U.S. is not only country where companies don't pay their fair share

American multinational companies are making an increased habit of shifting their profits around to avoid paying taxes. And their actions aren't just hurting U.S. taxpayers, but many other nations as well.

A new report released by Public Services International, the Tax Justice Network, Oxfam and the Global Alliance for Tax Justice shows that these U.S. companies make 65 percent of their sales, employ 66 percent of their staffs and hold 71 percent of their assets in this country. But only 50 percent of their profits are kept and taxed in America.

Overall, the "Still Broken" document estimated that U.S. multinational corporations shift a quarter of their profits -- between $500 and $700 billion -- out of the U.S., Germany, the United Kingdom and elsewhere to countries like the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, Switzerland and Bermuda in 2012. That same year, those same companies reported $80 billion in profits in Bermuda, more than the profits those companies reported in Japan, China, Germany and France combined.

The loss of revenue is not just effecting the world's largest economies -- known as the G20 countries. In actuality, it hits low-income developing nations like Honduras, the Philippines and Ecuador the hardest because corporate tax revenues make up a higher percentage of their national income.

Claire Godfrey,Oxfam's head of policy for its "Even it Up" campaign, said:

Rich and poor countries alike are hemorrhaging money because multinational companies are not required to pay their fair share of taxes where they make their money. The heaviest costs are being felt in the poorest countries. Under-funded public services affect everyone the world over, bu the vulnerable suffer most.

The news out of this report is not surprising, at least to those who have been paying attention. The fleecing of U.S. taxpayers by corporate America has been going on for years, with Congress doing little to stem the tide of lost tax dollars. Meanwhile, everyday workers are expected to pick up that tab.

Enough is enough! It's time to bring those profits home to the U.S. Those repatriated tax dollars could help fund badly-need infrastructure projects that would put Americans back to work earning a decent wage. Let's Get America Working!

Repatriated taxes will get America working

Banking titan Jamie Dimon shared his thoughts on how the rev up the American economy yesterday in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, saying a bipartisan group of lawmakers need to come together and tackle such issues as infrastructure investment and education.

Dimon, despite his sordid history as CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, makes a few good points. As the Teamsters have stressed in our new "Let's Get America Working" campaign, infrastructure is an ideal place to start. These jobs, unlike those in other sectors, can't be outsourced. They improve living standards for all Americans, including the men and women who help to repair and maintain roads, bridges, ports, airports and mass transit systems, along with those who earn a living transporting goods. And a vast majority of Americans use our transportation networks everyday.

As Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa wrote in The Hill newspaper earlier this month:

Improving the outlook for U.S. workers isn’t about creating millions of minimum-wage jobs. It is about creating sustainable, skilled union employment that allows Americans to earn a fair wage with benefits that pay for housing and food on the table, makes education affordable and sustains a comfortable existence. 

... By building roads, power plants and water treatment facilities, for instance, this nation can improve the fortunes of both working people and big business. And by focusing on such issues as worker rights, education and retirement security, policymakers can ensure the future is bright for all people.

The Teamsters also agree that partisanship needs to be checked at the door to accomplish these goals. These are issues that shouldn't be divided along party lines -- they are American values, something elected officials should all be able to support. Lawmakers must move beyond today's broken model of government to find solutions.

But Dimon gets it wrong on several fronts. Most significantly, his view that lousy trade deals like the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership are going to help workers is not backed by facts. Quite frankly, it's the exact opposite of the truth. Millions of Americans have lost their good-paying jobs thanks to deals like NAFTA. U.S. workers can't compete when nations like Vietnam allow their workers to be paid as little as $4 a day.

And despite Dimon's assertions, American tax policy isn't hurting corporate America. In fact, it's taxpayers who are getting fleeced by big business. Companies are running up huge profits and paying little in taxes while everyday workers are forced into low-wage jobs. That's the real problem with today's economy.

If this country wants to get its economy situation straight, it needs to crack down on U.S. businesses and get what's rightful ours. Taxes on repatriated profits earned overseas could fund infrastructure and education improvements pushed by the Teamsters and Dimon.

Now that's how we make America stronger!

