Day: January 28, 2009

RANT: Fixing a broken leg? Corporations receiving bailouts look overseas

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090116/D95OHIB80.html

Report: Over 8 in 10 corporations have tax havens
Jan 16, 6:28 PM (ET)
By KEN THOMAS

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WASHINGTON (AP) – Eighty-three of the nation’s 100 largest corporations, including Citigroup, Bank of America and News Corp. (NWSA), had subsidiaries in offshore tax havens in 2007, and some of the companies received federal bailout funding, a government watchdog said Friday.

The Government Accountability Office released a report that said Bank of America Inc., Citigroup Inc. (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS) all had more than 100 units in countries that maintain low or no taxes. The three financial institutions were included in the $700 billion financial bailout approved by Congress.

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Corporations are a product of the gooferment. Why are we surprised when they take bailout money and setup tax shelters? I’m sure the congresscritters will “fix” this! (Fix in the sense of amputating the broken leg!)

Argh!

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VETERANS: Get snubbed. No surprise there.

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http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2009/01/little-unfinished-inaugural-business.html

Friday, January 23, 2009
A Little Unfinished Inaugural Business

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Among all the inaugural hoopla this week, there were a few incidents that we found disturbing–if not down-right offensive–because they took a direct shot at the nation’s military heroes, and the out-going commander-in-chief.

And we’re not referring to the smattering of boos and the refrain of “nah-nah-nah-nah, hey, hey…goodbye” that greeted George Bush as he arrived at the inauguration on Tuesday morning. These events occurred after Mr. Bush left town, at galas that commemorated the swearing-in of Barack Obama.

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By comparison, the quadrennial “Salute to Heroes Ball” went on as planned, just as it has on every Inauguration Night since 1953. But this year’s event was noteworthy for its most prominent no-show: the new commander-in-chief. Barack Obama was the first president to skip the event, breaking a tradition that began with Dwight D. Eisenhower.
To his credit, Mr. Obama did attend the Commander-in-Chief’s ball, but the Heroes gala is no ordinary event. It’s been a staple of the inauguration for six decades and it’s chief sponsor is a powerful organization (the American Legion) that has been courted by every recent president and presidential candidate. Among those honored at the Heroes ball are the nation’s Medal of Honor recipients. This year, 47 of the 99 living MOH winners were at this year’s ball, where they were honored by Vice-President Joe Biden and other dignitaries.
Obviously, the president can’t make it to every inaugural event, but nine commanders-in-chief found time to attend. As for President Obama, he found time to attend something called the “Neighborhood Inaugural Ball,” aimed at D.C. residents. Apparently, living inside the federal district puts you higher on the social register than winning the nation’s highest decoration for military valor.
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Sorry to hear this. Not surprised. Just sorry.
As a vet and an American Legion member, Liberals don’t value the military. Sometimes their disrespect is palpable. In this case, it’s subtle.
Argh!
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LIBERTY: What will be foisted upon us now!

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http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2009/01/27/what_are_they_buying?page=2

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thomas Sowell :: Townhall.com Columnist
What Are They Buying?
by Thomas Sowell

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What are the Beltway politicians buying with all the hundreds of billions of dollars they are spending? They are buying what politicians are most interested in– power.

In the name of protecting the taxpayers’ investment, they are buying the power to tell General Motors how to make cars, banks how to bank and, before it is all over with, all sorts of other people how to do the work they specialize in, and for which members of Congress have no competence, much less expertise.

This administration and Congress are now in a position to do what Franklin D. Roosevelt did during the Great Depression of the 1930s– use a crisis of the times to create new institutions that will last for generations.

To this day, we are still subsidizing millionaires in agriculture because farmers were having a tough time in the 1930s. We have the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) taking reckless chances in the housing market that have blown up in our faces today, because FDR decided to create a new federal housing agency in 1938.

Who knows what bright ideas this administration will turn into permanent institutions for our children and grandchildren to try to cope with?

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It’s no doubt that politicians use crisis to consolidate and enlarge their power over us.

What will the serfs be saddled with now?

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