Big Al Politothink: March 2011

A fact that I didn't know was how much these guys used to pay in taxes as opposed to now. America has been steam rolled by Corporate America.

A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.
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Tell Congress: Tax Fairness Before Program Cuts!

Also, please help us add a human face to this movement by submitting a photo of yourself with an "I pay more taxes than G.E." sign!

Dear Allan,

Do you pay taxes? Guess who doesn't. America's largest corporation: General Electric.

G.E. did not pay any taxes on their $15 billion in profits last year and instead got a $3 billion tax refund.¹ But it doesn't end at G.E....

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont put out a Top 10 list of corporations with high profits and no taxes in recent years including Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Boeing and Carnival Cruise Lines. Over the last two years, Wells Fargo earned $37 billion in profits but got a $4 billion tax refund.² And Hewlett-Packard reported over $9 billion in profits last year, but paid the same amount in taxes as someone earning just $30,000 a year.³

Tell members of Congress: Before gutting the budget of necessary programs that help middle-class and poor Americans, make sure corporations are paying their fair share!

This is not about business incentives, which are fine and can be valuable in helping to kick start the economy. This is about a system gone completely off the rails in which corporations are getting an unnecessary free ride at the expense of everyone else.

Congress is on the verge of shutting down over Republicans' demands for deep, draconian cuts to everything from public broadcasting and reproductive health to college loans and programs that feed poor children. So why aren't increases in revenue, beginning with basic Tax Fairness for corporations, on the table too? Conservatives seem hell-bent on slashing funding for every program under the sun that helps ordinary Americans, including Social Security and Medicaid, just so they can protect corporations' free ride.

The New York Times reported that corporate taxes made up 30 percent of all federal revenue in the mid-1950s, but as of 2009 were only 6.6 percent of total revenues. It's not hard to see that closing loopholes and ending billions of dollars of giveaways in corporate welfare could solve most if not all of our budget problems. Don't let this Tea Party Congress pay for corporate welfare on the backs of poor and middle-class families. Demand Tax Fairness Now!

Call on Congress to collect corporations' fair share in taxes before forcing through cuts that will harm millions of Americans.

We need to change the conversation and now is the time. While Republicans, the media and too many conservative Democrats continue to play to the false narrative that deep cuts are necessary, including cuts to essential retirement and health care programs, everyone is ignoring the real elephant in the room: that profit-swollen corporations are shorting America and its taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Congress can show they are really serious about budgets and deficits by making corporations pay their fair share, and making it the top priority over cuts.

After taking action, please help spread the word.

Thank you for all that you do to defend the American Way.

-- Michael Keegan, President

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html
2. http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/the-top-7-corporate-tax-evaders.html
3. http://www.makewallstreetpay.org/bigbankdrain/big-bank-tax-drain.pdf