Today's Teamster News 03.08.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Local 856 Welcomes Mt. Diablo School District Workers  teamster.org   ...Five hundred Mount Diablo Unified School District workers in the maintenance and operations unit have chosen to join Teamsters Local 856, San Bruno, Calif., in an overwhelming vote today...
Teamsters Helping Teamsters  driveupstandards.org   ...Nance Prendota, a Teamsters Local 777 school bus driver for Illinois Central School Bus in Aurora, Ill., woke up to a house fire in mid-January that destroyed everything in its path...
Teamster bus drivers at CCTA could strike Monday  WPTZ News 5   ...Teamsters Local 597, based in South Barre, Vermont, has threatened taking action on Monday if settlement is not reached...
De Blasio Whipped by Horse Lobby  Daily Beast   ...NYC’s new mayor is determined to get rid of Central Park’s horse-drawn carriages this year. The fact that the animal rights lobby savaged his campaign opponent is pure coincidence, his supporters say...
Members of the Teamsters and NJSAP Coalition  teamsterair.org   ...Minimal progress and unjustifiable demands have motivated the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) and International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 284 Executive Boards to formally launch the NetJets Unions Coalition (NUC)...
Teamsters Local 700 Endorses Best Candidates for Working Families  Teamsters Local 700   ...Teamsters Local 700, based in Park Ridge, Illinois, announced endorsements in the March 18 primary elections...
Trade
U.S. readies for more 'extremely tough' trade talks with Japan  Reuters   ...The United States is finding talks with Japan on opening its agricultural market "extremely tough", a senior U.S. trade official said on Friday, as the two countries prepared for another round of bilateral negotiations...
It wasn't all weather: What's behind the weak manufacturing jobs report.  manufacture this   ...the Department of Labor announced that America's manufacturing sector added a mere 6,000 jobs in February, with significant downward revisions for January. Additionally, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that America's trade deficit with China rose substantially in January...
A Trade Pact No One Should Want  Counterpunch   ...We’ve heard a lot on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but what will the Trans-Atlantic Partnership do? (Nothing good, that’s for sure.)...
Counterpoint: Don't repeat NAFTA mistakes (Opinion)   Star-Tribune   ...Amid secrecy and the model of broken promises, don’t ram through the TPP deal...
State Battles
Focusing on Win-Wins for Iowa Workers and Employers  Iowa Senate Democrats ...This week the Senate passed a compromise version of wage theft legislation (Senate File 2295).  It targets shady Iowa businesses which compete unfairly and cheat workers by shorting paychecks, confiscating tips, misclassifying workers, unauthorized paycheck deductions; and refusing to pay overtime...
Assembly passes child care, family leave bills  WGRZ.com   ...The (New York) state Assembly on Wednesday passed a package of bills that aim to increase access to childcare and establish paid family leave...
West Virginia Senate passes legislation to help accommodate pregnant workers  Associated Press   ...The West Virginia Senate has passed legislation to help accommodate pregnant women in the workplace....
Tennessee Republicans single out unions with anti-picketing bill  DailyKos   ..Spurred by the fact that Tennessee added 31,000 union members last year, state Rep. Jeremy Durham has introduced a bill that would create a new "mass picketing" misdemeanor specifically aimed at labor activists...
Trampling on our First Amendment Rights  Michigan  AFL-CIO   ...The State House is contemplating the passage of HB 4643, a  bill sponsored by Representative Tom McMillin (R). HB 4643 will result in civil fines of up to $10,000 per day for picketing that is deemed illegal; creating a huge chilling effect on your First Amendment rights...
War on Workers
A vast hidden surveillance network runs across America, powered by the repo industry  Beta Boston   ... the most significant impact of Sousa’s business is far bigger than locating cars whose owners have defaulted on loans: It is the growing database of snapshots showing where Americans were at specific times, information that everyone from private detectives to ­insurers are willing to pay for...
Shocking Stat: 70% of Americans Not in the Labor Force Are Under 55 Years Old  AlterNet   ...Infograph shows majority of 5.8 million 'missing' workers have given up the search because there simply aren’t any jobs...
Chicago May Be The Next City To Demand Paid Sick Days For ALL Workers  Huffington Post   ...Chicago employers would be required to offer paid sick leave to all workers under a proposal introduced by City Councilmen Wednesday...
Container truck drivers reach tentative deal at Vancouver port  arineLink   ...Container truck drivers at Canada's largest port reached a new deal on Thursday, narrowly avoiding an expanded job action that would have seen some 400 unionized drivers join about 1,200 non-unionized drivers who walked off the job last week...
America's New Servant Class  AlterNet   ...Income inequality is creating a boom in the servant industry. Welcome to the world of Downton Abbey...
BP chief executive's pay triples in 2013  The Guardian   ...The pay of Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, tripled last year despite the legal threats still hanging over the company from the Deepwater Horizon disaster... 
Boeing freezing nonunion workers' pensions in 2016  Associated Press   ...Boeing Co. said Thursday it is freezing the traditional defined-benefit pensions for 68,000 nonunion employees - including managers and executives - starting in 2016...
United Airlines dumps Newark Airport union jobs for janitorial contractor that will pay lower wages Daily News   ...The airline has tossed out a janitorial contractor that pays its workers $9 an hour and will replace it with a company that's expected to pay $8.25 an hour. The cold-hearted move will affect nearly 270 workers...
Miscellaneous
Who Has The Right to Track You?  In These Times   ...As states begin to rein in mass surveillance, corporations argue that they have a right to collect data...
Staples to close 225 North American stores  BBC News   ...US office supplier Staples said it will close 225 stores in North America, more than 10% of its presence, as shoppers move online and its sales slump...
Disney cuts 700 employees from its video game division  Raw Story   ...Walt Disney Company on Thursday confirmed that it is cutting about a quarter of the workers at its money-losing video game division...
US economy hampered by severe winter weather, Fed says  The Guardian   ...Federal Reserve's 'beige book' report notes that consumer spending lessened because of cold, snow and storms in winter...
How corporate America is losing the debate on taxes  Washington Post   ...If there is one clear loser in President Obama's budget this year, it's U.S. multinationals. Designed to plug some major leaks in the tax code, the 2015 budget proposes a total of more than $276 billion in higher taxes on overseas earnings for U.S. multinationals over the next decade, about $120 billion more than last year's budget...
New Post-ABC News poll: Keystone XL project overwhelmingly favored by Americans  Washington Post   ...Americans support the idea of constructing the Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the United States by a nearly 3 to 1 margin, with 65 percent saying it should be approved and 22 percent opposed, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll...
Education Advocates Launch Campaign to Combat Student Debt   US News   ...The America that invested in and created opportunity is disappearing, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said...

