These are the headlines from the article. Link to full article   
    at the end.   
      
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     Some Outrageous Facts About Inequality   
      
      
    PAUL BUCHHEIT   
      
    Studying inequality in America reveals some facts that are   
    truly hard to believe. Amidst all the absurdity a few stand out.   
      
      
    *1. US companies in total pay a smaller percentage of taxes   
    than the lowest-income 20% of Americans.*   
      
    ...   
      
    *2. The high-profit, tax-avoiding tech industry was built on   
    publicly-funded research.*   
      
    ...   
      
    IBM was founded in 1911, Hewlett-Packard in 1947, Intel in 1968,   
    Microsoft in 1975, Apple and Oracle in 1977, Cisco in 1984. All   
    relied on government and military innovations. The more recently   
    incorporated Google, which started in 1996, grew out of the   
    Defense Department's ARPANET system and the National Science   
    Foundation's Digital Library Initiative.   
      
    The combined 2011 federal tax payment for the eight companies   
    was just 10.6%.   
      
      
    *3. The sales tax on a quadrillion dollars of financial sales   
    is ZERO.*   
      
    The Bank for International Settlements reported in 2008 that   
    total annual derivatives trades were $1.14 quadrillion. The   
    same year, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange reported a trading   
    volume of $1.2 quadrillion.   
      
    A quadrillion dollars is the entire world economy, 12 times   
    over.   
      
    ...   
      
    ----------------------------------------------------------------   
    My note: I have previously written that the derivatives market   
    was a half quadrillion dollar market, which nothing in the US   
    can match. My figures came from online sources, which were   
    before the 2007 recession. I do not know if these current   
    figures represent growth in the market, or the fact that my   
    figures were out of date, but you can see, it's much worse than   
    I had posted.   
    ----------------------------------------------------------------   
      
    ...   
      
    *4. Many Americans get just a penny on the dollar.*   
      
    ...   
      
    *5. Our society allows one man or one family to possess enough   
    money to feed EVERY hungry person on earth.*   
      
      
    *One Final Outrage...*   
      
    In 2007 a hedge fund manager (John Paulson) conspired with a   
    financial company (Goldman Sachs) to create packages of risky   
    subprime mortgages, so that in anticipation of a housing crash   
    he could use other people's money to bet against his personally   
    designed sure-to-fail financial instruments. His successful   
    gamble paid him $3.7 billion. Three years later he made another   
    $5 billion, which in the real world would have been enough to   
    pay the salaries of 100,000 health care workers.   
      
    As an added insult to middle-class taxpayers, the tax rate on   
    most of Paulson's income was just 15%. As a double insult, he   
      
    ----------------------------------------------------------------   
    My note: Remember, the only reason investments are even given a   
    lower tax rate is the theory that investors are taking risks   
    that produce wealth and jobs. Hedge fund managers only take   
    risks with *OTHER PEOPLE'S* money. They do not take risks of   
    their own, and can't even claim that as an excuse for a lower   
    tax rate.   
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    And the people we elect to protect our interests are unable or   
    unwilling to do anything about it.   
      
    *Source URL:* http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13579   
      
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   BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn   
      
   ... Tea Party gathering 2000 years ago: Crucifying the perfect liberal.   
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