Replies to post #256569 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[Dale C]

More false assumptions and illogical conclusions. You like stories about corruption and stupidity, read the works of Tacitus...an actual recounting of a culture committing suicide.

[hookrider]

mickeybritt: I get it now. You hate the working man & woman. You are for Trump because he also hates the working man & woman. You are for only the rich. Less tax's more gold fixtures in the bath when you take a crap. Work the men & women to death at low wages so can lay around the pool and count gold ring's on your hands beside a hot babe. Screw over everyone just so you can laugh all the way to the bank.
One big problem. What is that old Bible saying about a rich man getting to Heaven. Yes, mickey you and Trump can go to hell.

[BOREALIS]

END CORPORATE WELFARE, OF COURSE.

Now who the hell do you think will be paying for the free college, and 5 million government jobs?


10 Taxpayer Handouts to the Super Rich That Will Make Your Blood Boil

Tom Cahill | October 28, 2015

(with tons of links omitted)

The next time you hear someone complain about how the poor get “all this free stuff,” show them this
The next time you hear someone complain about how the poor get “all this free stuff,” show them this
The next time you hear someone complain about how the poor get “all this free stuff,” show them this

A small number of incredibly wealthy Americans are ridiculing Bernie Sanders’ base for wanting “free stuff” when the costliest programs are, by far, corporate welfare and entitlements for the top 1 percent. Fox News has been working hard to tear down Sanders’ proposals to provide Medicare for all, institute tuition-free public college, boost infrastructure spending, and expand Social Security.

“That’s not fiscally possible unless the federal government starts seizing private assets,” said Bill O’Reilly.

But O’Reilly is wrong. The money for Sanders’ platform can easily come from eliminating the costliest entitlement programs for the top 1 percent and multinational corporations. Here’s a breakdown of the most superfluous giveaways to the rich and how much they cost the rest of us:

1. Tax Breaks for obscene CEO bonuses ($7 billion/year)

Currently, the biggest corporations are exploiting a 20-year-old loophole that allows them to write off inflated compensation packages for CEOs, billing stock options, and performance-based bonuses to taxpayers. In 2010, the Economic Policy Institute found out that the biggest corporations cost Americans $7 billion by writing off inflated executive pay. Between 2007 and 2010, this loophole accounted for more than $30 billion in corporate welfare. According to The Guardian, fast food industry CEOs cost taxpayers $64 million through this loophole.

That $7 billion could singlehandedly fund the annual budget for the National Science Foundation — which, as I recently reported for US Uncut, funds 11,000 scientific research projects each year and has funded 26 Nobel laureates in the last 5 years.


2. Tax cuts for luxury corporate jets ($300 million/year)

Currently, corporations can claim a huge tax deduction every year by writing off purchases of corporate jets, lavish cars, and chauffeurs as “security” for their top executives. A Bloomberg analysis from 2011 showed that these tax breaks for some of the wealthiest Americans cost the rest of us $300 million each year. While that may not sound like much, that’s approximately 50 percent of the annual budget for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the brainchild of Elizabeth Warren that protects Americans from the financial sector’s most predatory schemes.


3. Big oil subsidies ($37.5 billion/year)

According to Oil Change International (OCI), the U.S. government spends anywhere between $10 billion and $52 billion per year on corporate welfare for the fossil fuel industry — one of the wealthiest industries in the world. OCI estimated that total combined subsidies to big oil approached $37.5 billion in 2014, which includes $21 billion on production and exploration subsidies.

These subsidies alone cost more than what we currently spend on providing rental assistance for low-income families. In 2013, the department of Housing and Urban Development allocated a total of $34.3 billion toward tenant-based rental assistance ($19 billion), project-based rental assistance ($8.7 billion), and general public housing programs ($6.6 billion). These programs helped 4.5 million families — half of whom are elderly — keep a roof over their head.


4. Pharmaceutical subsidies ($270 billion/year)

As US Uncut has previously reported, the pharmaceutical industry costs taxpayers roughly $270 billion a year when accounting for the cost we pay for life-saving drugs whose patents have been bought up by Big Pharma. This is over $1,914 per household in corporate welfare. This is partly due to the Medicare Part D bill that George W. Bush signed into law in 2003, which prevents Medicare from negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. But the biggest drug companies also make a pretty penny (a combined $711 billion in profits between 2003 and 2012) by buying patents for drugs that were largely developed with taxpayer-funded research, then jacking up the price by absurd amounts after cornering the market.



Combined profits of top pharma companies. Data courtesy of healthcareforamericanow.org.

This $270 billion annual subsidy could be virtually eliminated by passing Bernie Sanders’ bill to establish a government fund that buys up drug patents as soon as they become available for purchase. Then, the government would sell drugs at-cost to save money for those who need them. The money saved could pay for the annual $270 billion in insurance costs from Obamacare that would help more Americans get access to healthcare.