Today's Teamster News 02.15.14

Teamster News
Republic Airways Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement With Company  teamster.org   ...On Friday, the Teamsters Airline Division announced that it reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract with Republic Airways...
YRCW Successfully Refinances Debt  teamster.org ...YRCW Worldwide, Inc. (YRCW) announced on February 13th that it has closed on the financing of a new $700 million term loan and a $450 million asset-based loan facility, which was the final piece to an improved capital structure...
Teamsters Local 357: Pilots say Quality of Life/Pay, NOT Qualifications Causing Pilot Shortage  Teamsters Local 357   ...Pilots who fly for one of the nation's largest regional airline companies say it's not a lack of qualified pilots, but rather a lack of pay and respect that's grounding airplanes and could cause a ripple effect in the nation's air transportation system...
Union braves deep freeze; negotiations remain frigid  Sauk Valley Media   ...Members of Teamsters Local 722 have picketed outside the Bay Valley Foods plant in Dixon, Illinois in subzero temperatures, day and night for more than a week. The company has called in non-union workers to run the plant…
Hatch wins endorsements from major labor unions  Associated Press   ...Major Iowa labor unions, including four Teamsters locals, announced Thursday that they are endorsing Democratic state Sen. Jack Hatch for governor...
State Battles
Volkswagen employees say 'no' to United Auto Workers in Tennessee  CNN   ...Union organizers in the South suffered a setback Friday when workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted against being represented by the United Auto Workers...
Gov. John Kasich has his right-to-work answer -- and he's sticking to it: Ohio Politics Roundup  Cleveland Plain Dealer   ...Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder used to say right-to-work legislation – seen by organized labor as a tool to weaken unions by banning dues-paying requirements – was not on his agenda. Then, in late 2012, Snyder reversed course, setting the stage for a new state law. In Ohio, fellow Republican Gov. John Kasich offers the same phrasing...
Indiana lawmakers to state job agency: "Tell the truth"  WTHR.com   ...Some Indiana lawmakers say new legislation is needed to prevent the state from hiding and distorting its real job numbers. "We just need to tell the truth," said House Minority Leader Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City). "Based on what I've seen, we've got a problem..."
Bills aim to restrict union organizing, picketing  Associated Press   ...Mississippi senators want to restrict some union organizing and picketing practices, as well as local laws that might benefit workers...
Michigan Supreme Court takes on key component of Right to Work law  Beverly Hills Courier   ...As labor groups around the country continue their fight against Right to Work, one of the nation’s most notorious Right to Work battlegrounds is making headlines again now that Michigan’s Supreme Court  is set to rule on the controversial legislation...
Retirement privatization could cost workers millions   WISHTV.com   ...Battle lines are being drawn over a plan to privatize part of Indiana’s public retirement system. Supporters say failing to take action could end up costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. But, critics say it would also leave thousands of public employees facing a new set of retirement risks...
Trade
Joe Biden Admits Vast Obama Trade Deals Are On Hold  Huffington Post   ... The White House's trade plans are on hold, at least for now, Vice President Joe Biden said Friday, in welcome news to many Democrats who oppose the sweeping deals...
No Fast Track to TPP: Fix NAFTA First (Opinion)  Huffington Post   ...The big corporations and the Obama administration are trying to push through a giant new trade treaty that gives corporations even more power, and which will send even more jobs, factories, industries and money out of the country. This is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and they are pushing something called "fast track" in Congress to help push it through...
War on Workers
Obama Lashes Out At Republicans Over Volkswagen-UAW Organizing Fight Reuters  ...President Barack Obama on Friday waded into Washington's war of words over a union organizing election in Tennessee when he accused Republicans of trying to block labor's efforts at an auto plant in that state, according to a Democratic aide who heard the remarks...
Tipped workers push for a raise after more than 20 years at $2.13  DailyKos   ...The minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 an hour. I repeat, $2.13. It's been frozen for well over 20 years, since 1991, but the minimum wage increase Democrats are pushing would increase it over a period of several years...
Companies Squeeze 401K Plans From Facebook to JPMorgan  Bloomberg News   ...Employers are squeezing their workers’ retirement savings, holding back on both the amount and the timing of 401(k) matching funds and dragging out vesting schedules. Taken together, these measures are making it more difficult to save for old age...
New Report: U.S. Employers Have Hijacked State Dept. Cultural Exchange Program, Used It as Cheap Labor Source  AlterNet   ...The Southern Poverty Law Center has documented widespread abuse of J-1 Visa program...
Court Okays Labor Department Rule: Guestworkers Must Earn Prevailing Wages  In These Times   ...The appellate court's unanimous decision in favor of the Labor Department is a significant victory for guest workers, helping protect them from employer exploitation and labor abuses...
High-end fashion mogul to the 99 percent: You’d be rich in China, so don’t complain about inequality   Salon   ...The CEO and co-founder of a luxury fashion company says America's become a nation of whiners and that being poor in the world's richest country isn't so bad...
Hundreds Protest Tax Breaks for Twitter, Tech Companies  Truthout   ...Hundreds of protesters picketed Twitter’s offices because of an exceptionally generous tax break it receives from San Francisco. Meanwhile, municipal workers are being pressured to make concessions about their health care contributions because the city is running at a deficit...

Miscellaneous
‘Exile The Homeless’ City Now Requires Permits And Large Fees To Feed The Homeless  ThinkProgress   ...Last August, Columbia, South Carolina approved a new plan to give its homeless population an impossible choice: leave downtown or be arrested. The city is now taking even more steps to criminalize homelessness...
Severe winter weather estimated to cost U.S. economy nearly $50 billion  Los Angeles Times   ...The severe weather that has hit much of the country this winter has cost the economy nearly $50 billion in lost productivity and 76,000 jobs...
Connecticut Verizon Workers Among Those Affected In Call Center Shake-Up  CBS WTIC 1080   ...About 3,000 Verizon Wireless workers will have to transfer to different offices or find new jobs as part of a shake-up that will close five of the company’s customer call centers...

Today's Teamster News 12.08.13

Army of Rightwing Groups Plan Assault on State Laws in 2014  Common Dreams   ...more than forty state-level conservative groups are planning a "US-wide assault" on "education, healthcare, income tax, workers' compensation and the environment..."
Does Lowering Corporate Tax Rates Create Jobs? Answer is a resounding "no"  ataxingmatter   ... a supermajority (22) of the 30 corporations paying the HIGHEST tax rates created 200,000 jobs between 2008 and 2012, while only 8 of those 30 had any reductions in the number of employees.  IN contrast, the 30 profitable corporations paying no or very little taxes in that period had an aggregate loss of more than 51,000 jobs--half created a few jobs and half reduced jobs between 2008 and 2012...
Members of Congress: Fast Tracking the TPP is a Non-Starter  Public Citizen   ...On the eve of an attempt by executive branch negotiators to rush the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to conclusion in negotiations happening in Singapore this weekend, members of Congress, speaking from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, declared that an attempt to Fast Track the secretive, sweeping pact through Congress would be dead on arrival...
Lies, Damn Lies, and Retirement Savings  Economic Policy Institute   ...The sad reality is that the only households with any 401(k) savings to speak of are white non-Hispanic college-educated married couples. Even within this narrow demographic, all but the wealthiest, who use retirement accounts as tax shelters, would be better off under a more egalitarian and efficient system...
Citigroup and JPMorgan Settle With EU Commission for Rigging Libor; U.S. Justice Department Stays Mum  Wall Street on Parade   ...As lawsuits by municipalities across America pile up in the courts, the question on everyone’s mind is: “why isn’t the Justice Department bringing charges against U.S. banks”?...
U.S. IRS not fully ready for law against offshore tax evasion -watchdog  Reuters   ...The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has spent 19 months and more than $8.6 million getting ready to enforce a new law against offshore tax evasion that takes effect next year, but the agency is still not prepared, a watchdog group said...
The One-Day Strike: The New Labor Weapon of Last Resort  Time   ...“You don’t know if something like this is going to fizzle out or if it’s going to keep going and gaining steam and hit a tipping point where change can actually happen.”...

