Top 5 Lobbyist for 2010: Koch Industry

The Koch brothers have spent millions of dollars lobbying DC to influence lawmakers. In 2010 they ranked in the top 5 of lobbyists putting them in the company of BP and Shell. They have made sure to hire lobbyists that do not have a history with their company allowing them to maintain a low profile, that is until recently. With the recent events in Wisonsin, they have been thrust into the spotlight along with their activities.

Wall Street Corruption

Michael Snyder of Inteldaily wrote a very thorough article on the falling confidence in the financial system and the wide-spread corruption on Wall Street.  The main points made in the article listed below. 

Bloomberg is reporting that a massive network of big banks and financial institutions have been involved in blatant bid-rigging fraud that cost taxpayers across the U.S. billions of dollars.

Corporate Crimes and No Punishment

Since the Wall Street crisis of 2008, the CEOs who headed the firms and banks have not been prosecuted. Since the crisis, the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis released its final report and the findings showed no corporate crime found.

Paul Ryan's Proposed Budget Cuts

A breakdown of the budget proposal cuts by House Budget Chief Paul Ryan's (R-WI). There are across the board cuts to government services, and he proposes cutting taxes by 10% for both corporations and high income earners.

• Cut top income earners' tax rate from 35 to 25%.
• Cut corporate tax rate from 35 to 25%.
• Medicare system would be ended and replaced with a voucher program starting in 2022. This means seniors would be given a "coupon" and forced to buy insurance on the open market.

GOP Wants Government Shutdown

In the last few weeks the D.C. press has been reporting that each party has been working very hard to avoid a shutdown. That neither party wants to see this happen. Reports came in late yesterday from House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) that a deal has not been reached and a government shutdown is expected.

Bernie Sanders on Corporate Tax Cheats

Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders on the floor of the Senate speaking on shared sacrifice when it comes to balancing the budget.  Instead of cutting programs that benefit low income families, middle class workers, the sick, and the elderly, start taxing the corporations.  

GOP Vouchers and Privatizing Medicare

Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan is introducing the GOP budget proposal on Tuesday. The proposal will attempt to overhaul Medicare and cut Medicaid. Ryan is known for his views of wanting to privatize Medicare and replace it with a voucher system that would require recipients to purchase coverage through a private medical plan. Paul Krugman's view on this.

Privatizing and voucherizing Medicare does nothing whatsoever to control costs. We’ve seen that from the sorry history of Medicare Advantage. I’m sure that the Republicans will claim savings — but those savings will come entirely from limiting the vouchers to below the rate of rise in health care costs; in effect, they will come from denying medical care to those who can’t afford to top up their premiums.

Vouchers are a way to maximizing government funding of the healthcare industry. The view of writers at ThinkersJam.

It’s the GOP’s way of saying, "Here you go Cigna. Uncle Sam just can’t afford you anymore, but we’ll make sure you get every penny available." Of course, the countervailing message to America’s elderly is akin to "Thanks for your contribution. You’re on your own now. We hope you won’t become ill, but if you do, may you die quickly." But, oh well, that’s life; resources are limited and somebody has to make a sacrifice.

GOP Wants to Break Unions

Unions are the last line of defense for public and private workers. Membership numbers have dwindled over the years but their influence in our politics have not. They protect employees from abuse by corporations and government. If GOP get their way, America's working class will be at the mercy of their employers and/or government.

The reason is clear, unions by in large support the Democratic party. If they are busted and taken out of our political system, then corporations will run our government unchecked. President Harold A. Schaitberger of the International Association of Fire Fighters told The Hill.

"This is all happening in a very coordinated way to kill off our unions and to deny workers the opportunity to have some say in their careers. They are trying to take us down."

This is all being done because of a fiscal crisis caused by Wall Street and corporations and the need to balance state budgets. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka's response to actions taken in Wisconsin.

"This isn’t about balancing the budget. This is about making political choices. This is about hurting workers. This is about taking away their rights."

The Class Divide

The anger being expressed in America as well as in Europe and the middle east has been shocking at times but also very energizing. It seems the gap between the super-rich and middle and lower classes have reached mammoth levels.

Fighting Back Banks and Corporations

There has been a war declared on working Americans by Wall Street and Corporations. The war is against our educational system, workplace, and our communities and programs that help them. Our income, savings and homes are slowly being taken away by banks. Meanwhile the corporations, bankers, and the wealthy are getting billions in tax breaks. The Nation's Frances Fox Piven's view on this.

Corporate America’s unprovoked assault on working people has been carried out by manufacturing a need for fiscal austerity. We are told that there is no more money for essential human services, for the care of children, or better public schools, or to help lower the cost of a college education. The fact is that big banks and large corporations are hoarding trillions in cash and using tax loopholes to bankrupt our communities.

CEO Salaries and the Middle Class

USA Today reported on a study that found CEO pay has climbed back to the pre-recession level; however, pay for the newly employeed are not meeting living standards of $30,000 a year based on a study from Wider Opportunities for Women.

"Too few American families are living in economically secure households, with most workers unable to stretch their incomes over basic expenses and savings," Joan Kuriansky, executive director of WOW said in a statement. "The American Dream of working hard to support your family is being rewritten by the growth of low paying industries and rising expenses."

The Top 20 Lobbying Companies

Clark Merrefield and Lauren Streib of The Daily Beast recently wrote a piece focusing on corporations and their influence in DC. 

To find out Capitol Hill’s coziest companies, The Daily Beast began by looking at the Fortune 100—the biggest, richest companies in America. We then did a simple ranking of the number of lobbyists on each company’s payroll in 2010, and their total lobbying expenditures for 2010, with data from the Center for Responsive Politics.  

1. General Electric
Lobbyists hired: 195
Lobbying expenditures: $39.3 million
Revenues: $150.2 billion

Why Wisconsin is a Battleground State

An interview by Paul Jay with Allen Ruff, a radio host and social activities, discussing the history of unions and their relevance to workers, their rights, and details the reason that breaking of the unions will directly affect middle and lower classes.