Once upon a time, Ed Asner (former president of the Screen Actors ) tells us, in this animated video from the California Federation of Teachers ( CFT ), there was a land that was happy and prosperous with a great education system, safe streets, jobs for everyone and a thriving middle class. But then things changed when the rich people decide they didn’t want to pay taxes anymore.
This is a cross-post from the Alliance for Justice blog, Justice Watch.
We all know how big business has eroded the American dream by getting Congress and the executive branch to change the rules to favor corporations and the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us. But it hasn’t stopped with two branches of government. Corporate special interests have spent decades working to put their thumb on the scales of justice. The campaign finance decision in Citizens United is only the most prominent example.
The vast majority of America's workers have largely been shut out of the nation’s economic growth over the past three decades, reports the 12th edition of The State of Working America from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Released today and available online, the report finds that the typical American family has added hundreds of extra hours of work each year, while also earning better education credentials, yet is still struggling to keep up.
Unlike nearly every other presidential candidate, Republican Mitt Romney refuses to make public more than two years of tax returns. Today, the multimillionaire said he has paid a tax rate of at least 13 percent on his income in each of the past 10 years—but he still won't release his returns. Meanwhile, President Obama's returns have long been public and show he pays a 20 percent tax rate.
At a measly 13 percent, Romney, who is worth a quarter of a billion dollars, is paying significantly less in taxes than other high-income earners who pay 35 percent. Through the use of offshore tax shelters and other means, Romney pays a smaller tax rate than average taxpayers like nurses, firefighters and construction workers.
In more than three decades, no other nominees for either party—except Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)— have released fewer than five years’ worth of returns . Romney’s own father released a dozen years’ worth when he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968.
Those of us in the middle and working classes will see our taxes raised big time if Mitt Romney is elected president, according to a new report released today by the Center for America Progress at a day-long event examining Romney’s proposals. Romney is proposing a set of so-called tax reforms that would increase taxes for 18 million working families , meaning an average income couple with two kids would pay $850 per year more in taxes.
In sharp contrast, Romney would gain $4.5 million in tax cuts in just the first year , and rake in more than $100 million in tax breaks over his lifetime (click chart at left to expand).
We can strengthen the U.S. economy and invest in our nation's infrastructure and workers. A long-term plan for growth is needed, and it certainly doesn't involve austerity.
Yale University Professor Jacob Hacker and Roosevelt Institute Founder Nathaniel Loewentheil today released their new paper, Prosperity Economics: Building an Economy for All , at the Economic Policy Institute. This bold paper provides a comprehensive plan to grow our nation’s economy in a way that works for everyone.
Mitt Romney made a wad of cash— $255 million —by laying off American workers and shipping U.S. jobs overseas.
Now he wants to give millionaires and billionaires more tax cuts they don't need— tax cuts that didn’t create jobs the first time around —while hurting the rest of us.
Meet Mr. 1% is our new website with infographics and a video you can share on Facebook , Twitter and Pinterest .
Join noted journalist Timothy Noah at the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., this Friday, July 20, at 12 p.m. for a discussion of his new book , The Great Divergence: America’s Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It . Noah will explain how the Great Divergence has come about, why it threatens American democracy—and what we can do to reverse it.
Books will be available for purchase and for author signing. (“Rise of the Stinking Rich” is my vote for the best-named chapter in his book.)
Be sure to RSVP for the event here .
Jeff Faux, Distinguished Fellow at the Economic Policy Institute ( EPI ), joined us here today at the AFL-CIO to discuss his new book, The Servant Economy: Where America’s Elite is Sending the Middle Class . The event launches the AFL-CIO summer book series , which includes discussions with noted economists who will talk about their new books on jobs, inequality and the U.S. financial crisis. (Get details and RSVP here .)
In his last book, The Global Class War , Faux in 2006 correctly predicted the permanent decline of our debt-burdened middle class at the hands of our off-shoring executives, out of control financiers and their friends in Washington. So we asked Faux a few questions about what his latest analyses and predictions in The Servant Economy.
This is a cross-post from Huffington Post by Stan Sorscher, labor representative for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace/IFPTE Local 2001 ( SPEEA /IFPTE).
A CEO, a Tea Party member and public employee sit at a table with 12 cookies on a plate. The CEO grabs 11 cookies and tells the Tea Party member, "You better watch him. He wants your cookie."
The CEO took 11 out of 12 cookies. This isn't a question of what's fair. The CEO has the economic power to take 11 cookies—and he does.
It’s been four years since low-wage workers got a raise. Sign the petition to tell Congress it’s time to raise the minimum wage.
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