Today's Teamster News 08.08.13

Federal Mediator Arrive To Teamsters Strike Against Gold Cross Ambulance  Imperial Valley Press   ...Federal mediators arrived Tuesday to assist with negotiations between Gold Cross Ambulance employees on strike and the company...
Teamsters Local 2010 Signs Up 333 New Members  Teamsters Local 2010   ...Employees at the University of California’s state-wide campuses stepped up and joined Local 2010 as a result of a union-building blitz recently...
MM&A files for creditor protection after Lac-Mégantic rail disaster  Globe and Mail   ...The U.S.-based railway whose train crashed in Lac-Mégantic, Que., last month has filed for creditor protection in Canada and the United States, saying it is unable to deal with mounting bills arising from the disaster...
What's on ALEC's Agenda for its 40th Anniversary Meeting in Chicago?  Center for Media and Democracy   ...The "Employee Secret Ballot Protection Act" will be amended "to call for [union certification by] a majority of members in the bargaining unit, rather than a majority of those voting." This was the same certification policy pushed by Scott Walker in Wisconsin, and creates an almost insurmountable burden...
Worker wages: Wendy's vs. Wal-Mart vs. Costco  CNNMoney   ...Hundreds of dissatisfied workers at major companies like Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Wendy's have joined protests nationwide, demanding higher wages and better benefits. One company hasn't had to deal with such strikes. Costco pays its hourly workers an average of just over $20 an hour, compared to just under $13 at competitor Wal-Mart. Even President Obama praised Costco in a recent speech about helping the middle class...
Wage Gap Between CEOs, Workers Shows Costly Disregard (opinion) The Reporter …U.S. workers are tired of being the last ones considered when wealth is being made in America. While the average CEO pay has climbed to over 300 times the average worker’s, those making the legal minimum of $7.25—only $15,000 a year—have gone without a legally required raise for four years...
Fast food worker: 'We go hungry'  MSNBC   ...In a major speech on the economy Wednesday, President Obama declared that it is “time for the minimum wage to go up.” While more people are employed as the country continues to climb out of a deep recession, many full-time workers making the minimum wage are still living in poverty…
A hard landing for the middle class (opinion)  Washington Post   ...It’s August, and Americans by the millions are cramming themselves into coach-class seats as they embark on their summer vacations. Airline seating may be the best concrete expression of what’s happened to the economy. The joys of air travel have been redistributed upward and are now reserved for the well-heeled few...
Michigan's auto companies, workers pay price when economic rivals rig the market  Michigan Live   ...U.S. automakers, only a few years out of their deathbeds, are back in the black, despite their prewritten obituaries in 2009. But despite their turnaround, the Big Three still face significant hurdles in getting their goods into Japan, and face import competition subsidized by currency manipulation...
Free-trade deal with Korea is costing American jobs, report says  Denver Post   ...Although the Korea-US FTA has been in effect for little more than a year, it is already drawing vehement condemnation. It wasn't supposed to be this way. The International Trade Commission estimated the pact would kick-start some $10 billion in US exports to Korea. But it's not clear that the agreement is living up to its promise...
The Three Biggest Lies About Why Corporate Taxes Should Be Lowered (opinion)   Huffington Post   ...Instead of spending August on the beach, corporate lobbyists are readying arguments for when Congress returns in September about why corporate taxes should be lowered. But they're lies. You need to know why so you can spread the truth...
Cameron the worst PM for living standards in history  Liberal Conspiracy   ...An analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics out today show that David Cameron has been in Downing Street for 36 months of falling real wages – more than any Prime Minister on record...
JPMorgan Sued With Goldman in Aluminum Antitrust Case  Bloomberg   ...JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the biggest U.S. bank, was sued with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Glencore Xstrata Plc (GLEN) over claims they restrained aluminum supplies and drove up prices...
Perry Vetoed Texas Equal Pay Bill Under Pressure From Macy's, Kroger Huffington Post   ...Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) vetoed a bill to help prevent wage discrimination after receiving letters against the measure from retailers like Macy's and Kroger Food Stores, according to newly obtained documents. The bill would have brought Texas state law in line with the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for women to sue employers over wage discrimination...
Eminent domain proposal for mortgages gains traction in California  Los Angeles Times   ...Cities in the Golden State are once again testing a controversial mortgage relief plan that could use local eminent domain powers to help residents stung by the last housing crisis...
Cuomo administration cracks down on illegal payday lenders   Legislative Gazette   ...Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced his administration is actively issuing cease and desist orders to online loan companies providing illegal payday loans to New York residents following an investigation that revealed that some lenders were offering online loans with interest rates as high as 1,095 percent...
Veto Decision Looms for DC Retail Living Wage Bill  The Nation   ...Four weeks after the Washington, D.C. City Council passed a bill to hike some retail workers’ wages, D.C. Mayor Vince Gray has not yet indicated whether he will let it become law...

Today's Teamster News 07.23.13

Teamsters labour dispute with IKEA drags on; mediation to resume Tuesday  Vancouver Sun   ...At the Richmond Ikea store in British Columbia, Canada, the indoor showroom was tidied for the Sunday morning crowds and cashiers were hustling shoppers through as usual. But every car driving into the half-filled parking lot was made aware of an ongoing labour dispute between the company and its union, Teamsters Local 213...
Union History Displayed At Teamsters Headquarters  IBT   ...Historical items from the printing industry that were donated by the Graphic Communications Conference, including an 1872 Washington Press, are on display at the Teamster Headquarters, 25 Louisiana Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. View the slideshow of the items here...
Teamster Essay Contest Announced  IBT   ...Children and grandchildren of Teamster members have until Sept. 30 to enter the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund Essay Contest, which gives higher-education students the opportunity to win one of 50 $1,000 awards awarded by the union annually. Click here for more information...
Cries of Betrayal as Detroit Plans to Cut Pensions  New York Times   ...Kevyn D. Orr, the city’s emergency manager, has called for “significant cuts” to the pensions of current retirees. His plan is being fought vigorously by unions that point out that pensions are protected by Michigan’s Constitution, which calls them a contractual obligation that “shall not be diminished or impaired...”
The changing face of American union workers  MSNBC   ...When people think of unions, the image of a white construction worker is still one of the first to come to mind for many people, but it’s not what labor looks like anymore. Tom Perez, the new secretary of Labor, is more representative of the current makeup of unions in the United States...
6 Ways A $12 Minimum Wage Would Help The Economy  Huffington Post   ...After the D.C. Council approved a bill that requires large retailers to pay their workers a "living wage" of $12.50 -- and Walmart retreated from the capital in protest -- we thought it'd be worth considering what that requirement could do for the economy...
The tax break that corporate America wants kept secret  CNNMoney   ...Oracle, Google, and Amazon are just a few of the hundreds of large companies that have cut confidential deals with the IRS to help lower their tax bills, and critics want the agency to disclose the details of these complex pacts...
Hanging by a thread? Proposed trade pact could doom last of local textile industry  Salisbury Post   ...Free Trade Agreements with North and Central American countries — known as NAFTA and CAFTA-DR — also could keep those international workforces from competing with duty-free exporters like Vietnam, opponents say, costing more than 1.4 million jobs...
U.S., Urging Worker Safety, Outlines Steps for Bangladesh to Regain Its Trade Privileges  New York Times   ...The Obama administration publicly recommended a series of steps that the Bangladesh government should take to have its trade privileges with the United States restored...
Americans Say They Are Willing To Spend To End Child Labor  Holmes Report   ...Most Americans say they are willing to spend a little extra when it comes to making sure the products they buy are made without the use of child labor, according to a new survey…
Things don’t go better with the Kochs (opinion)  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review   ...Billionaire Charles Koch is causing some consternation by launching a $200,000 media campaign in the Wichita, Kan., area calling for the U.S. to embrace greater “economic freedom” — which translates to fewer safety and environmental protections and fewer services for people who haven't made it to the top of the economic ladder...
Can Pennsylvania safeguard against another West, Texas explosion?  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...On April 17, when 30 tons of fertilizer detonated in West, Texas, 15 people died and 200 were injured. A plant in Donora, Pennsylvania stores more than 400 times more ammonia that what was there at the West, Texas facility at the time of the explosion. What can be done to avoid another disaster?...
OSHA Wants Ergonomic Conditions for Hospital Workers  Business 2 Community   ...A new campaign that focuses on using ergonomics to prevent injuries in the workplace is being directed at healthcare workers, according to a July 18 release by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). The agency said that healthcare workers, especially those responsible for patient care, are more prone hazards that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders than those in any other field...
In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters  New York Times   ...A study finds the odds of rising to another income level are notably low in certain cities, like Atlanta and Charlotte, and much higher in New York and Boston...
MacKenzie and Andrews: Sturm, Ruger chose N.C. to maximize profits at workers’ expense (opinion)  New Hampshire Union Leader   ...As the top labor leaders of two states with very different experiences with right-to-work, we maintain that right-to-work is not a viable strategy for economic growth. In North Carolina, the right-to-work for less law has encouraged the development of a low-wage economy, institutionalized poverty and an environment that puts corporate profits ahead of the well-being of North Carolina families...

