Illinois workers pay taxes to their employers, not to the state. read on.

If that headline had you confused- here it is again.
Some companies in Illinois have convinced the government to let them pocket their workers taxes.

In other words, if you work for one of these companies, the taxes that are deduced from every paycheck don’t go into the governments coffers- they go to the company you work for.

Tax dollars that would normally flow into the state treasury to pay for education and other necessary state services never make it there- instead these taxes go towards CEO bonuses. The corporations that get these sweet deals get to keep the money from their employees that would normally go to the state free and clear.

Why would the government agree to this?

The Illinois government was desperate to keep companies in state, so they went looking for a solution that could reward the job creators.

Usually states offer tax incentives, to entice companies to stay, trouble is- these companies either pay zero state taxes, or the minimal amount they pay on taxes weren't enough of an incentive to stick around.

The Illinois government knew that if it had to write a large check to these companies to stay in state, it would look ugly. Some might call it a kickback, others might say it was extortion.

Either way, the solution was to let the businesses retain worker paid for taxes as they were generated.

Sounds like the people that work for these companies, aren't getting necessary services for their tax dollars. You know, little things, like police, fire departments, roads, schools. Oh well, who needs the police anyway. Better that those tax dollars contribute to the corporations profits. Call me cynical, but it sounds like the workers are actually paying their employers for the privilege of having a job.

funny that, i thought the job creators were supposed to pay employees.
call this what you will, but this isn't capitalism, it isn't a free market.

If this continues- you need to know that it isn't a zero sum game.
As the federal government cuts back financial aid and subsidies to states, it will starve the states of revenue.

Every single republican running for president wants to eliminate capitals gains taxes, and corporate taxes.
If they do that, the states will have to raise tax rates on corporations. Businesses will threaten to move from one state with high taxes, to a state with lower taxes. Finally, when the tax rate is zero in every single state, the job creators will still demand larger and larger kickbacks.

When that isn't enough if an incentive- what then?

read more here.
you can view the story here.

Paying the corporate overseers for the privilege of having a job, sounds like feudalism doesn't it?

Admittedly, I was slow to catch on; but if you look at those on the far right, namely the Koch brothers, Cain, Perry, Bachman, and Paul Ryan, they all pay lip service the Constitution, to freedom, but- what they really want- is to make us all serfs!

If we are the serfs, who would the feudal lords be?

Call what the far right believe in- feudalism, corporatism, fascism- it doesn't matter, what does matter is that they do not believe in democracy.

CNBC: Is this Michelle Caruso Cabrera? Happier days.

You can get her book here.

Many people seem to think this is her- I'm not so sure.
I report- you decide.

Compare and contrast.

this clip speaks for itself- it makes a sharp point.

How can an American watching the republican candidates not weep for the country.
The republican debates are a race to the bottom- they spout meaningless, mindless, soundbites wrapped in a vitriolic wrapper meant to appeal to baser instincts.

There isn't even one republican at the debates that can compare to ANY of the democratic nominees back in 08.

Politics aside, the entire democratic field wipes the floor with these republican baboons.

Who really owns the debt?

Spiegel


Time to put another republican lie to bed.
As you can see from this chart, the bulk of debt and deficit load belongs to Bush.

Take note, The Federal fiscal year runs from OCT 1 to Sept 30.
The day Obama took office, he was running on the Bush budget from Oct 1 2010 (the previous year), till Sept 20 2011. The debt accumulation during this first year in office belongs to the prior congress and president.

Further, it’s important to remember that a large portion of the debt Obama inherited can be blamed on the recession.

How much of this debt is due to the recession? It’s hard to quantify, but it’s a significant amount.
No matter who inherited the White House in 2009, the debt was going to go parabolic.

If you look at the debt with a critical eye, the facts are what matter, just the facts.
The deficit and the debt were going to explode during this massive recession.
You can’t rip the housing sector out of the economy without a colossal hit to collected tax revenues.

The recession led to an increase of unprofitable + bankrupt corporations + Job loss = decreased tax receipts.
Couple the above with an increase of unemployment benefits + assistance programs to help larger numbers of out of work citizens= a guaranteed explosion in the debt and the deficit.
Bake in lower consumer spending in 2009 and 2010 to the overall equation = less demand = fewer hires = even less tax revenues.

Blame Obama if you want- but you are being intellectually dishonest if you do. The debt and the deficit were going to increase no matter who was in charge.
The bottom line:
The bipartisan recession owns a very large part of this debt.

If the stimulus created or saved jobs, even temporarily- it cost less than the 800billion price tag.
There is way too much partisanship on issues in this day and age.
We need more logic, not hatred and biased taking points.

Massive income inequity.

These graphics speak for themselves.

There are two simple ways to fix this attack on the middle class.
Tax the rich- do it right away!
Raise the Minimum wage!

