February 23, 2013 - Washington D.C. (AP) Last Friday afternoon alittle known, and much less publicized, milestone event took place behind closeddoors at the U.S. Supreme Court, while most of America had their attentiondiverted on the upcoming "sequester" cuts in government spending.
Bud Meyers, a long time advocate for the poor, the elderly, the disabled, theunemployed and the middle-class, had stood before the highest court of the land,to argue a case on behalf of millions of disenfranchised Americans regardingincome inequality, political corruption, excessive wealth, corporate greed, taxevasion, healthcare fraud and anti-labor business practices.
This proceeding, and the Chief Justices' ultimate landmark decision on WageWorkers of the United States vs. Cablevision et al Corporate Others isexpected to be one the most important cases ever heard by the Supreme Court inover 100 years, not since Standard Oil was broken up in 1911.
TV cameras were not allowed in the court, but Bud Meyers is expected to givean exclusive interview on this historic event to an as-of-yet unnamed majorcable news station later this month.
As of this press release, Mister Meyers is on his way home to Las Vegas,Nevada --- where he has lived since 1989.
---- BEGIN TRANSCRIPT -----
"Honorable Justices, members of Congress, and the American people ---thank you all for allowing me to present The People's case. Mr. Chief Justice,may it please the Court:
In August of 2011 CBS publisheda story reporting that twenty-five of the nation's highest-paid CEOs tookhome more pay than their companies shelled out in corporate income taxes, eventhough their companies earned an average of $1.9 billion, according to a studycited by the Institute for Policy Studies.
The IPS noted that 18 of these "hyperactive tax-dodging"corporations operate subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, such as Bermuda,Singapore and Luxembourg. They've also hired aggressive lobbyists to argue forspecial tax breaks.
There's a building in the Cayman Islands called the Ugland House of GrandCayman Island. Inside, there is the office of the law firm Maples andCalder, which currently houses 18,000 shell corporations for the benefit oftax shelters. There was legislation regarding these tax havens that wasrecently introduced to Congress by Senator Bernie Sanders earlier thismonth.
#16 on the list in the CBS report was my ex-boss, Steve Wynn of the WynnResorts casino in Las Vegas. His company paid ZERO in federal income taxesand had 16 subsidiaries in tax havens.
Today I received an email for a petition on behalf of a 44-year-old womannamed La'kesia Johnson. She and 21 other co-workers were just illegally firedfor trying to unionize with the Communications Workers of America at Cablevision/Optimum.They were locked out last month on January 30th. (Fullstory here)
La'kesia wrotein her petition," I've worked as a Cablevision/Optimumtechnician for more than 6 years. A year ago, my co-workers and I voted to forma union, so we could have a voice on the job. The company said they had an 'opendoor' policy, but when we wanted to talk with them, they told us they were toobusy. Later they fired 22 of us, then told us we were permanently replaced. Ihave two children, Alexis and Rayshawn, one of whom has needed serious medicalcare, which has left us with a stack of bills."
But La'kesia is lucky, because she doesn't live in North Carolina. MisterJason Saine had received unemployment benefits for more than a year before hefinally landed a job --- as a Republican state legislator in North Carolina.Then after he was seated, he joined with his fellow Republicans in supporting abill that slashedunemployment insurance. Because of outsourcing and H-B1 VISAS, how are thesepeople expected to survive without jobs?
#22 on the list in the CBS report was the CEO James Dolan, whose familycontrols Cablevision, and whose federal income tax was a negative$3 million. JimDolan is also the executive chairman of Madison Square Garden, whose assetsinclude the NBA's New York Knicks and Radio City Music Hall. Dolan had a6-year average compensationof $16.43 million a year.
Last year Cablevision was approved for a $37.5 million taxbreak for staying in Newark New Jersey to save 574 jobs with an averagesalary of $37,000. But 50% of the American workforce earns $28,000 or less ayear. These wages, not even with the proposed $9.00 an hour minimum wage bill,can not sustain this economy. Are American workers' labor now only worth theprice of a latte at Starbucks?
Recently another giant cable company, Charter Communications, has juststruck a deal to acquire Cablevision's Optimum West holdings in fourWestern states for $1.6 billion --- in cash. Just who's economy issupposed to be doing bad, theirs or ours?
In 2007 the Dolan family, for $10.6 billion, had once attempted to take Cablevisionprivate, but it's shareholders would not agree to the sale. Cablevision'sstock trades under the ticker symbol CVC on the New York Stock Exchangeand its current marketcap is almost $4 billion. Just who exactly has been making this "sharedsacrifice" that the American people have been hearing so much about? (* SECfilings and reports are here)
Also --- I sure hope La'kesia Johnson, the former Cablevision employeewho was illegally fired, won't need to rely on ObamaCare® for herdaughter's continued medical treatment, because the Pre-Existing ConditionInsurance Plan willsoon stop taking new applications; and also, because La'kesia is nowunemployed, I sure hope Medicaid and TANF and food stamps and unemploymentinsurance benefits are not also included in the upcoming sequester cuts.