Today's Teamster News 03.28.13

Iraqi oil: Once seen as U.S. boon, now it’s mostly China’s  McClatchy   ...Ten years after the United States invaded and occupied Iraq, the country’s oil industry is poised to boom and make the troubled nation the No.2 oil exporter in the world. But the nation that’s moving to take advantage of Iraq’s riches isn’t the United States. It’s China...
Post analysis of Dow 30 firms shows declining tax burden as a share of profits  Washington Post   ...Most of the 30 companies listed on the country’s most famous stock index, the Dow Jones industrial average, have seen a dramatically smaller percentage of their profits go to U.S. coffers over time, even as their share prices have driven the Dow to an all-time high...
Cyprus crisis: capital controls loom as banks race to re-open  The Guardian   ...Protests are mounting in Cyprus as the full extent of Monday's EU-IMF bailout sinks in...
As Supreme Court Hears Challenge to ALEC Voting Bill, Two More States Introduce It  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Within days of the U.S. Supreme Court hearing a challenge to an Arizona voting registration law that had been adopted as a "model" by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), two more states advanced bills that appear to track the ALEC/Arizona template...
 Michelle Rhee takes on teachers' unions  Los Angeles Times   ...StudentsFirst, the advocacy group Rhee founded … is positioning itself as the political counterweight to teachers' unions….Among StudentsFirst's major donors is the Walton Family Foundation, funded by heirs to the fortune generated by Wal-Mart, which has vigorously opposed unions...
When workers die: “And nobody called 911″  Salon   ...A man is scalded by nearly boiling water and citric acid. His fate points to a dark reality for temp workers...
Sweatshops still make your clothes  Salon   ...It’s been 16 years since Charles Kernaghan made Kathie Lee Gifford cry on national television, revealing that her Wal-Mart-sold clothing line was produced by Honduran children working 20-hour shifts. ... not that much has changed...
Howard Dean Launches Campaign To Flip State Legislatures  Huffington Post   ...Dean said that Democracy for America's "Purple to Blue Project" would work to swing state legislatures from Republican to Democrat, starting in Virginia, then adding three states in 2014...
Assembly passes rewrite of city labor laws by slim 6-5 margin  Anchorage Daily News   ...The Anchorage Assembly Tuesday night narrowly passed a rewrite of city labor laws that tips the balance of power in negotiations with city unions more toward management...
Union research shows pension overhaul will cost workers, taxpayers  Palm Beach Post   ...Public employee unions fighting the House pension overhaul rolled out research Tuesday that says the move will cost taxpayers more — challenging the view of House Speaker Will Weatherford and other proponents that closing the traditional plan to new workers will reduce state costs...
Jim Greer, Florida ex-GOP chairman, gets 18 months in prison  Orlando Sentinel   ...An Orlando judge on Wednesday sentenced Jim Greer, former high-flying chairman of the Florida GOP, to 18 months in prison for stealing $125,000 from the party...
Governor calls unions the voice of American workers  People's World   ..."We live in a time in which more and more capital is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands," Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon told about 250 union delegates and activists here at the annual AFL-CIO Labor Legislative Conference on March 25 and 26...
Wisconsin gets an "F" for disclosing its spending  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Wisconsin is one of five states Tuesday that received an "F" for how it makes government spending available online...
Genesys Convalescent Center, Teamsters Local 332 reach first contract agreement  Michigan Live   ...After joining a union in the fall, Genesys Convalescent Center employees recently approved their first contract...
Teamsters-UNFI hearing in Moreno Valley  The Press-Enterprise   ...A hearing on whether United Natural Foods violated labor laws during a contentious union organizing campaign last year has been moved to Moreno Valley to accommodate Inland-area workers, a federal spokesperson said on Wednesday, March 27...
Teamsters leader says efforts to overturn right-to-work laws are 'swelling'  Michigan Live   ...The lame duck legislative push for so-called right-to-work laws in Michigan was driven by corporate special interests, chief among them being Grand Rapids’ own Dick DeVos...
Teamsters Take Demands For U.S. Workers' Rights To National Express Group Headquarters  IBT   ...Teamster school bus drivers who work at National Express Group PLC (NEX: LN) rallied with British members of Unite the Union outside the company's headquarters today, demanding the multinational transport company honor the human rights of its North American workers...