5. Capital gains tax breaks ($51 billion/year)

When anyone makes money from selling off investments, the IRS classifies that as capital gains, which are taxed at a lower rate (20 percent as of 2012) than real, actual work (35 percent). Pew Research found that 53 percent of Americans own no stock at all, and out of the 47 percent who do, the richest 5 percent own two-thirds of that stock. And only 10 percent of Americans have pensions, so stock market gains or losses don’t affect the incomes of most retirees. The Century Foundation found that the total amount of lost revenue by taxing capital gains at a lower rate than wages cost $256 billion between fiscal years 2012 and 2016, or $51 billion a year over the last 5 years. According to the Tax Policy Center, if investment income was taxed at the same rate as wages, 75 percent of that new revenue would come from the richest 0.3 percent of Americans; 92 percent of that revenue would come from those making $200,000 or more per year. The chart below shows what percentage of income each tax bracket makes from capital gains — not surprisingly, the wealthiest Americans get most of the benefit from capital gains.



If we taxed wealth like work, the extra $51 billion per year in savings could fund two-thirds of the annual budget for food stamps.

6. Corporate tax subsidies from state and local governments ($80.4 billion/year)

In 2012, the New York Times did an analysis of every existing tax break in each of the 50 states and learned that 1,874 programs cost taxpayers $80.4 billion every year for corporate welfare in their state. Compare that cost with the cost of providing tuition-free public college to every student, which The Atlantic estimated would be a mere $62.6 billion. As the chart below shows, this is actually way cheaper than what we currently spend on federal student aid.

7. Handouts to Big Ag ($18 billion/year)

Crop insurance — a program originally intended to help farmers recover from the dust bowls of the 1930s — has become a slush fund for wealthy corporate farmers who have become experts at manipulating the system for their own means. As Bloomberg reported, the median income of commercial farm households (in which farming makes up more than 50 percent of a household’s income) was $84,649 in 2011 — 70 percent more than the average American household. Farmers have learned to exploit the program by growing crops on land they know will be unproductive, then making money from insurance claims rather than crops. In 2011, 26 farmers each got an annual subsidy of $1 million, including one tomato farmer in Florida who got a $1.9 million subsidy.

This $18 billion in corporate welfare is more than NASA’s annual budget, which has hovered around the $17 billion mark since 2009.

8. Welfare for Wall Street ($83 billion/year)

...

9. Export-Import bank subsidies ($112 billion)

...

10. Federal contracts for the top 200 biggest companies ($880 billion/year)

...



The combined cost of these 10 corporate welfare programs is $1.539 trillion per year.

The three main programs needy families depend upon — Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ($17.3 billion), food stamps ($74 billion), and the Earned Income Tax Credit ($67.2 billion) — cost just $158.5 billion in total.

This means we spend ten times as much on corporate welfare and handouts to the top 1 percent than we do on welfare for working families struggling to make ends meet.


http://usuncut.com/class-war/10-corporate-welfare-programs-that-will-make-your-blood-boil/

[F6]

mickeybritt -- I have thus far given you plenty of room to run in stating your view of things and making your claims and assertions and accusations

you've taken, and to a significant extent abused, that opportunity to repetitively spout, without so much as one referenced/linked source, all manner of outright known bullshit, and to repetitively attack and demean others here who do not share in parts or all of your view of things

so, from here on out:

each and every time you make a claim or assertion or accusation, include your source, including the working direct link to that source, for that claim or assertion or accusation

quit telling others here what they do or don't think or care about or are or are not looking for; limit yourself to speaking for yourself -- and knock off the constant name-calling and demeaning of others here who may not entirely share in your view of things

[fuagf]

mickeybritt, 7 of Hillary Clinton’s biggest accomplishments

Helping to expand health coverage for millions of kids, standing up for women’s rights on the world stage, helping 9/11 first responders … and that’s just the beginning.

October 14, 2015 by Elizabeth Chan



Helping to expand health coverage for millions of kids, standing up for women’s rights on the world stage, helping 9/11 first responders … and that’s just the beginning.

Over her decades-long career in public service, Hillary has taken on her share of tough fights. Here are just a few of the biggest things she’s accomplished.

1. Fought for children and families for 40 years and counting.



After law school, Hillary could have gone to work for a prestigious law firm, but took a job at the Children’s Defense Fund. She worked with teenagers incarcerated in adult prisons in South Carolina and families with disabled children in Massachusetts. It sparked a lifelong passion for helping children live up to their potential.

2. Helped provide millions of children with health care.



As first lady of the United States, Hillary fought to help pass health care reform. When that effort failed, she didn’t give up: Hillary worked with Republicans and Democrats to help create the Children’s Health Insurance Program. CHIP cut the uninsured rate of American children by half, and today it provides health care to more than 8 million kids.

3. Helped get 9/11 first responders the health care they needed.



When terrorists attacked just months after Hillary became U.S. senator from New York, she worked to make sure the 9/11 first responders who suffered lasting health effects from their time at Ground Zero got the care they needed.

