#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty 'Corporate Pirates of the Caribbean' Report Seeks to Widen Tax Haven Loopholes http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Corporate-Greed/Corporate-Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-Report-Seeks-to-Widen-Tax-Haven-Loopholes A new report from the Institute on Policy Studies (IPS), called Corporate Pirates of the Caribbean, details how the CEOs who make up the group Fix the Debt, a group pushing for harsh austerity measures, are set to make even higher profits off of the policies they are pursuing in the name of “balancing the budget.” Fix the Debt's members are pushing for cuts to Social Security, Medicare and earned social insurance benefits, while seeking to widen tax haven loopholes by creating a “territorial” tax system, which would earn them as much as 3 billion.The report found that the 59 Fix the Debt member corporations held more than 4 billion in offshore profits at the end of 2012. Those profits, much of which are only counted as “offshore” because of tax loopholes, are not subject to U.S. corporate taxes unless…http://www.twitpic.com/cwwqr1
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty Unless you watch 24hr cable 'news,' then it's like a box of chickens…http://www.twitpic.com/csi99h
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty The Direct Voting System http://thegaiandragon.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-direct-voting-system.html A flaw inherent in all forms of representational government, whether in a democracy or in a constitutional republic, lies in the fact that representatives can be corrupted. Now while in theory a people may be said to own their government, in practice it is otherwise, unless the general public asserts its authority and control of that government with a direct vote on all legislation. Consider the situation in America in 2008. In order to get elected to high public office, a politician must amass huge amounts of money, (mostly for television advertising), in order to successfully run a political campaign in an election. Such money is only ea…http://www.twitpic.com/csi1e6
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty I'M HUNTING DOWN THE FAT FETISHIST WHO HAS MY STOLEN LAPTOP http://www.vice.com/read/plumbergeddon?utm_source=vicetwitterus There's nothing like the feeling that washes over you when you realize you've had something important stolen. It's an unsettling blend of confusion and sorrow that should really only be reserved for the sudden death of a relative or times you watch Gaspar Noé films after a night of weird, powdered psychedelics. The worst thing about it is that, unless you're the Koch brothers and the stuff that's been pinched is the contents of your safe, it's unlikely that you're ever going to see your stolen belongings again. The police just don't have enough time to follow up every phone that goes missing at 4 AM. Howe…http://www.twitpic.com/csbwut
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty Scrooge lives! http://www.jimhightower.com/node/8016#.UX3_aaL7JaY Ebenezer Scrooge, the Dickens character, perfectly personified the nasty rich. For example, when asked to make a charitable donation for people trapped in poverty, Scrooge curled his lip in contempt and snarled: “Are there no prisons?” Blessedly, our American society has progressed well-past such heartless disdain. Unless, of course, you happen to be poor in Ohio. Or Georgia. Or in the nationwide utopia envisioned by Newt Gingrich. Ohio's Civil Liberties Union recently issued a report documenting the Scroogian return of debtor's prisons, finding that municipal courts there are jailing poor people unable to pay court fines. Last summer, a suburban Cl…http://www.twitpic.com/cmriub
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty Understanding the Risks http://www.dallasfed.org/assets/documents/research/staff/staff1203.pdf Inherent in Shadow Banking: A Primer and Practical Lessons Learned “Keynes was careful to distinguish between risk, for which probabilities or frequencies could be calculated, and uncertainty, in which there is no scientiÖc basis on which to form any probability estimates.33 Keynes (1937) argued that uncertainty a§ects behavior in three ways. First, people largely ignore the prospect of future change when it involves something about which little is widely known. Second, individuals assume that the existing state of opinion as expressed in prices and the character of output is based on a correct summation of future prospects; it is accepted unless and until something new and relevant enters the picture. Third, people endeavor to conform to the behavior of the majority or the average. Keynes said the psychology of a society of individuals endeavoring to copy one another produces ìconventional judgment.îAccording to Keynes, investor di¢ culty forecasting the future leads to an inability to form pricing that avoids ìsudden and violent changes. … The forces of disillusion may suddenly impose a new conventional basis of valuation. … At all times the vague panic fears and equally vague and unreasoned hopes are not really lulled, and lie but a little way below the surface.î A commonly held belief, assumed for an extended period, tends to lead to complacency that breeds booms; the dispelling of the notion produces the bust. Therefore, a conventional wisdom that leads to a speculative mania can quickly collapse as sentiment turns on its head. Case in point: Shadow banking liabilities were believed to be ìjust as goodîas traditional bank deposits, not because they really were, but because they had been leading up to the crisis.” RELATED: http://conversableeconomist.blogspot.com/2013/02/maybe-too-big-to-fail-but-not-too-big.htmlhttp://www.twitpic.com/cjge1z
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty Jobcentre was set targets for benefit sanctions http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/21/jobcentre-set-targets-benefit-sanctions?CMP=twt_gu • Inquiry launched after league tables revealed • Leak shows pressure on staff to refer claimants The government has launched an inquiry after it was forced to admit that jobcentres have been setting targets and league tables to sanction benefit claimants despite assurances to parliament this week that no such targets were being set. A leaked email shows staff being warned by managers that they will be disciplined unless they increase the number of claimants referred to a tougher benefit regime. Ruth King, a jobcentre adviser manager, discloses in the email that she has received “the stricter benefit regime” figures…http://www.twitpic.com/cd9kip
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty [PETITION] It's our employment insurance. http://petition.ndp.ca/EI It should be there when we need it. Losing your job is a terrible blow. That’s why we have Employment Insurance—to give us some peace of mind on the road to finding new work. EI is an insurance plan that we Canadians pay into our entire working lives. But Ottawa keeps finding new ways to reject your EI claim. In fact, six in 10 Canadians can no longer qualify for benefits. And now Stephen Harper says he’ll cancel your benefits unless you take any job he deems “suitable.” Even if it takes you off the career path you’ve invested in. And even if it comes with a 30% pay cut and an hour-long commute. He’s even setting quotas…http://www.twitpic.com/cd0xwe
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty [VIDEO] Ronald Reagan: “Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihUoRD4pYzI STOP THE BULLIES IN CONGRESS http://act.aflcio.org/c/18/letter/?letter_KEY=195 The bullies in Congress once again are demanding benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and threatening to tank our economy by causing a default of the U.S. government on March 1 unless they get their way. They pulled this same stunt last summer and made Congress a laughingstock in the eyes of the world. We need to stand up to their bullying and spread the word that ending tax loopholes for Wall Street, corporations that send jobs overseas and the richest 2% of Americans is what we should be talking about in Washington—not dangero…http://www.twitpic.com/c4y2ja
#union #iww #occupy #ows #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot #TeaParty Majority of House Dems Oppose Benefit Cuts for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Majority-of-House-Dems-Oppose-Benefit-Cuts-for-Social-Security-Medicare-Medicaid Another Republican-manufactured fiscal crisis is fast approaching and it threatens the fragile economic recovery with the automatic, across–the-board sequestration budget cuts scheduled to kick in on March 1. Republicans have indicated they will block any attempt to stop the sequester unless there are benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. But a majority of House Democrats late last week signed a House Progressive Caucus letter to President Obama opposing benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. “We write to affirm our vigorous opposition to cutting …”http://www.twitpic.com/c4yw23