Today's Teamster News 01.29.13

Apple shelters almost $1bn a week from US tax man  The Telegraph   ...Apple's completely legal tax avoidance strategies bring the total the company has sheltered from the US tax authorities to $94bn...
Senators Reach Bipartisan Immigration Reform Deal  Talking Points Memo   ...the package would include an e-verify program to prevent employers from hiring undocumented workers in the future, an expanded visa and guest worker program to manage future immigration, and a seperate streamlined path towards citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were bought to America as children...
Report: Treasury approved excessive pay for executives at bailed-out AIG, GM and Ally  Associated Press   ...Treasury also allowed pay packages totaling $5 million or more for nearly a quarter of the executives at those firms...
The Rise of the Permanent Temp Economy  New York Times   ...one-third of adults who live in poverty are working but do not earn enough to support themselves and their families. A quarter of jobs in America pay below the federal poverty line for a family of four ($23,050)...
Study: Nearly half are overqualified for their jobs  USA Today   ...Nearly half of working Americans with college degrees are in jobs for which they're overqualified, a new study out Monday suggests...
Sen. Colbeck Tells Koch-Funded Group RTW Passed Because of DeVos Funding  Progress Michigan ...“This just confirms what we’ve long suspected, that Gov. Snyder’s so-called Right to Work billwas bought-and-paid for by billionaire CEO Dick DeVos. It’s time for politicians likeSnyder and Colbeck to start protecting middle class families, not the special interests..."
Va right-to-work measure dies on 20-20 Senate tie  Associated Press   ... On a party line vote, the Virginia Senate has killed a measure that would write the state's longstanding right-to-work law into its constitution...
Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike That 82 Percent Of New Jerseyans Support  Bold Progressives   ...This minimum wage increase would’ve brought the wage to $8.50 and then tie it to the consumer price index for the future. ..
Roxanne Rubin, Nevada Republican, Accepts Plea Deal After Committing Voter Fraud  Huffington Post   ...Roxanne Rubin, 56, a casino worker on the Las Vegas Strip, was arrested on Nov. 3, 2012 after trying to vote twice, once at her poling site in Henderson and then at a second site in Las Vegas...
Negotiations Continue Between Teamsters, Durham  WestAshleyPatch   ...“We had to take a strike vote to get Durham to get serious in negotiations. We’ve met over 39 times with the contractor and they hadn’t moved on the key issues of concern to the drivers and monitors,” President of Local 509 L.D. Fletcher said in a statement...

Today's Teamster News 05.21.12

States Unite Against Citizens United  Associated Press   ...wenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending...
Emergency law, celebrity support giving oxygen to Quebec protesters  The Globe and Mail   ...Quebec’s emergency law aimed at reining in protest marches and restoring social peace failed to stop outbursts of violence during its first test over the weekend, while the months-long student movement gained some big-name support on the global stage....And Montreal band Arcade Fire sported the red squares while performing alongside Mick Jagger on NBC’s Saturday Night Live...
Greek cash withdrawals raise fear of run on bank  Los Angeles Times   ... Middle-class Greeks have already borne the brunt of the financial crisis since it exploded more than two years ago and probably will feel the most pain if the country ends up being booted from the 17-nation Eurozone...
Mississippi prison riot leaves guard dead, 8 hurt  Associated Press   ...It's a privately run facility used to hold illegal immigrants for the Federal Bureau of Prisons...
Koch Operative Steered $55 Million To Front Groups Airing Ads Against Democrats; Ads Assailed Candidates Over Abortion, 9/11, Medicare  Republic Report   ...a new document filed with the IRS reveals how the Koch political machine funneled over $54.5 million in previously undisclosed funds to a litany of front groups designed to smear Democrats...
A Sea of Robin Hoods Tell the G8, "It's Time to Tax Wall Street!"  PR Watch   ...Thousands of nurses from around the world descended upon Daley Plaza, in the heart of Chicago on May 18, to demand that the richest nations in the world put an end to austerity politics and start asking the people who collapsed the global economy to do more to "heal the world."...

Today's Teamster News 05.20.12

At Big U.S. Companies, 60% of Cash Sits Offshore: J.P. Morgan  CFO Journal   ...Apple had the highest offshore corporate cash balance, with $74 billion held overseas, representing 67% of its total cash holdings. But as a percentage of total cash, J.P. Morgan said the company had a smaller amount sitting offshore than many of its tech rivals, including Microsoft, Cisco, and Hewlett-Packard, which had 89% or more of their cash overseas. Microsoft, General Electric, Cisco Systems, Google,  and Oracle had the next largest dollar amounts of cash held overseas...
A Victory for All of Us  truthdig   ...Judge Forrest struck down language in the law that she said gave the government the ability to incarcerate people based on what they said or wrote...
Quebec student protesters find creative ways around controversial new law  The Star   ...Bill 78 lays out strict regulations governing demonstrations of over 50 people, including having to give eight hours’ notice for details such as the protest route, the duration and the time at which they are being held. Failure to comply could bring stiff penalties for the organizers, but the law could be difficult to enforce...
How Competition Is Killing Higher Education  Bloomberg   ...It’s about “keeping up with the Joneses,” an official at Wright State University said in a Dayton Daily News article last fall detailing why colleges in Ohio were spending hundreds of millions of dollars on student centers and other nonacademic attractions in a down economy...
Marquette faculty members rebuke Ryan budget  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...More than 50 faculty members at Marquette University, including a dozen theologians, have issued a public letter to U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan criticizing his proposed budget as morally unjust and accusing him of distorting Catholic social teaching in its defense...
Canadian Pacific says union gives strike notice  Reuters   ...Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (CP.TO: Quote) said on Saturday the union representing nearly 5,000 engineers, conductors and traffic controllers submitted a 72-hour strike notice, giving workers the right to walk off their jobs as early as Wednesday...

Today's Teamster News 05.13.12

Big Oil Is Gaming the System to Keep Domestic U.S. Prices High  The Big Picture   ...the U.S. is now an oil exporter, but that Americans aren’t getting reduced oil prices because the oil companies are now pricing the oil according to European metrics...
A Generation Hobbled by the Soaring Cost of College  New York Times   ...Ninety-four percent of students who earn a bachelor’s degree borrow to pay for higher education — up from 45 percent in 1993, according to an analysis by The New York Times of the latest data from the Department of Education...
The worm in Apple (and the US tax code)--offshoring of US Profits  Angry Bear   ...companies offshore their profits to post-office boxes in tax haven countries and claim that the US Is no longer the source of their profits, even though the IP was invented in the US, is still used in the US and still results in most of the sales actually in the US...
U.S. posts first budget surplus since 2008  MarketWatch   ...Last surplus was September 2008, the month Lehman collapsed...
Capitol Report: It didn't take 'divide and conquer' video to sway police union against Walker  The Cap Times   ...although the Walker recall effort was triggered by his repeal of most collective bargaining rights for public workers, job creation is currently the top issue of concern among Wisconsin voters, according to a Marquette Law School poll released last week....
High-ranking Teamsters member is Lincoln County native Charlestown Gazette-Mail   ...High-ranking Teamsters member Ken Hall began working in the oilfields, in and around Lincoln County, for the Pennzoil Company back in 1976...