4. Told the world that “women’s rights are human rights.”



Standing in front of a U.N. conference and declaring that “women’s rights are human rights” was more controversial than it sounds today. Many within the U.S. government didn’t want Hillary to go to Beijing. Others wanted her to pick a less polarizing topic (you say polarizing, we say half the population). But Hillary was determined to speak out about human rights abuses, and her message became a rallying cry for a generation.

5. Stood up for LGBT rights at home and abroad.



As secretary of state, Hillary made LGBT rights a focus of U.S. foreign policy. She lobbied for the first-ever U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on human rights and declared that “gay rights are human rights.” And here at home, she made the State Department a better, fairer place for LGBT employees to work.

6. Helped expand health care and family leave for military families.



Hillary worked across the aisle to expand health care access for members of the National Guard and reservists—making sure those who served and their families had access to health care when they returned home. And she worked to expand the Family Medical Leave Act, allowing families of those wounded in service to their country to take leave in order to care for their loved ones.

7. Negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.



As our nation’s chief diplomat, Hillary didn’t back down when the stakes were high. As Hamas rockets rained down on Israel, Hillary went to the region immediately. Twenty-four hours after she landed, a ceasefire went into effect—and that year became Israel’s quietest in a decade.

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/feed/seven-hillary-clintons-biggest-accomplishments/

mickeybritt, now your turn. Give us a comparable list of achievements for Trump.

Here is a September 2015 post you most likely have not seen, even though you could have via a simple Google search if you were really interested.

Here’s A List Of Hillary Clinton’s Accomplishments, So Quit Saying She Doesn’t Have Any .. some of ..

* Even though her major initiative, the Clinton healthcare plan, failed (due to Republican obstruction), you cannot deny that it laid ground for what we have today, the Affordable Healthcare Act, something Clinton supports and would continue.
* She played a leading role in the development of State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides the much-needed state support for children whose parents cannot afford nor provide them with adequate healthcare coverage.
* She was also instrumental in the creation of the Adoption and Safe Families Act and the Foster Care Independence Act.
* Successfully fought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and asthma at the National Institute of Health (NIH).
* She spearheaded investigations into mental illness plaguing veterans of the Gulf War; we now have a term for it – Gulf War Syndrome.
* At the Department of Justice, she helped create the office on Violence Against Women.
* She was instrumental in securing over $21 billion in funding for the World Trade Center redevelopment.
* Took a leading role in the investigation of health consequences of first responders and drafted the first bill to compensate and offer the health services our first responders deserve (Clinton’s successor in the Senate, Kirsten Gillibrand, passed the bill).
* Was instrumental in working out a bi-partisan compromise to address civil liberty abuses for the renewal of the U.S. Patriot Act.
* Proposed a revival of the New Deal-era Home Owners’ Loan Corporation to help homeowners refinance their mortgages in the wake of the 2008 financial disaster.
* Was a major proponent of sensible diplomacy which brought about a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, and brokered human rights with Burma.
* Oversaw free trade agreements with our allies such as Panama, Colombia, and South Korea.
* Was the most traveled Secretary of State to date.
* The Clinton Foundation, founded by her and her husband, has improved the living conditions for nearly 400 million people in over 180 countries through its Initiative program.

These are not all of her accomplishments. Her activism on behalf of women a children across the world is renowned. Her activism for raising the minimum wage and combating climate change is stellar. You do not have to support what she does or stands for. But do not say she doesn’t have any accomplishments. The conservatives who say this are the ones who are pushing for Ted Cruz – who brought on a $24 billion shut down. That, to them, is an accomplishment?

Yes, Hillary Clinton has accomplishments. You don’t have to like them, but they do, in fact, exist.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/04/13/heres-a-list-of-hillary-clintons-accomplishments-so-quit-saying-she-doesnt-have-any/

continued with some of Hillary's achievements as senator ..
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=116888619

This one you most probably neglected to spend any time on.

shtsqsh, For Hillary Clinton at 50, Yet Another Beginning .. little bit ..
Mrs. Clinton has traveled widely in her years in the post-health care wilderness, visiting Africa, China, the Indian subcontinent and Latin America. On
all her trips, she concentrates on promoting the health, welfare and economic advancement of women and children. She took on the Chinese Communist
Government in Beijing over child labor and women's rights and the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina over birth control and violence against women.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=120356173

Oh, and you have noted this one from F6 to you

mickeybritt -- I have thus far given you plenty of room to run in stating your view of things and making your claims and assertions and accusations

you've taken, and to a significant extent abused, that opportunity to repetitively spout, without so much as one referenced/linked source, all manner of outright known bullshit, and to repetitively attack and demean others here who do not share in parts or all of your view of things

so, from here on out: .. more .. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=125521108

which i see as more than fair .. i include that one as a reminder, noting you haven't yet publicly accepted your situation here.