Taxes

Wednesday April 20, 2011


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Wednesday April 20, 2011
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Taxes

As millions of Americans prepare to file their income taxes ahead of Monday’s deadline, corporations and the wealthy use offshore banks and tax havens to avoid paying taxes and other governmental regulations.
"Tax havens have grown so fast in the era of globalization, since the 1970s, that they are now right at the heart of the global economy and are absolutely huge. There are anywhere between $10 and $20 trillion sitting offshore at the moment. Half of world trade is processed in one way or another through tax havens."
--British journalist Nicholas Shaxson
They'll pay them anything, because they're the ones that rake in all those billions of dollars that the U.S. Government has available to throw around and waste on arms, missiles, atom bombs and a huge paid military! No one is any longer a poor underpaid soldier. That why the U.S. debt is now running around 14 trillion dollars.
It is the only budget plan that calls for a responsible end to the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, bringing our troops and our tax dollars home. It is the only plan that calls for real tax reform, addressing the giveaways to billionaires, millionaires, and corporations. It is the only budget plan that calls for continued and substantial investment in job creation, education, and infrastructure. And it is the only plan that won't destroy or severely restrict critical social spending.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Needy IHSS, a $5.8 billion program that relies on county, state and federal funds, provides services to about 440,000 low-income elderly, blind and disabled Californians. Advocates say many enrollees would otherwise use more costly care at nursing facilities, paid by Medi-Cal. In an effort to trim state costs estimated at $1.3 billion this fiscal year, the Democratic governor proposed slashing services by 8.4 % across the board. He wanted to stop paying for domestic services provided by caregivers who live with their IHSS clients. As of Feb. 1, IHSS cut another 3.6%, so the total is 12%
Democrats shelved cuts pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown in favor of alternatives backed by allies in organized labor. Brown proposed saving $365 million by reducing In-Home Supportive Services across the board and eliminating paid domestic services provided by live-in caregivers, often relatives. There are a few rare examples of real Christians or magnanimous rich or rich about to die who want to make a few peace offerings to the poor. But the poor get poorer in cutting the program. But I've said time and again the rich will never give up their riches unless forced to at the point of a gun! So they didn't. Ted Rudow III, MA