

Tell General Electric to pay their taxes

If you want to know why we're facing vicious budget cuts across the country, look no further than General Electric, America's largest corporation.

According to a shocking exposé just published by the the New York Times, GE made over $26 billion in profit in the United States during the last five years, but paid nothing in federal income tax. Zero. In fact, it claimed a $4.1 billion net tax benefit from the IRS during that time.¹

Meanwhile, lack of revenue is causing brutal cutbacks of vital services at all levels of government.

We shouldn't be firing teachers and taking health care away from children because GE is shirking on its responsibility to pay income tax.

Tell GE: Pay your taxes.

GE is the poster child for what's wrong with our corporate tax system. GE's tax schemes alone have cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.

In fact, it was GE's tax avoidance in the 1980's that prompted Ronald Reagan of all people to push to eliminate loopholes in the corporate tax code.

Of course the company line is that they're just following the law. But we cannot treat them as mere bystanders.

As the Times article reported, General Electric has 975 employees in its tax department who are charged with spending half their time complying with the law and half their time "looking to exploit opportunities to reduce tax."

And they are not only eager to exploit the loopholes that exist in the tax law (loopholes that might never have been contemplated by the lawmakers who created them), they also spend tens of millions of dollars a year to lobby Congress for more corporate welfare and more tax exemptions.

The end result is a corporate giant like GE extracting obscene profits from our country, while sticking the rest of us with the bill.

Tell GE: Pay your taxes.

Note:
¹"G.E.'s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether," David Kocieniewski, New York Times, March 24, 2011.

Subject: Tell General Electric: Pay your taxes.

Dear Friend,

It's outrageous.

According to a shocking expose just published by the the New York Times, GE made over $26 billion in profit in the United States during the last five years, but paid nothing in federal income tax. Zero. In fact, it claimed a $4.1 billion net tax benefit from the IRS during that time.

Meanwhile, lack of revenue is causing brutal cutbacks of vital services at all levels of government.

We shouldn't be firing teachers and taking health care away from children because GE is shirking on its responsibility to pay income tax.

I just signed a petition to the Chair and CEO of GE telling him that GE should pay its taxes. I hope you join me by taking action at the link below.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/ge_taxes/?r_by=18615-3546916-Ubb0J4x&rc=confemail

http://www.highwayrobbery.net/

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/01/09/hollywood-ticketing-drivers-caught-on-camera/

---

First Wisconsin recall petition to be filed against Republican state Senator Dan Kapanke

I knew it would happen; eventually those who so absentmindedly votedfor the Republican-Teahadists were the ones who bought into their lies and misrepresentation. Once these politicians got into office they didn’t do any of the things that they represented during their political campaigns…so they got elected under one impression and when they got to their jobs went on a rampage, a very radical and extreme agenda to disenfranchise the middle class and decimate Labor Unions. That is precisely what they have done, are doing and will continue on their scorch-earth quest to consolidate power so that their idyllic PLUTOCRACY is firmly established.

No telling what the American people will do…at least the great majority will be so incensed, so indignant that there will be demonstrations such as the ones in Wisconsin and then it translates into concrete action as we have now before us: the first of the Republican Senators (Dan Kapanke) is now facing a populous recall effort and is going to have to face the music…which for him will be more like a funeral march.

The Governor of that state is not going to fare any better and neither are those who crammed and rammed through this absurd legislation to take away bargaining rights from unions and they are all being on the crosshairs (can I say that?) and will fall like dominoes when one recall after another materializes. We soon found out that it was not about balancing the budget but it was purely an effort to neutralize and then destroy labor unions. Why do we know this? Because we find out that government employees are paid less than private sector workers.

Dan Kapanke first one to be recalled

By Chris Bowers

Please, support the recall effort by contributing $5 to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Democratic state Senate Committee.

Recall petition organizers in Wisconsin will file their signatures today against Dan Kapanke, the most vulnerable of all the eight Republican state Senators:

La Crosse area Democrats say they will file petitions today with enough signatures to trigger a recall election of Sen. Dan Kapanke, one of eight Senate Republicans targeted over votes to curtail collective bargaining rights for public workers. If approved, it would be just the fifth recall election of a Wisconsin legislator.

Recall organizer Pat Scheller said volunteers have gathered more than the 15,588 signatures needed and that they plan to take them to Madison after a noon rally today at La Crosse City Hall.

Kapanke represents a district that President Obama won with 61% of the vote in 2008. Our Daily Kos / PPP poll shows him trailing a generic Democrat by a whopping 55%-41%. An earlier MoveOn / Survey USA poll showed Kapanke trailing a generic opponent by an even worse 57%-41% margin.

Kapanke is in a lot of trouble. He is also not alone. Last week, recall petition organizers against Republican state Senator Randy Hopper announced they had enough signatures, too:

Efforts to recall Republican State Senator Randy Hopper from Fon du Lac have reached another milestone, as organizers issue a call for volunteers to turn in any remaining petitions to be counted. Organizer Scott Dillmand says he's sure they have enough signatures to trigger the recall, but he can't give exact figures yet. He says, processing all the information they've collected so far will take a week.

Hopper, a freshman who only won his seat by 163 votes, trails a generic Democrat 49%-44% in our polling. In the MoveOn / Survey USA polling, he trails 54%-43%. Both polls were taken before the scandal about Hopper's mistress receiving a state job with a 35% raise exploded. Since Monday morning, our ad highlighting the scandal has over 2,500,000 page views in Randy Hopper's district, even though his district has only about 175,000 residents.

Even though the deadline is May 2nd, organizers in a few other recall districts either already have, or will soon pass, the number of signatures required to file recall petitions. As such, we will soon be entering the election phase of the recall campaign. Please, support the recall effort by contributing $5 to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Democratic state Senate Committee. The recall elections themselves won't take place for at least another 10 weeks, and likely longer, but we must be relentless in our pressure against Wisconsin Republicans.

SOURCE: http://www.dailykos.com/