Is your boss keeping your taxes?

Do you work in one of the 16 states where your employer can keep the state taxes taken out of your paycheck?

You may not even know they're doing it.

Thanks to Good Jobs First for exposing this outrage in this report.

Today's Teamster News 03.31.12

A Health Law at Risk Gives Insurers Pause  New York Times   ...As the Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the federal health care law, one option that had seemed unthinkable to its designers and supporters now seems at least possible: that the court could strike down the entire law...
Despite accord, ‘Made in the USA’ no driving force for South Koreans  Washington Times   ...“I don’t think there’s going to be a massive increase in American cars in Korea,” said Victor Cha, chairman of the Korea program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “They like what they make over there. And they like BMWs and Mercedes, not Cadillac” among imported luxury vehicles...
Corporate Taxation - The Next Race to the Bottom  Tax Justice Network   ...If it is allowed to continue, the tax race will undermine what little is left of progressive taxation all over the globe as well as our slow economic recovery. On the one hand, it threatens to throw more and more of the costs of essential government services onto the backs of the middle class and the poor, slash their services even deeper, and cost them jobs, even as they are still struggling to recover from the “1%-made” financial crisis. On the other hand, the tax race threatens to force governments around the world to go even deeper into debt...
Economist Debate: Airport Security (Opinion)  The Economist   ...Exactly two things have made air travel safer since 9/11: reinforcing the cockpit door, and convincing passengers that they need to fight back. Everything else has been a waste of money...
Women In Trucking Celebrates Safe Driving at MATS  Truckinginfo   ...The group included 67 women who had driven one-million accident-free miles...
CEO pay rises again in 2011, while workers struggle to find work  USA Today   ...Employees are starting to see some wage growth ... Average weekly earnings for all employees rose 2.7% in 2011 ... Real average weekly earnings, which are adjusted for inflation, though, have fallen 1.2% from the October 2010 peak through February ...
Some Red Cross workers in state go on strike  Associated Press   ...More than 200 American Red Cross workers in Michigan are on strike in a dispute related to contract negotiations. Red Cross spokeswoman Monica Stoneking told The Associated Press that some blood drives had been canceled or rescheduled because of today’s work stoppage...

If corporations are people, why don't they pay taxes?

Here's another question: When did freeloading become an American value?

Right-to-work-for-less proposals that popped up across the country this January would let workers benefit from union representation without paying for it. And corporations have become obsessed with avoiding the taxes that pay for their educated work force, the infrastructure with which they move their goods to market and the firefighters and police officer who protect their assets, to name just a few.

We already know that 37 multinationals didn't pay a penny in taxes last year.
Alternet points out that a whole bunch of smaller companies don't either:

The percentage of U.S. corporations structured as “nontaxable businesses” soared from about 24 percent in 1986 to about 69 percent as of 2008, according to the Internal Revenue Service. If you include partnerships and sole proprietors, the number gets even bigger.

And there’s more: Up to 60 percent of all U.S. businesses with profits of $1 million are structured as pass-throughs. In the Wall Street Journal, John D. McKinnon points out that their enormous popularity is “one big reason why federal corporate tax collections amounted to just 1.3% of GDP in 2010, well below their mark of 2.7% in 2006 and far beneath their peak of 6.1% in 1952.”

You can buy a Stop Corporate Greed button here. Then wear it to your nearest protest.

Today's Teamster News 01.24.12

Indiana House Dems lose right-to-work referendum vote, possibly resume boycott in labor battle  Associated Press   ...While Indiana House Republicans were bracing for another possible Democratic boycott in the bruising right-to-work battle, Senate Republicans on Monday were cheering the final passage of the measure in their chamber just a few hundred feet away...
Prison privatization bills move forward in Senate  Associated Press   ...Dozens of people spoke against the bills, telling senators privatization would put state employees out of work and will reduce public safety...
Romney’s released tax return reveals 13.9% rate, holdings in foreign ‘tax havens’  Reuters   ...Romney’s tax rate is below that of most wage-earning Americans because most of his income, as outlined in more than 500 pages of tax documents, flows from capital gains on investments...
‘Licking Their Chops’ on K Street and Capitol Hill  Bill Moyers   ...“Former senators could expect to earn somewhere between $800,000 and $1.5 million in annual salary next year at lobby firms, while ex-House members could earn between $300,000 and $600,000, headhunters estimated.”...
Settlement with mortgage lenders inadequate, activists say  Washington Post   ...a significant number of state attorneys general and activist groups fear the pending settlement would allow banks to pay only a fraction of what is warranted and escape legal culpability for a wide range of abuses that have yet to be fully investigated. They also say too lenient a settlement would send a troubling message that the financial giants who helped create the housing bubble won’t be held accountable for their role in the bust...
Teamsters remain on Nichols picket line  Quad City Business Journal   ...The two sides said they have not communicated since Friday, and no plans for coming back to the negotiating table are scheduled...

Today's Teamster News 01.06.12

Corporate Profits Have Rebounded To Pre-Recession Levels, But Corporate Tax Revenue Hasn’t  ThinkProgress   ...Corporate tax revenue has plummeted for several reasons, but one of the big ones is the growth of deductions, loopholes, and outright tax evasion that helps companies limit, or entirely eliminate, their income tax liability. 30 major corporations, in fact, paid no corporate income tax over the last three years, while making $160 billion in profits...
Need jobs? Call on government (opinion)  Los Angeles Times   ...International experience shows that direct job creation by governments is one of the very few options that has succeeded at raising employment levels more than just marginally during a crisis...
Bank charge of the day, mortgage-payment edition  Reuters   ...Citi is getting a big advantage from you making half your mortgage payment two weeks early — and then it has the chutzpah to charge you hundreds of dollars for the privilege. They even charge you $1.50 per extra transaction, as though that costs them any money at all. (It doesn’t.)...
SCOTUS expected to weight Montana campaign finance appeal  Politico   ...Campaign finance experts predict that the court will almost certainly address the ruling, since it’s seen as a direct challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision that allowed corporations, unions and other special interests to use their treasury funds to make or fund political ads that support or oppose political candidates...
Airline Safety Soars  paulkedrosky.com   ...According to new data, 2011 was the safest year in global commercial aviation history...
Democrats bemoan rush on labor bill  Indianapolis Star   ...This morning's joint House- Senate committee may be the only chance the public has to weigh in on the controversial legislation targeting labor contracts that for the second year has forced a legislative standoff...
Former aide to Scott Walker arrested with two others  Politico   ...Three people, including a former aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, were arrested Thursday as part of a secret criminal probe that found two of the men stole funds intended for wounded vets and families of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan...
Teamster Strike Halts Pipeline Projects  Youngstown Business Journal   ...a strike by more than 700 pipeline construction workers has already halted work on projects related to the Marcellus shale play in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and could lead to stoppages across the country...

