Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and President Obama know that filling the $1.62 trillion U.S. budget deficit for Fiscal 2011 means forcing big corporations to pay their fair share. As a white-guilt-ridden private industry lackey, the least I can do is help with the calculations!
President Obama may be hedging on the EPA’s righteous destruction of American polluters, but that doesn’t mean dirty corporations are off the hook. Sure, we’ve already soaked Exxon and Chevron, but the ill-gotten gains of a few more polluting fat-cats will cover the nation’s budget deficit!
None of ConocoPhillips’s 29,900 employees will lose their jobs if Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama work their not-at-all-socialist magic. The only funds & individuals holding ConocoPhillips’s 1.37 billion outstanding shares of stock who suffer will be the ones who deserve to.
Don’t worry: this punitive tax policy won’t increase the cost of travel, heating, shipping, or plastics!
We, The People who support Sherrod Brown’s fiscal policies, hold these leftist conceits to be self-evident.
As noted at Third Base Politics and elsewhere, there are limits to the “new tone” called for by President Obama amid efforts to blame a deranged individual’s violence on the tea party movement. Strangely, the dividing line varies depending on your political beliefs. It’s almost as if the moderate king of hope and civility wants to silence opposition to his lefter-than-left policies.
Hundreds of Longshore workers stormed the Port of Longview, overpowered security guards, damaged rail cars and dumped grain at the center of a labor dispute that also stopped work at four other ports on Thursday, officials said.
[...]
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that’s staffing a workforce of laborers from another union, the Portland-based Operating Engineers Local 701.
The White House has announced that nearly two dozen guests will sit with first lady Michelle Obama to watch President Obama deliver his jobs speech to a joint session of Congress.
The list of business, labor and political leaders includes GE Chairman Jeffrey Immelt, AOL co-founder Steve Case, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.
“We Are Ohio” is a friendly team of non-partisan Ohioans with the public’s best interests at heart. Unless you believe your lyin’ eyes.
(Click for full size image)When I describe We Are Ohio as a union front group, I am not exaggerating: We Are Ohio is a union front group, primarily funded by union bosses in Washington, D.C. Learn more, and see the numbers behind this chart.
Unions Mean Solidarity! Disregard Everything OEA Employees Say…
According to We Are Ohio, only the cooperation experts of the Ohio Education Association (OEA) can make our school districts work. That’s why OEA needs enormous negotiating power, whatever the cost! Never mind that OEA’s management is so incompetent, the union’s employees went on strike just last summer. Here’s a sampling of the photos from the strike outside OEA headquarters in Columbus:
In connection with the 2010 strike, OEA employees had all sorts of things to say that belie We Are Ohio’s cynical rhetoric. Read all about it!
Union Talking Points, Dulled to Nothing
If the past few resources aren’t enough to convince you, don’t worry. We Are Ohio and their leftist enablers have been repeating the same hacky lines since winter, and I’ve enjoyed stepping on all of them!
Issue 2 will devastate Ohio’s economy by stealing pay from government workers!
Senate Bill 5 doesn’t take away bargaining for wages, and this argument relies on a complete ignorance of economics. Do you believe money can be spent or invested without first being taken from taxpayers? If so, you’re too smart for the union bosses, and their chief talking point crumbles.
Issue 2 will make police and firefighters less safe!
This shameless scare tactic suddenly became popular when polling indicated most of Senate Bill 5 resonates with Ohio voters despite months of union distortion. It remains entirely untrue, as Senate Bill 5 does not affect bargaining over safety equipment.
Issue 2 is an attack on the middle class by greedy special interests!
Wrong in so many ways. Senate Bill 5 protects the jobs of government workers – a slim portion of Ohio’s workforce – by freeing school districts and local governments from unsustainable health and pension costs. If you think the unions actually care about workers, think again.
Issue 2 is fueled by envy! Why not increase everyone’s benefits instead of robbing government workers?!