And especially so if she or her daughter ever needs to make a hospital visit.
CNN and Time magazine investigatedhospital billing and found a family that was charged hundreds of thousandsof dollars. Hospitals are charging us $12 for those little paper pill cups andpaying their hospital CEO's over $9 million a year. People who are fullyinsured, or those on Medicare, have their medical costs negotiated, and eventhough there is fraud in billing to the government, at least those patientsaren't being bilked to death, at least, not like those who are eitherunder-insured or can not afford any health insurance at all.
We now spend 20percent of our GDP—an estimated $2.8 trillion — on health care everyyear. And we know the real reasons why, don't we? A special report on why ourmedical bills are so expensive can be found in a paper I wrote called "Fraud,Greed & Profits Drives Healthcare Costs".
The Center for Public Integrity also wrote an investigative seriescalled “Crackingthe Codes”, which found that thousands of medical professionals havesteadily billed higher rates for treating seniors on Medicare over the lastdecade — adding $11 billion or more to their fees. The investigation suggestedthat Medicare billing errors and abuses are worsening as doctors and hospitalsswitch to electronichealth records. (Readmore...)
But just like with tax evasion, and hiring more auditors at the IRS to catchtax cheats, the Republicans had cut the IRS budget (sayingthat with lower taxes, there will be less tax evasion) --- just as the GOPwould rather cut benefits to seniors on Medicare (or raise their premiums),rather than hiring more people to investigate fraud in the healthcare industry.Is that the permanent status quo between Congress and the top 1%?
The CEOs of these hospitals (as well as Big Pharma, the insurancecompanies, and other related providers in the healthcare industry), besidesearning these huge salaries year after year after year --- they are also payinga much lower tax rate than the rest us do in the form of "capital gainstaxes" --- by receiving stock options in company stock as a part of theirannual compensation packages --- just like those cited in the CBS story, such asSteve Wynn of Wynn Resorts and James Dolan of Cablevision.
Just as Senator Elizabeth Warren had said, the whole system is rigged fromthe top down.
A newstudy performed by Thomas Hungerford of the non-partisan CongressionalResearch Service noted that 71% of all capital gains went to those in thetop 1% (e.g. James Dolan of Cablevision) --- and notes that historicallylow capital gains tax rates are by far the largest contributor to America'shistorically high income inequality. And the top 1% has enjoyed this specialtax since 1921. Why are they so special? What makes them feel so ENTITLED tothese special tax breaks when 46 million Americans need to rely on food stampsto eat.
What we've been seeing for at least the past two decades, some likemyself say, for the past 40 years, is this: these very wealthy and politicallyconnected CEOs have lobbied congress to pay less (or nothing at all) incorporate taxes, while at the same time, denying fair wages, healthcarebenefits, and job security to their own employees --- just average hard-workingAmericans who, through no fault of their own, were being systematically pillagedwhile trying to care for themselves and their families
Our "captains of industry" and "pillars of the community"were doing this while also enjoying special tax breaks on their own executivesalaries, and while the healthcare providers had been ripping off poor, sick andunder-insured families --- while also engaging in Medicare and billing fraud.They were engaged in these nefarious activates, all at the expense of theAmerican taxpayers, who ultimately, in one form or another, have had to make upthe difference in their taxes --- because, thanks to Congress, these CEOs andcorporations were not legally obligated to pay "fair" taxes themselves--- even while the less wealthy and politically connected Americans have beensuffering the most --- and being forced to live with the bulk of any cuts togovernment spending. It's always those cuts that most affects usthe most --- the poor and middle-class.
We need tax revenues, but theRepublicans like Senator John Boehner have always been falsely claiming that"We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem" --- andsay that "now, in a bad economy, is not a good time to raise taxes".But they always say NEVERis a good time to raise taxes on the very wealthy. And they always claimthat "government doesn't create jobs, the private sector does", butgovernment has always been the largest job creator ever since World War II. Walmartand McDonalds are the next largest job creators.
In closing, I'd like to finish with this:
What has the ultra-rich ever sacrificed in the last 100 years? In time ofwar, they dodge the draft. In time of financial need, they dodge taxes. For toolong they have been dodging their moral and patriotic duties to this country, tous, the people of the United States of America. I beg the court for redress.
"You must find them all guilty on all counts --- andthey all must be made to pay! Thank you very much your honors. I rest ThePeople's case."
---- END TRANSCRIPT -----
--- media frenzy --- applause --- cheers and whistles --- standing ovation--- pats on back --- handshakes --- camera flashes --- church bells in thedistance --- young mothers with babies break into tears --- ticker tapeparade upon exiting the courthouse --- the U.S. Marine Corps Band plays Star andStripes Forever --- TV helicopters overhead --- a small child offers flowers ---a phone call of congratulations to Bud Meyers from President Obama ---
* Note to the Republicans members of Congress who don'trealize parody or satire: A full disclaimer is applied to this post, which wasposted on behalf of Bud Meyers, and canbe found here.
**Also posted at the Daily Kos
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