Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Taxing 13 hedge-fund managers could pay for 300,000 teachers

Wis. unrest exposed GOP strategy to split lower classes, liberal author says | The Raw Story: "Reich pointed out that the managers of Wall Street who caused the current unemployment crisis would have lost their jobs had it not been for their taxpayer-supported bailout two years ago. He noted that taxes on the earnings of some 13 hedge-fund managers could pay for 300,000 teachers."

Monday, February 21, 2011

Walker bill would cripple public transit

The Less Discussed Part of Walker’s Wisconsin Plan: No-Bid Energy Assets Firesales. « Rortybomb

The Less Discussed Part of Walker’s Wisconsin Plan: No-Bid Energy Assets Firesales. « Rortybomb: "16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state−owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b)."

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Income Inequality In The U.S. Is Worse Than In Egypt

Egypt Unions offer support to U.S. workers ....



U.S. workers need the support, U.S. income inequality is worse than in Egypt:

ThinkProgress » Income Inequality In The U.S. Is Worse Than In Egypt: "Income Inequality In The U.S. Is Worse Than In Egypt"

...income inequality in the U.S. is the worst it has been since the 1920′s, which is a real problem.

Currently, the top one percent of households make nearly 25 percent of the total income in the country, after they made less than 10 percent in the 1970′s. Between 1980 and 2005, “more than 80 percent of total increase in Americans’ income went to the top 1 percent.”

According to the latest data, “the gaps in after-tax income between the richest 1 percent of Americans and the middle and poorest fifths of the country more than tripled between 1979 and 2007.” And there’s even a stark divide within that one percent. “The share of the nation’s income flowing to the top one-tenth of 1 percent of households increased from 7.3 percent of the total income in the nation in 2002 to 12.3 percent in 2007,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities noted....