More proof leftists can’t comprehend the word “growth,” and view the economy as a static pie from which government should dole out slices as politicians see fit. Senate Bill 5 will allow local leaders to focus on sustainable budgets instead of unaffordable union demands. This, in turn, will prevent tax hikes, making it easier for businesses to create more jobs and more wealth.
Issue 2 will drive the best teachers and government workers out of Ohio!
This one’s actually funny, if you remember the unions also insist merit pay is a terrible idea because teachers and government workers aren’t motivated by compensation like everyone else on the planet. Given unemployment rates throughout Ohio and the nation, no one really expects mass turnover based on a slight adjustment in health and pension benefits – especially when compared to benefits in private industry.
Reducing public employee pay will cripple the economy, but taking more from taxpayers will have no such effect.
Corporations employing hundreds of thousands shouldn’t pay their CEOs seven-figure salaries from earnings, but union bosses employing a couple hundred activists deserve six-figure salaries from member dues.
Government employees are more educated than the average worker, so they deserve better pay – regardless of how much benefit they provide to the public.
Government unions create good jobs… by demanding unsustainable pay which leads to higher taxes and fewer jobs.
Public union members love paying dues, but making payment of union dues optional is a political attack.
Government union employees are paid six figures even as dues-paying members are axed, but government unions are selfless organizations in command of the moral high ground.
Unions and the Democratic Party are attached at the hip, but forced unionization for government workers keeps politics out of the workplace.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has a Progressive’s grasp of economics: corporations are evil, and bureaucrats could micromanage the world perfectly given a little more money.
Sherrod – like President Obama – isn’t specific about his approach to sustainable big government, so what if we used the class-warrior’s dream scenario of doubled corporate income taxes and fully “reclaimed” CEO pay? Starting with just the 2011 deficit of $1.62 trillion, how fast could we balance the budget with a bit extra from the kings of the S&P 500?
After a decidedly non-Progressive lapse in weekly recaps, we’re back on schedule. Now that we’ve soaked 36 of America’s largest employers, we’ve covered 6.587% of the 2011 deficit! That’s a reduction from $1,620,000,000,000 to $1,513,286,096,569 (view source workbook).
If hiking taxes on a few hundred more corporations could cover the remaining 93.413% of the 2011 deficit, would it be worth it?
Sure! As Sherrod would insist, soaking The Rich has no negative effects. Among the things that won’t happen if Sherrod Brown and President Obama tax their way to the chart above:
None of the corporations’ 6,505,112 employees will lose their jobs.
None of the corporations’ products or services – health insurance, prescription drugs, medical devices, food at supermarkets & restaurants, purified water, appliances, gasoline, business & consumer lending, checking accounts, savings accounts, construction equipment, air travel, shipping, national defense, cell phone service, broadband access, fast food, soda, sports drinks, snacks, the thousands of items available at Amazon.com & Wal-Mart, toothpaste, diapers, detergent, baby soap, Band-Aids, movies, television, newspapers, computer software, iPods, laptops, servers, networking equipment, etc. – will get more expensive.
None of the funds or individuals holding the corporations’ 87,648,800,000 shares of stock will be ruined… unless they deserve it!
None of the world’s entrepreneurs or executives will stop investing in American businesses.
Good thing raising taxes is an all-around win… otherwise, Ohioans would have to find a senator with more sense than Sherrod Brown!
Plus, there’s still the matter of a $1.62 trillion U.S. deficit for Fiscal 2011, and soaking the rich is Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and President Obama’s centrist answer for these sort of minor budgetary troubles!
None of Morgan Stanley’s 62,542 employees will lose their jobs if Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama have their way. The only funds & individuals holding Morgan Stanley’s 1.93 billion outstanding shares of stock who suffer will be the ones who deserve to.
Don’t worry: this punitive tax policy won’t increase the cost of checking, savings, or credit accounts… and even if it did, that would help Americans learn that only the federal government can be trusted! Once again, Sherrod succeeds where the free market fails.
We, The People who support Sherrod Brown’s fiscal policies, hold these leftist conceits to be self-evident.
Plus, there’s still the matter of a $1.62 trillion U.S. deficit for Fiscal 2011, and soaking the rich is Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and President Obama’s tried-and-sorta-true solution for budgetary blips like this!
