If Sean Hannity calls it "propaganda" and a "disgusting hit piece," then you know this video below has got to be pretty good.
Created by the California Federation of Teachers and narrated by Ed Asner.
Scott's dead wrong on debt, Rose says09/12/2012  On Sept. 4, national public debt broke $16 trillion for the first time. The next day, South Carolina’s Rep. Tim Scott (1st Dist.) was quick to point out the new numbers on his congressional website. “That works out to almost $51,000 for every American,” he wrote upon the site, dropping blame upon the Democratic Party and claiming “it is well past time that we again regain fiscal control.” His opponent, Democratic candidate Bobbie Rose, finds Scott’s assessment to be rather misleading, however. In addition, she says, Scott’s only supported measures that would increase the financial burden on all but the wealthy. “First of all, about 40 percent of that isn’t current debt, but anticipated future payments of assets we already hold,” Rose says. “That’s our Federal Reserve funds preserved for national emergency, our Social Security Trust Fund and other trust funds. “About $4 billion of it isn’t any debt of the federal government, either, but our own public debt,” she adds, offering personal mortgages, student loans and business debts as examples. Very much of the actual government debt results from Pres. George W. Bush’s administration, too, Rose points out. “The fact is, of that $16 trillion debt, $6.1 trillion – by far the largest single increase – came about during Bush’s eight years in office. This massive increase was due to tax cuts for the wealthy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the economic downturn in 2001 and the recession that started in 2007. “In his very long political career, I don’t recall Scott ever before complaining about government debt when it came to Bush’s spending.” $9.5 trillion of current national public debt originates from the last three Republican presidents. “It’s interesting that when tax cuts on our wealthiest citizens were occurring during two wars,” Rose adds, “the Republican Party showed an astounding lack of interest in our national debt.” While debt has continued growing since Bush’s exit, “the current debt is due to stimulus spending – money spent here in the U.S. The continuation of recession through 2009 resulted in lost revenue, too,” she says. Scott’s votes and endorsements indicate that he won’t properly address this debt, either, Rose says. “Scott has supported measures that take away from the middle class, that cost the middle class, and that only favor wealthy citizens,” citing Scott’s support for the Ryan Budget, which cut away from veterans’ benefits, and his endorsement of Mitt Romney as examples. A recent study by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center found that Romney’s proposed tax plan would raise income taxes on all Americans earning less than $200,000. “That’s 95 percent of the population,” Rose points out. “Why can’t our government do what families all across the country do when they are in debt? We find a way to bring in more money. Why can’t our government use the only solution that will work, raising revenue on our top earners?” she asks. “Scott says stimulus spending doesn’t work, but that’s counter to what every nonpartisan economist has told us,” adds Rose. “What doesn’t work, and will never work, is taking ‘raising revenue’ off the table.” Also read:US Debt 101 Tim Scott: Americans aren't supposed to be equal Budget policies, then and now Rose to Rep. Scott: Hit the road, Tim Scott's vets event an insult to veterans, Rose says Scott's first-year spending high, paid to endorsers Math for Bachmanns09/02/2012 At the recent Republican National Convention, congresswoman (and former presidential candidate) Michele Bachmann defended her former opponent against claims he was out-of-touch with the average American. A USA Today reporter asked her, "(T)here are those who say, 'How can someone with that kind of vast wealth really connect with the American public, really understand what the plight of the American public is?'" Bachmann's response? "Well, President Obama is extremely wealthy. He and his wife have been wealthy for a number of years, and so I think that's really the issue." Go on - see it for yourself in the video below: (posted on youtube Aug 28 by CallMeMayBe) So, Bachmann says, Mitt Romney is the preferred candidate because Obama has too much money? Of course, we could just compare their tax returns side-by-side, now couldn't we? (You can use the "view in full screen" options, located in the bottom-right corner of each of the Scribd columns below.)