Gov cuomo would rather tax the poor instead of taxing the millionaires.

Anyone that lives in New York City know that the mta is going to jack rates up by at least 30% in the next three years.
The mta needs serious funding for new operations and maintenance over the next few years.

Since the federal government, and the New York state government decided to cut back on funding for the MTA, the MTA had no choice but to raise rates 17% last year. Add that 17% hike with another 30% increase over the next two to three years and that is some serious pain for minimum wage workers.

Instead of taxing millionaires tax one single penny, the Gov is going to tax the poor and the middle class a pound.

These massive MTA hikes are nothing more than painful regressive taxes on the working poor and the middle class.

Cuomo got a lot of good will with his support via the gay marriage issue, but that doesn't forgive his plans on taxing the poor instead of the rich!

I said it before, and i will say it again: millionaires aren't going to leave their Manhattan penthouses and Brooklyn townhouses to move to the suburbs.

New York state and city have become more regressive due to Cuomo and Bloomberg. The Middle class in New York pay the highest state and local taxes as a percentage of their income in the entire nation!

The rich in NY were getting a good deal even with the millionaires tax in place, now they are getting a free ride- courtesy of Cuomo and Bloomberg.

Cuomo needs to be shamed for this disgusting move.

The poor already pay more than their fair share in taxes.

Over and over we need to hear lies from the right that half of the country doesn’t pay taxes.
Over and over again we need to dispute the tripe that the right-wingers pollute the airwaves with.

-As the federal government has cut back on aid to states, the states have given less to local cities and townships.
-As the federal spigot of tax revenues dries up, and cutbacks are enacted, the states have had to take matters into their own hands for funding.
Here is a simple example of a hidden tax that the poor pay when the government refuses to progressively tax the rich.

Across the nation, funding that would normally come from taxes for mass transit has been severely cutback. The public transit systems have had to raise fares in most of the country to compensate for that lost revenue. Fares have gone up more than 10% in almost every instance.

For someone making the minimum wage, a 10% increase on most major MTA platforms is a 2% tax on their gross paycheck.
Half of the citizens that work in the US make less than 27 grand a year, that same increase in Mass Transit fares is equivalent to 1% tax increase.

The mass transit increase (tax) is highly regressive, the poor and the struggling pay dearly for it.

Sales tax.

Many local cities have raised rates .25 to .50% without much fanfare. For the median wage and minimum wage worker, these seemingly tiny increases can cost 50 to 100 bucks extra every year- To someone making 15k or 20k a year that isn’t chump change.

Local, and state sales taxes, have either gone up recently or they are planning to raise them all across the nation. As the federal government starves the states, the states stave local cities and towns. While it has become almost impossible to raise taxes on the wealthiest citizens on a federal, state or city level, regressive sales and severe hikes are the only places that governments can go to take in revenue.

This is a sick game that the rightwing is playing, as they give tax breaks to the wealthy on the federal or state level, the cities have to raises taxes to make up for the shortfalls. Local municipalities and they aren’t able to change the income tax structure as that usually requires legislation by state senators and governors, many of which are tea party extremists, and they are playing the same games that the GOP is playing in Washington.

Most people have no idea what their state and local tax rates charge. Many, have no idea, how regressive state and local taxes eat away at their purchasing power. Coupled with sales taxes, and hidden taxes such as the mass transit fare increase, and you have a recipe for disaster.

The bottom line:
When the federal government refuses to tax the rich, the states take matters into their own hands by taxing the poor to make up the difference.
For most of the working citizens and the poor- that 20% increase on the bus fare, means you paying 1 to 2% more in taxes on your gross pay, just to get to work.
If the government was able to tax the rich just a tiny bit more, there would be no need to raise fares / taxes on the poor.

I just gave two examples of hidden taxes there are plenty others. While taxes on the rich aren’t raised the states and cities have had to become creative in generation new forms on taxation, the problem is they are all incredibly regressive.

For a minimum wage worker, that 1% tax on mass transit, and that 1% increase in sales tax can break the bank. When you add these surcharges (and others) to state and local taxes, even those that don’t’ directly pay federal income taxes, pay indirect federal taxes. Taken all together, the poor are paying close to 20% of their incomes in taxes. 20% is way too high for a minimum wage worker, especially when you consider the effective top tax rate for a millionaire, falls somewhere between 15 and 35% of their income.

Take that 20% tax rate; couple it with increased costs for rent, food and other necessities- you now know why we have a class of citizen called, -the working poor-, and know you know why their numbers are growing.

One last note:
If the federal government were to impose an income tax of say, 9% on the working poor, they wouldn’t be able to pay their expenses.
Soon, they may not even be able to afford the bus ride that gets them there.
Put another way; why even bother to work if you can’t afford to put a roof over your head?