Hot TopicsAN OPEN LETTER TO CONGRESS How much extreme weather and how many natural disasters do we have to experience before Congress takes climate change seriously and does something to deal meaningfully with the problem? How many record high and low temperatures, rain and snowfalls? How much drought? How many millions of acres burned? How many floods? How many earthquakes? How many tornadoes? How many hurricanes? How huge an economic burden for the loss of property and lives and crops? How many more homes are going to be lost---besides those foreclosed on because of greedy and unregulated mortgage companies, banks and financial speculators---due to such disasters? Is anyone connecting the dots in Washington? It doesn't take a scientist to see what we are experiencing worldwide. And it doesn't take much of a stretch to imagine ordinary frustrated and disgusted U.S. citizens following the example of angry demonstrators in Egypt, Syria and Libya protesting their failed and corrupt government. We have our own. Perhaps if our senators and representatives in Congress were elected instead of bought we would have something other than political games and gridlock. If big money were out of politics we would have a democracy again instead of a plutocracy. Undoubtedly there are those of you who are well-intentioned and believe you are serving the best interests of U.S. citizens, people worldwide, and all life on earth. But you are more interested in winning than in the common good and act more like 6th grade gang members than civil servants. The way you play in Washington, no one wins and we all lose. In four decades of active participation in our so-called democracy, I have never been less proud of being a Democrat or an American, or so disgusted with the political scene. I know this sentiment is shared by many. (Only if this letter were printed in flaming red, 80 pt. bold type would you get a sense of my frustration, but then the paper would burn up like our forests in New Mexico, Texas, Florida, or Sincerely hoping for change, but not expecting much.
EXXON MOBILE: $19 Billion in PROFITS - Paid NO Federal Income Taxes - Received $156 million IRS rebate. BANK OF AMERICA: $4.4 billion in profits - Received $1.9 billion IRS tax refund last year - Received Federal Reserve bailout of nearly $1 trillion. GENERAL ELECTRIC - GE: $26 billion in profits - Received $4.1 billion IRS refund. CHEVRON: $10 billion in profits 2009 - Received $19 million IRS refund in 2009 by deferring $128 million of U.S. federal income tax liability. BOEING: Received $30 billion Pentagon contract to build 179 airborne tankers - Received $124 million IRS refund in 2010. VALERO ENERGY:, $68 billion in sales 2009 - Received $157 million IRS tax refund & $134 million tax break from oil/gas manufacturing tax deduction. GOLDMAN SACHS: $2.3 billion in profits in 2008 - Paid 1.1 % in federal income taxes in 2008 - Received almost $800 billion from Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department. CITIGROUP: $4 billion in profits in 2009 - Paid NO federal income taxes - Received $2.5 trillion bailout from Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury. CONOCO-PHILLIPS: $16 billion in profits from 2007-2009 - Received $451 million in tax breaks through oil/gas manufacturing deduction. [Source: www.sanders.senate.gov]. |