Tax Dodging Corporations Hear from the 99%!

Hundreds of protesters chant 'Pay your fair share" outside the Marriott Renaissance Center where the General Electric annual shareholders meeting was being held in Detroit, Mich. on Wednesday.From MSNBC

The 99% Spring has sprung! The 99% are targeting tax dodging corporations all over our nation and occupying shareholder's meetings. Many buy one share to gain access and then chant "Pay your fair share." once inside.

One activist who traveled 6 hours with nine others said, "Basically (we are) citizens who are mistreated by corporations, by which I mean corporations moving jobs overseas, not paying taxes ...  just so they can get richer."

A spokesman for GE said they paid taxes of $2.6 billion. He lied.

"The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States. Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion." (New York Times, March 24, 2011) The article went on to say that they use  "an aggressive strategy that mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore."


The fact is that most corporations, many with record profits, pay NOTHING in taxes and in many cases get huge refunds. This is happening while the 99% struggle everyday to keep their jobs, or find one, to keep their homes, to put food on the table, and to keep up with rising costs. People are also mad as hell that Wall Street used bailout money to give themselves multimillion dollar bonuses and to ramp up lobbying and political contributions to expand the unfair advantage they get from tax shelters, tax credits and subsidies.

There are more than 30 actions planned at other shareholder meetings, plus hundreds of other events planned for this 99% Spring.

In the 1950's, corporate taxes accounted for 30% of all revenue- In 2009 it accounted for 6.6%. And we wonder why times are so tough. End corporate welfare!

The day before the GE protest, 500 showed up at Wells Fargo calling for a moratorium on foreclosures
 Photo: Lisa Pickoff -White/KQED

.And on May 1 Occupy Wall Street is calling for a general strike!
"For the first time, workers, students, immigrants, and the unemployed from over 125 U.S. cities will stand together for economic justice."
  

May Day Rally and March

	Vassar College Outdoor Space Library Lawn
	Tuesday, May 01, 2012 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
	Campus Activities,Student Activities
:	femartinez@vassar.edu

http://www.care2.com/causes/may-day-occupy-wall-street-gears-up-for-nationwide-strike.html

Tax the 1% Rally, Kingston NY Video!

As you can see, the Tax the 1% Rally held at the Kingston PO was a lively affair. Thank you to all who came, who shared their stories, blew their whistles and demonstrated their passion for justice!

There were hundreds of rallies like this all over the country, to kick off the 99% Spring- a historic movement of everyday Americans taking to the streets to say no to a system that has been rigged to benefit the 1% at our expense.

We demand tax fairness and a re-prioritization of our budget from war (60% of our discretionary budget goes to the military) to peace- rebuilding America, strengthening the middle class and lifting almost 50 million Americans from poverty.

The Kingston Postmaster was not happy with us and asked us to move, but we chose to exercise our First Amendment right to peaceably assemble in front of the Post Office. In a Times Herald Record article, Postmaster Maher said we were being "extremely radical". Hardly! We are just average Americans who are distressed that our standard of living is plummeting while the richest 1% see their wealth soar into the stratosphere. We want to return government to "we the people" instead of having a government of, by and for the rich. Apologies to any who were made uncomfortable by our presence or our message. Our intention is to inform, inspire and motivate people to get involved, get the facts, and to believe that together we can restore economic justice to hard working American families.

Most of the folks going in to mail their taxes seemed to be with us. After all, as Joel Tyner, Dutchess County legislator and candidate for our US Congressional District said, polls show that over 80% of Americans feel the rich should pay more. Who can argue that a hedge fund manager who (obscenely) makes $4.9 billion a year should be allowed to pay at a rate lower than you or me? Or that multinational corporations with record profits should pay no taxes? FACT- Over two dozen major corporations have paid NO taxes for years and often get millions in refunds. The richest 1% collectively has more wealth than  90% of the rest of us- but through loopholes, off shore tax havens and other tricks, pay at much lower rates than we do.

In that same article, (and I wish the reporter had spent more time interviewing rally participants, rather than just those looking on) another complained that we were waging class warfare. We are?! Class warfare is being waged on us! We have witnessed the biggest, systematic theft from the poor and the middle class in American history-  bailouts, legislation that showers the super rich with largesse while taking endlessly from us. Wake up folks. Join us in blowing the whistle on our unjust system rigged to benefit the 1%.

Join us here- http://www.moveon.org/team/

Ulster County, New York- Preparing for the 99% Spring!

 

 

On Sunday, April 15, between 75-100 people came together to receive training in non-violent direct action at the Rosendale Community Center. It was one of several trainings in our area. Nationwide, over 100,000 people were trained for the 99% Spring this past week!

People are collectively saying, "Enough is enough!". We are tired of a system that is rigged to benefit the 1% at the expense of hard working American families. We are tired of Wall Street criminals who destroyed our economy, got billions in taxpayer dollars, gave themselves the biggest bonuses in history and who have escaped any accountability. We are tired of $10 trillion of lost home wealth, 10 million losing their homes to foreclosure, 11 million still underwater, 10 million losing their jobs and almost 50 million Americans living in poverty.

So we came together in houses, community centers, churches, campuses and public places to say that together- we are fighting back- nonviolently, powerfully and sustainably.

Thank you to all the dedicated activists, some seasoned, some new, who gave three hours on a glorious day to prepare for action for the historic 99% Spring! Thank you to Betty Olson, our great trainer, Madeline Labriola, our scribe, all who helped, brought food to share, and a big thank you to my co-host Linda Abbott- Ulster County MoveOn Council Core Coordinator, who indefatigably takes on each new action suggested and rallies the troops to make it successful!

Please join us tomorrow, for the first event of the 99% Spring- Tax the 1%. In front of the Kingston Post Office, 90 Cornell St in Kingston, NY from 12-1PM. We will (literally) be blowing the whistle on a system that is rigged to benefit the 1% at the expense of the rest of us.

 RISE UP! Sign up here- http://civic.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=129414&id=

If you think these ideas are not too much to ask for - please join us- write to me at clearstreammedia@gmail.com.

"We are unstoppable- a different world is possible!"