Today's Teamster News 12.12.11

Depression and Democracy (opinion)  New York Times   ...Unemployment in both America and Europe remains disastrously high. Leaders and institutions are increasingly discredited. And democratic values are under siege...
US to leave Mexican border crossing to rangers  Associated Press   ...in this rugged, remote West Texas terrain where wading across the shallow Rio Grande undetected is all too easy, federal authorities are touting a proposal to open an unmanned port of entry as a security upgrade...
Economic Crisis + Offshore  Tax Justice Network   ...Many of the roots of the current global economic crisis trace back to offshore financial centres located in tax havens. These include both those located in the smaller, mostly island states like Cayman and Jersey, and the larger tax havens like the City of London, Switzerland, Dublin, Delaware or Luxembourg...
Russia's middle class rises up against Putin  The Independent   ...With state television hardly making reference to the protests, and instead focussing on flag-waving celebrations by groups of pro-Putin youths, active opposition is still very much the preserve of an internet-savvy minority. But in Moscow, the change of mood among the new middle class is palpable...
Sometimes a fight just isn't worth it (opinion)  South Bend Tribune   ...Taking a wrecking ball to organized labor in Indiana, with all of its institutions, traditions and loyal members, will bring deeper political polarization during an already politically divisive time...
Academy has enough Oscar statuettes, despite labor dispute  Los Angeles Times   ...A Chicago labor dispute won't affect February's Oscars ceremony, according to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak, because the academy has dozens of statuettes stockpiled...

'Tax holiday' corporations slash jobs

You can bet corporate lobbyists are doing everything they can right now to convince the supercommittee that they need a tax holiday for overseas profits. They'll argue that would create jobs here. They will be wrong.

Bloomberg reported yesterday,

(Sen. Kay) Hagan, a Democrat from North Carolina, and (Sen. John) McCain, an Arizona Republican, said today they will sponsor a bill to let U.S. companies bring home as much as $1.4 trillion of overseas profits at a reduced tax rate.

Large multinational companies including Pfizer Inc., Apple Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. have been lobbying Congress to let them return overseas profits to the U.S. at a lower rate. The companies say the infusion of cash would boost the economy and lead to increased employment. Corporate profits now are taxed at a top rate of 35 percent.

The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated that a tax holiday would cost the Treasury $78.8 billion in forgone revenue over 10 years.

Not only that, it would cost jobs. The Institute for Policy Studies just issued a report showing companies that took advantage of a tax holiday in 2004 cut tens of thousands of jobs here in the U.S.

Reports IPS,

The federal government has already gone the "tax holiday" route — in 2004 — with disastrous results.

Congressional advocates for that 2004 "onetime" holiday made the same arguments that repatriators are making today. They promised that the tax holiday would create jobs. In fact, they even named their holiday legislation the "American Job Creation Act of 2004." But their holiday didn't just fail to create the promised jobs. Their holiday enriched corporations that actually destroyed jobs in the months right after they received their tax windfall.

One government study looking at the first two years after the repatriation windfall found that 12 of the top recipients laid off more than 67,000 American workers. These firms collectively brought back home more than $100 billion, nearly a third of the total amount repatriated by all firms that took advantage of the tax holiday. Collectively, these early job killers pocketed an estimated $32 billion in savings from taxes they otherwise would have had to pay.

A review of U.S. employment data filed with the Securities and Exchange Committee found that 13 firms profiled in this report cut their U.S. workforces by 60,701 jobs in the two years following the 2004 tax holiday (2004-2006). The 13 companies are YUM Brands, General Electric, International Paper, Eastman Kodak, Kraft, Honeywell, Intel, Eli Lilly, Starwood Hotels, Praxair, Lexmark International, Hasbro and Boston Scientific.

There's a reason people are Occupying Wall Street.

Loony Charles Koch thinks he's helping society

Here's one of the Kochs' 'nonprofits': The Tea Party

Almost makes your head spin, doesn't it?

You may recall that Warren Buffett, the third richest man in the world, begged the U.S. last week to raise his taxes. In a New York Times op-ed, Buffett wrote,

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate.

But that wacky Koch brother, Charles, thinks he better serves the American people by supporting the Tea Party than by paying taxes. In a recent statement to righ-wing meda, Koch said,

Much of what the government spends money on does more harm than good; this is particularly true over the past several years with the massive uncontrolled increase in government spending. I believe my business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington.

Just a few little reminders are in order here. The Koch brothers are in the business of oil speculation, which is why gasoline is so expensive right now.

Their non-profit investments? Try the Tea Party, ALEC and the union-busting National Right-to-Work Legal Defense Committee, for starters. As ThinkProgress notes,

Among the Koch brothers’ other non-profit investments include far-right conservative think tanks dedicated to cheerleading the war in Iraq, spreading anti-science propaganda, and smears claiming that the poor do not really suffer. Koch has given money to educational initiatives, but in exchange for control over academic freedom that simply furthered Koch’s political beliefs.

Koch is partly right, though, when he says "much of what the government spends money on does more harm than good." Here's the part we think is harmful: The government spending that goes to the Koch brothers.

The Naked Capitalist today writes about how the Koch brothers answered a call 40 years ago to make sure that corporations dominate every major American institution. She captures the Orwellian spirit of the Kochs' attempt to inculcate their values in this passage:

“Freedom” is historically a political idea: freedom from oppression. The idea of economic freedom as promoted by libertarians (Eds note: the Koch brothers) and Chicago School economists, is ultimately hostile to political freedom. Chile under Pinochet, which was a Chicago School experiment, was proof: as one survivor said, “People died so markets could be free.” The Citizens United version of economic freedom means that businessmen can buy political influence with no restrictions. We can see how well that is working out in the US. The level of corruption has gone from being tolerable to rampant in a remarkably short period of time.

Naked Capitalist warns that the Kochs have gotten stealthier as they've come under scrutiny. Their latest gambit is to set up a "Freedom Center" in the Philosophy Department at the University of Arizona. Unlike their previous attempts to decide who gets the job at their academic outposts, the Kochs didn't attach any strings to the "Freedom Center." They just installed one of their longtime lackeys.

We'll take Warren Buffett, thank you.