Apr 18, 2012 by whitehouse
President Obama visits Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio to highlight how federal job training funding is providing critical services for unemployed workers and helping them to get jobs in high-demand, high-growth industries. April 18, 2012.
Never discuss your salary with anyone.
That’s what they told Lilly Ledbetter on her first day on the job in 1979. It wasn’t until she found an anonymous note in her locker that Lilly realized that she was being paid as much as 40% less than her male colleagues in the same position.
This sort of pay secrecy policy that punishes employees helps to hide discriminatory pay practices. And here’s the kicker: Lilly worked all those years for Goodyear Tire & Rubber, which had the privilege of being a federal contractor.
Today is Equal Pay Day — the day that a typical woman’s wages finally catch up to a typical man’s in 2011. Ask President Obama to ban federal contractors from retaliating against employees who talk about wages.
It took Lilly 20 years to find out that she was being paid less than her male co-workers. But we know that Lilly is not alone: nearly fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, women working full time are paid just 77 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts. And the wage gap is far worse for women of color.
It’s time to end punishing pay secrecy policies among federal contractors.
The President has the executive power to protect employees who work in companies that have federal contracts. Presidents have used executive orders to address other workplace rights, including requiring that contractors protect their employees from discrimination on the job.
In recognition of Equal Pay Day, join us in calling on President Obama to end retaliatory pay secrecy policies in federal contracting.
Thanks for your support!
Sincerely,
Fatima Goss Graves
Vice President for Education and Employment
National Women’s Law Center
P.S. NWLC has some brand new resources released for Equal Pay Day. Check out our interactive wage gap map and new fact sheets on the wage gap and women of color, minimum wage and combating punitive pay secrecy policies.
Today, the President released his 2011 federal income and gift tax returns. He and the First Lady filed their income tax returns jointly and reported adjusted gross income of $789,674. About half of the first family’s income is the President’s salary; the other half is from sales proceeds of the President’s books. The Obamas paid $162,074 in total tax.
The President and First Lady also reported donating $172,130 – or about 22% of their adjusted gross income – to 39 different charities. The largest reported gift to charity was a $117,130 contribution to the Fisher House Foundation. The President is donating the after-tax proceeds from his children’s book to Fisher House, a scholarship fund for children of fallen and disabled soldiers.
The President’s effective federal income tax rate is 20.5%. The President believes we must reform our tax system which is why he has proposed policies like the Buffett Rule that would ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share while protecting families making under $250,000 from seeing their taxes go up. Under the President’s own tax proposals, including the expiration of the high-income tax cuts and limitations on the value of tax preferences for high-income households, he would pay more in taxes while ensuring we cut taxes for the middle class and those trying to get in it.
The President and First Lady also released their Illinois income tax return and reported paying $31,941 in state income tax.
Download the Obamas’ tax returns
The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden also released their 2011 federal income tax returns, as well as state income tax returns for both Delaware and Virginia. The Bidens filed joint federal and combined Delaware income tax returns. Dr. Biden filed a separate non-resident tax return for the state of Virginia. Together, they reported adjusted gross income of $379,035. The Bidens paid $87,900 in total federal tax for 2011. They paid $13,843 in Delaware income tax and $3,614 in Virginia income tax. The Bidens contributed $5,540 to charity in 2011.
Download the Bidens’ tax returns
American taxpayers are able to go online and see exactly how their federal tax dollars are spent. You can visit the taxpayer receipt and after entering a few pieces of information about your taxes, the taxpayer receipt will give you a breakdown of how your tax dollars are spent on priorities like education, veterans benefits, or health care.
View the President and First Lady’s tax receipt
View the Vice President and Dr. Biden’s tax receipt
Tired of fighting cuts to programs that women and their families depend on in the name of deficit reduction — while millionaires and billionaires haven’t been asked to contribute an extra penny? Think it’s time for millionaires and billionaires who pay lower tax rates than many middle-class Americans to start paying their fair share?
Take Action: Tell your Senators to support the Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012! WWW.NWLC.ORG
On April 16, we expect the Senate to vote on an important piece of legislation, the Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012 (S. 2230). The bill would ensure that those with incomes over $1 million annually pay at least 30 percent of their income in federal taxes. The legislation, introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, was inspired by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who highlighted the unfairness of a tax system that permits him to pay a lower tax rate than his secretary.
It’s time for this absurdity to stop. We can’t afford to continue lavish tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. To help demonstrate the real cost of tax breaks for millionaires, we’ve put together a new infographic:
That’s right. This year, the average millionaire gets a tax break of $143,000 — enough to support child care assistance for 24 children, Pell Grants to 37 college students, or a home-delivered meal each day for 249 seniors.
This is a tradeoff we can’t afford to make any longer. Please share our infographic today and urge your Senators to support the Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012!
Sincerely,
Joan Entmacher Vice President,
Family Economic Security National Women’s Law Center
P.S. Please help us continue to advocate for policies that protect and improve economic security for women and their families by making a generous donation today.
by whitehouseon
In this installment of the White House White Board, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, talks about the “Buffett Rule”
Be a Seed for Change 
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