We’re getting an awful lot of high-decibel noise these days from a flock of right-wing governors and Congress critters who’re screeching incessantly about the urgent need for “shared sacrifice” to cope with multibillion-dollar budget deficits.
The only way to cope, they insist, is to whack unemployment benefits, Medicare, education budgets, public employees, poverty programs, worker rights, anti-pollution efforts, and… well nearly all services for ordinary folks. Sorry, screech the whackers, but the budgets are busted and taxpayers are over-burdened, so everyone must do their part by giving up even essential programs.
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Everyone? Who’s that hiding over there in the bushes? Gee, It’s General Electric, the global conglomerate that has made tax dodging its chief business. In the past five years, GE has amassed $26 billion in profits just from its American operations – and paid exactly zero in taxes. Far from paying its share of the cost for public services from which it, its honchos and investor so richly benefit, GE has used its army of tax lawyers and lobbyists to get what amounts to a government payment of more than $4 billion from us taxpayers. Wow, that money could keep a lot of teachers on the job.
But the tax code is not the only thing manipulated by this behemoth. While assorted media outlets covered the shameful tax dodge by GE, one did not: NBC. Guess who is a principle owner of that network. Right. It took the network a week to mention the story – and only then after its self-serving silence was exposed and mocked by Jon Stewart and others.
Meanwhile, GE is doing its own whack job on its workers by demanding that they agree to cuts in union wages, pensions, and health coverage. It’s a concerted effort by corporate elites and their politicians to crush America’s middle class.
“G.E. Turns the Tax Man Away Empty-Handed.” The New York Times,” March 25, 2011.
“On NBC, the missing story about parent company General Electric,” www.washingtonpost.com, March, 29, 2011.
“Nightly News stays mum on GE’s $0 tax bill,” www.yahoo.com, March 30, 2011.
“GE Pays No Income Taxes and Now Wants Workers to Make Concessions,” www.alternet.org, March 28, 2011.
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