This just in for Michele Bachmann: $20,808,805 is greater than $844,585. TWENTY FIVE TIMES greater, in fact. And it's FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE times more than the average American income of $41,673.83, too. Now, call me strange, but I can't help but notice that Romney got none of the $20.8 million from actual work. That's right - his multi-millions didn't come from any job. They came from interest on his other money. From stock dividends. And from rental properties, too. So who is it exactly, Bachmann, that's out of touch with the average American household? Mitt Romney, that's who. As for Bachmann herself? She's out of touch with reality. Let's not forget that Romney has yet to release all of his 2010 returns, either. Some takes on that are because he may have filed an Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program document - a one-time opportunity for those who committed illegal tax evasion to come clean and pay up. If that's the case - admitting a felony - Romney wouldn't be able to appear on the ballots of some states. Also read: Reich's regard for Romney-Ryan's Wreckonomics Tax Hackers McCain team's 200-page report on Romney Occupy Charleston occupies local Bachmann event Starve the unemployed, Bachmann says Bachmann brings bad weather - and bad bus drivers - to South Carolina As we fumble around with paperwork and calculators on this second-to-last day to file personal income taxes, many of us Americans will grumble and gripe about folks who cheat on taxes and get away with it. But those tax cheaters aren't the real problem, according to a recent online posting by Frugal Dad. The real slap in the face to us regular, real (i.e. "non-wealthy") Americans are the ones who are legally getting away with paying little if any taxes, and despite millions - even billions - in earnings. "Only 1% of taxes on wages and salaries goes uncollected; however, it’s estimated that every year the U.S. Government loses $100 billion to legal tax havens employed by corporations and multi-millionaires," reads the recent entry by Frugal Dad Jason. Take Google, for example, which shuffles its U.S. earnings offshore for much lower tax rates in other countries. Or presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who we've known for some time to send his earnings to the Cayman Islands (and, we recently learned, to Swiss bank accounts, too). See Jason's interesting graph below:  Source: Frugal Dad (Special thanks to Diana, Outreach Coordinator at FrugalDad.com, for sending me the link and suggesting I post it here.) **** Also see: "Dollar Bill Protest Underway" "6 executive bonuses equal 2.86 million jobs" "DeMint defends Romney's 'not concerned about the very poor' comment" "Don't care about the very poor?" 
(This originates from the facebook page of the Americans Against the Tea Party group, and is now being circulated by MoveOn.) Send the bill to Zais08/15/2011  Mick Zais, superintendent of South Carolina’s Dept. of Education, recently refused $149 million in federal funding for our state’s schools. The federal government has no right to contribute to South Carolina’s public education, he said. Instead, that money – which is directly derived from the taxes we ourselves pay – is now going to schools in the other 49 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. South Carolina is the only one left out of the picture. And after recent final notice from the U.S. Dept. of Education, Zais finalized that rejection with bitterness, claiming that last contact to be example of “wasted taxpayers’ resources(.)” But where does that leave us South Carolina taxpayers, who are the source of that $149 million? This rejection of our own tax money to our own schools (which are currently operating at their lowest budget in 20 years and at risk of massive layoffs) is nothing but a prime example of “wasted taxpayers’ resources” in and of itself. And who says we have to take it lightly? While it certainly leaves us and our children (not to mention the future of our state) hanging dry, it doesn’t have to leave us silent. That’s why you’ll find documents on this page that you can download and submit to Zais as a billing statement to recover your loss. That’s right – a bill. It was your money he threw away, after all. And you have every right to request it be returned to you. Here's the body of its content: “According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census in its most recent data from 2010 surveys, the total population of South Carolina is 4,625,364. (For confirmation, please see: http://2010.census.gov/news/pdf/cb11cn112_sc_totalpop_2010map.pdf) As a result, the $149 million in federal funding offered to our state’s public schools amounts to $32.21 per South Carolina resident. Following your rejection of this funding, which is derived directly from the income taxes we South Carolinians pay to the federal government, I am left with no other choice but to seek personal compensation of those now-lost funds, which we recently learned are going to benefit all other states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia instead of our own. This submission, then, is a bill. I now find you and your office to owe me the $32.21 of my tax dollars you decided to waste and give away.” The billing statement (available in both the 07 and 03 versions of MS Word) can be downloaded right here. The submission address is included on the document, too, and even a clippable statement for him to include with his payment. All you have to do is add your name and address, along with the date of submittal. 