Now Soaking: Citigroup, Inc.
Reuters lists Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit’s compensation as $1. Nice try, Vik – we’ll be watching you! Pandit has been a Citigroup executive since shortly before bailout fever swept the coast, so he’s got enough money. His $1, meager contribution to the greater good that it may be, will be better spent by Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama!
None of Citigroup’s 260,000 employees will lose their jobs if Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama work their not-at-all-socialist magic. The only funds & individuals holding Citigroup’s 2.92 billion outstanding shares of stock who suffer will be the ones who deserve to.
Don’t worry: this punitive tax policy won’t increase the cost of checking, savings, or credit accounts… and even if it did, it’d help Americans learn that only the federal government can be trusted! Once again, Sherrod succeeds where the free market fails.
We, The People who support Sherrod Brown’s fiscal policies, hold these leftist conceits to be self-evident.
Unlike Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the president, and the first lady, I’m not a class warfare professional. As a result, I failed the last two weeks to keep the Soak the Rich hose trained on evil corporations! In honor of vacationer extraordinaire Michelle Obama, this special catchup edition will target fat-cat fatty-foods producers.
Remember, although we’ve already soaked McDonald’s and 29 more of America’s largest employers, we’ve barely covered 6% of the $1.62 trillion 2011 U.S. budget deficit. Sherrod says we can keep spending on entitlements if corporations give their fair share, so we’ll keep soaking corporations until we’ve filled that hole!
Now Soaking: The Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola makes sugary beverages, among other things. Sugary beverages make children fat!
None of Coca-Cola’s 139,600 employees will lose their jobs if Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama work their not-at-all-socialist magic. The only funds & individuals holding Coca-Cola’s 2.3 billion outstanding shares of stock who suffer will be the ones who deserve to.
Now Soaking: General Mills, Inc.
General Mills makes cereal, Pillsbury desserts, and Hamburger Helper, among other things. General Mills makes Americans fat!
None of General Mills’s 35,000 employees will lose their jobs if Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama work their not-at-all-socialist magic. The only funds & individuals holding General Mills’s 647 million outstanding shares of stock who suffer will be the ones who deserve to.
Now Soaking: PepsiCo, Inc.
PepsiCo makes beverages, many of them chock full of sugar. PepsiCo wants to kill your babies!
None of PepsiCo’s 294,000 employees will lose their jobs if Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama work their not-at-all-socialist magic. The only funds & individuals holding PepsiCo’s 1.58 billion outstanding shares of stock who suffer will be the ones who deserve to.
Now Soaking: Yum! Brands, Inc.
Yum! Brands is responsible for fatty fast-food abominations Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, and A&W. Yum! should be tried for war crimes in Michelle Obama’s fight on fatness.
None of Yum!’s 52,920 employees will lose their jobs if Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama work their not-at-all-socialist magic. The only funds & individuals holding Yum!’s 464 million outstanding shares of stock who suffer will be the ones who deserve to.
Whatever healthy products these corporations produce, the government must punish their fatty, salty, sugary sins. But don’t worry: this punitive tax policy won’t increase the cost of snacks, beverages, cereal, or fast food – and even if it did, that would help stupid Americans eat better! Once again, Sherrod succeeds where the free market fails.
We, The People who support Sherrod Brown’s fiscal policies, hold these leftist conceits to be self-evident.
I am a public employee. Thankfully I’m classified as Administrative / Professional staff, which means I don’t have to worry about being forced to join a union or pay “fair share” fees. Like all public employees, I’m an individual, and should be treated as such.
I am an inconvenience to We Are Ohio. Ohio’s government unions enrich themselves by taking money from government workers… the last thing they need is an informed taxpayer pointing that out.
If you’ve not seen it, check out my video matching union boss hysterics with union boss pay. At no point do I “attack public workers.” Watch closely, also, for the “bitterness” and “unhinged anger” I’m accused of by the official Twitter account of an official union mouthpiece.
