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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums5 Extreme Acts of Greed that Screw the American People
http://www.alternet.org/economy/5-extreme-acts-greed-screw-american-people1. $1,000,000,000,000,000 in Sales. Not One Cent for Sales Tax
The trading volume on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reached an incomprehensible $1 quadrillion in notional value in 2012. That's a thousand trillion dollars. In comparison, the entire U.S. GDP is $17 trillion.
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2. A Single Tax-Avoider Made More Money in 2013 Than ALL the Emergency Responders in the U.S.
Warren Buffett watched his net worth grow by $12 billion in one year, much more than the $8.3 billion our country spends on almost a quarter-million Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics.
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3. Walmart: $13,000 per U.S. Employee Taken in Profits, $4,000 per U.S. Employee Taken from Taxpayers
It gets worse. In addition to Walmart's $19 billion in U.S. profits last year, the four Walton siblings together made about $29 billion from their personal investments. That's over $33,000 per U.S. employee in profits and family stock gains. Yet they pay their 1.4 million American employees so little that the average Walmart worker depends on about $4,000 per year in taxpayer assistance, for food stamps and other safety net programs.
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4. U.S. Wealth Grew by $25 Trillion in the Recovery, but 90 Percent of Us Got NONE of It
U.S. wealth grew from $47 trillion to $72 trillion in the four years after the recession, largely as a reflection of continued American productivity. In other words, a full one-third of the total wealth in the U.S. in 2013 was generated since 2009. But the richest 10% took all of it.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Yet people like Rmoney and the rest of the gop all complain about the President. They all line their pockets, but it STILL is not enough for them. Rmoney and his Queen Anne are giving it another try to get into the WH. What a nightmare that would be. When are republican voters going to WAKE UP?? Hopefully, the "smart one" in the Bush family will take his mother's advice and stay out of the WH. All we need is another one of "them" in a position to start yet another war. How smart would he have to be to be the "smart one" in THAT family? Maybe an I.Q. above room temperature?
baldguy
(36,649 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)almost like listening to Limpballs
baldguy
(36,649 posts)Merely because I support the Democratic Party against unfair attacks?
kokobell616
(35 posts)Public funded campaigns...
A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)If someone doesn't know which candidate to vote for after 5 or 6 weeks they never will. The only thing year(s) long campaigning does is cause the public to tune out from the election, then again maybe that's what the powers that be want.
Would also cut down on how much groveling for campaign cash a candidate would have to do.
cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
lkindr
(27 posts)That was the beginning of U.S. imperialism/fascism coming out in the open, I'd say. FDR, Ike and JFK were the only ones to threaten the oligarchs.
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)Hearing this repeated over and over again drives this into the heads of the masses which in turn will lead to progress. I know that we are on the verge of a massive progressive surge in this country.
loudsue
(14,087 posts)They don't report ANYTHING critical of our moneyed elite.