Feel free to make any changes you like, of course. But please send Zais the statement. Those were your tax dollars for education in your state, and which could have benefited South Carolina in so many residual ways (employment, earnings, job retention, new business development, etc.). Disconnect the top 1 percent08/03/2011 It’s an economic environment of exclusivity, a recent episode of Fault Lines depicts. Only one percent of the population takes in more than 20 percent of all earnings in the United States, for example. Since the 1970’s, the income levels of the top 10 percent in wealth increased four-fold; the remaining 90 percent of the country has had no income growth, when accounting for inflation and other cost-of-living increases. And the U.S. government – not any branch and neither side – is fully helping to stop this anti-Democratic, non-capitalist movement from ransacking our Democratic capitalist country. The movers and the makers are led by the money shakers. And that’s probably never been more apparent than it is today. “As both Democrats and Republicans gear up for the 2012 presidential elections, the race to raise money for campaign advertising is a driving force for both parties,” the reporter of this recent August 2 episode, titled “The Top 1%,” says. The top wealth in the country and their corporations, who provide the most in campaign donations by far, get an unfair and disproportionate influence on government as a result. Take U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, for example, who’s featured in the episode. Chair of the House Budget Committee, Ryan claims the only way to help our economy is by taking away healthcare benefits from the poor and elderly, cutting benefits from retirees … and lowering the tax rate on the top income bracket to only 25 percent. Ryan’s top campaign donors are investment firms and insurance companies, as well as Koch Industries. These politicians don’t want to answer up to the public about their proposals or policies, either. Watch the young female reporter attempt to interview Ryan, having to dodge parking meters along the sidewalk as she tries to keep with the evasive Wisconsin Republican. (“Your questions are rude,” Ryan barked as he got into his SUV, closing the interview.) And those who do answer questions about the policies they promote are quite blunt. Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, is asked if his conservative think tank only advocates on the behalf of wealth. “Yeah – you just can’t help it,” he replies. This is a 25-minute episode, which might be too long for some to watch. But if you only have a few minutes to spare, just slide the bar over to the 20:00 mark. You could even mute the volume. The next three-and-a-half minutes of the clip provides a rather vivid video grasp of the current economic situation in the U.S. You’ll see the excitement and enthusiasm swarming the campus of Harvard University as it hosts an outdoor graduation ceremony, a rite of passage for the children of wealth to go on and score their own. And then you’ll see the team of common Americans scouring the area after the ceremony, cleaning up all the trash those wealthy folks left lying on the campus grounds. Right after that segment, put the volume back on to hear what’s probably the most succinct of summations on the subject. According to Leo Hindery, a progressive political activist, “This degree of inequity will ultimately lead to social upheaval – it’s that acute. “But the politicians aren’t listening (to the public),” Hindery says. “They’re listening to the lobbies. They’re listening to the wealthy people. “We’ve got to disconnect.” Budget policies, then and now07/25/2011 The total cost of policy changes made by George W. Bush during his 2001-2009 presidency: $5.07 trillion. How many Republicans (and now Tea Partiers) complained? Zero The total cost of policy changes made by Obama, and even with projections through 2017 (inclusive of his second term): $1.44 trillion How many Republicans and Tea Partiers are complaining? ALL OF THEM Well, where the hell were you in 2001-2009, GOTea? And an even better question - exactly where did all that money go? Bush's costs - went overseas to companies that aren't paying US taxes; to rich folks who now pay much less taxes; to banks and corporations that pay little if any taxes. Obama's costs - go to low and middle income groups, who were paying too much in taxes; to provide means for those same folks to access health care so they can continue working and paying taxes; to US companies that created US jobs, increasing the accessibility to tax dollars from all.  From the New York Times Tax Breaks vs. Budget Cuts03/07/2011 Most of the GOP's proposed budget cuts take away from programs that help low and middle income Americans. At the same time, the GOP keeps giving tax breaks for high income Americans and corporations which, if weren't there to begin with, would just about completely fund all the programs to benefit low and middle income Americans. From the Center for American Progress:  |  Progressive Blue in the Red State of South Carolina
Written by: Rob Groce
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