The unions don’t want you to know Senate Bill 5 offers commonsense reforms to Ohio’s broken government union law. That’s why self-proclaimed Advocates of Public Workers attack me, a public worker, every time I try to inform fellow Ohioans about the need for government union reform.
Here’s another thing you’ll never hear from the unions: don’t take my word for it. Review We Are Ohio’s arguments, and then ask which line of Senate Bill 5 endangers police & firemen; which page slashes teacher wages; which section renders elected officials unaccountable to the voters who pay public workers’ salaries.
Because unions are heroes, any criticism of unions is villainy. If this is an accepted truism, questions about union boss pay, raises disconnected from merit, the madness of last-in-first-out, and the need for sustainable benefit plans are unimportant. No wonder Senate Bill 5 supporters are libeled daily!
The troubling thing is not that government unions lie, but that they scarcely do anything else.
Cross-posted at Third Base Politics and Columbus Tea Party.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has a Progressive’s grasp of economics: corporations are evil, and bureaucrats could micromanage the world perfectly given a little more money. Sherrod – like President Obama – isn’t specific about his approach to sustainable big government, so what if we used the class-warrior’s dream scenario of doubled corporate income taxes and fully “reclaimed” CEO pay? Starting with just the 2011 deficit of $1.62 trillion, how fast could we balance the budget with a bit extra from the kings of the S&P 500?
We’ve done it! After soaking only 30 of America’s largest employers, we’ve covered… barely 6% of this year’s deficit(view source workbook). That’s a reduction from $1,620,000,000,000 to $1,521,756,222,570.
If hiking taxes on a few hundred more corporations could cover the remaining 93.936% of the 2011 deficit, would it be worth it?
Sure! As Sherrod would insist, soaking The Rich has no negative effects. Among the things that won’t happen if Sherrod Brown and President Obama tax their way to the chart above:
None of the corporations’ 5,661,050 employees will lose their jobs.
None of the corporations’ products or services – health insurance, prescription drugs, medical devices, food at supermarkets & restaurants, purified water, appliances, gasoline, business & consumer lending, checking accounts, savings accounts, construction equipment, air travel, shipping, national defense, cell phone service, broadband access, fast food, the thousands of items available at Amazon.com & Wal-Mart, toothpaste, diapers, detergent, baby soap, Band-Aids, movies, television, newspapers, computer software, iPods, laptops, servers, networking equipment, etc. – will get more expensive.
None of the funds or individuals holding the corporations’ 77,807,800,000 shares of stock will be ruined… unless they deserve it!
None of the world’s entrepreneurs or executives will stop investing in American businesses.
Good thing raising taxes is an all-around win… otherwise, Ohioans would have to find a senator with more sense than Sherrod Brown!
US Bancorp shouldn’t be the only band of bankster bandits soaked to fill the $1.62 trillion shortfall in the 2011 federal budget. Who do you think Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is, some kind of unfair Republican?! While we’re penalizing banks, Bank of America is also going to have to pay for Washington’s totally necessary spending spree.
Bank of America’s 2010 income statement lists $915,000,000 in corporate income taxes. Their net income was -$2.2 billion, but Democrats don’t pick favorites! We’ll take another $915,000,000, to preserve Sherrod and Barry’s rip-roaring economic recovery.
All said and done, doubling Bank of America’s corporate income taxes and taking their CEO’s pay will reduce the 2011 U.S. budget deficit from $1,620,000,000,000 to $1,619,083,059,930.
Fear not: a punishing tax hike on a national bank won’t increase the cost of mortgage, savings, checking, or credit accounts! None of Bank of America’s 288,000 employees will lose their jobs if Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama work their not-at-all-socialist magic. Last and least, the only funds & individuals holding any of Bank of America’s 10.13 billion outstanding shares of stock who suffer will be the ones who deserve to.
Soaking the Rich is different from choosing winners and losers via massive federal bailouts, because nothing bad happens when you Soak the Rich!
We, The People who support Sherrod Brown’s fiscal policies, hold these leftist conceits to be self-evident.
If you’ve not seen it, 