By CAP Action War Room

Debunking The Rhetoric Of Gov. Walker’s Presidential Campaign Announcement

Scott Walker formally announced his candidacy for President of the United States last night, arguing that he is the candidate who would usher in a pro-growth era in America. He pledged that he is “for building a better economy where everyone can live their piece of the American Dream. That’s pro-growth.” But a closer examination of Walker’s record shows that he is only concerned about growth for the very rich.

Under Walker’s watch, the middle class in Wisconsin has suffered, but the wealthy few have flourished. This is hardly surprising as attacks on workers, stagnant wages, and favors for wealthy donors like the Koch Brothers have been hallmarks of Walker’s regime.

Since his speech yesterday, we have compiled a look at the gap between Scott Walker’s rhetoric and the reality of his policies.

Rhetoric: “To ensure that prosperity, we need to be for a pro-growth economic plan that helps individuals and families earn, save and achieve their piece of the American Dream,” he stated.

Reality: Middle class families in Wisconsin have found it harder to achieve the American Dream with their incomes falling under Walker’s watch.

• According to a new CAP Action analysis, median household income fell $728 from 2011 to 2013.
• Wisconsin ranked 44th for middle class income growth from 2011 to 2013.

Rhetoric: “Next, we need to help people get the education and the skills they need to succeed. This will help people find careers that pay far more than the minimum wage.”

Reality: Walker has refused to implement a Wisconsin law that would boost wages for workers. Instead, he is actively changing the law to evade paying higher wages for workers.

• Last year, Wisconsin workers sued Gov. Scott Walker for refusing to consider increasing the state’s $7.25 minimum wage under the state’s living wage law. Yet on Sunday, Walker signed a budget gutting Wisconsin’s living wage law.
• Wisconsin’s living wage is $10.13 per hour, according to research by MIT, but the state’s minimum wage is only $7.25. If Walker were to have followed the state’s living wage law, every minimum wage worker would earn $5,990 more per year, putting a total of $245,600,000 in the pockets of Wisconsin workers annually.​

​Rhetoric: “To help live that dream, we have a plan to help the people of this country create more jobs and higher wages.”

Reality: Job growth in Wisconsin has suffered since Walker took office.

• When Walker took office in 2011, Wisconsin ranked 35th in the nation for job growth.
• Wisconsin’s ranking has fallen since then. In 2014, Wisconsin ranked 38th in the nation for job growth.

Rhetoric: “And then, we need to lower the burden on hard-working taxpayers to improve take-home pay. …The government could charge the higher rates and a few of you could afford it. Or, we can lower the rates and broaden the base and increase the volume of people participating in our economy.”

• Walker’s tax packages gave the richest 20% in Wisconsin the largest share of tax cuts—50% of all the tax cuts. Meanwhile, the middle class received only 15% of the share of tax cuts.
• In 2015, the richest 1% in Wisconsin paid a lower share of their income in taxes than any other income group, including the poorest Wisconsinites.

Rhetoric: “Since I’ve been Governor, we took on the unions and won.”

Reality: Walker often proudly points to his fight to strip collective bargaining rights from workers as one of his biggest accomplishments. But unions are integral to the health of the middle class.

Reality: Walker’s tax cuts have disproportionally benefitted the wealthy few who need it the least.

• As Wisconsin’s union membership rate has fallen, so has the share of income going to the middle class:

BOTTOM LINE: Scott Walker is loudly trumpeting his goal as a presidential candidate to “fight and win.” But for whom? As Governor, the winners have been the wealthy few who benefited the most from his tax cuts and already pay lower taxes than anyone. The losers have been hardworking everyday Wisconsinites who have seen incomes fall, job growth slow, and the middle class under attack. That’s been wrong for Wisconsin, and it’s wrong for the country.

Petitioning South African Airways US Tell South African Airways to stop shipping slaughtered wildlife trophies Petition by Regina Fugate Cape Town, South Africa 54,482 Supporters Sign Regina’s petition

a repost Jul 2012 ~~ 9/2013

Posted by ADetailedHouse

in Architecture, Baths, Design, DIY, Flooring, Home Improvement, Interior Design, Kitchens, Lifestyle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture above are of a massive concrete floor. I could see some car enthusiast doing this to a garage floor.  This floor has no thinset, merely polyurethane and epoxy (via Happy Roost Blog)

A Detailed House, Floors made out of coins, Floors made out of pennies, How to make a nickel floor, How to make a penny floor, Nickel floor, Penny floor, Portland Press Herald, Standard Grill

With two little ones running around the house, I am always picking things up off the floor. I am amazed, though, by the sheer number of coins! Granted, we play “store” a lot, which involves a cash register, spare change, and my youngest setting up “shop” where ever I am… no matter what I’m doing, working or not! They have piggy banks that they love to fill, so why are the coins spread cavalierly on the floor?

I tell myself it’s good for me – like exercise – and picking them up is the equivalent of toe touches, but not even an Army Drill Sargent would put someone through this Now my thought process is that I’m just going to start cementing them down, so I will eventually end up with these floors:

 

 

 

 

Instead of hunching over a floor, you could also glue them to mesh, like tile sheets

 

Pennies are about $1.96/square foot. Not too shabby for a unique copper floor!

(via apartmenttherapy.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nickels are about $10/square foot. Here’s what you do to You need to make sure your floor is clean. Use a wax remover if applying over linoleum, which can be done.If you want shiny pennies, you can soak them in vinegar. Make sure the coins have the patina you want even if it means going to the bank and getting rolls and rolls of pennies to search for clean coins.If you want a design, lay it out first on the floor so you know how it will fit together.Glue the coins directly to the floor, preferably in the same direction and pay attention to heads or tails (if it matters to you). Weldbond, a tile or glass glue, was used for many of the penny floors, but some used Elmer’s Glue, which seems a little on the flimsy side, and Gorilla Glue.You now have two options:You can apply thinset (a chocolate brown was used on the pennies) OR You can apply a thick coat of a high gloss polyurethaneFor the final top coat, apply another coat of polyurethane and/or an epoxy sealer (pictured below) to seal and make cleaning the floor easier.

For the world traveler, you could make a floor that incorporates coins from all the countries that you’ve visited as a sweet reminder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell President Obama: End tax giveaways to the 1%

Petition to President Barack Obama:
“Use your executive authority to direct the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service to end tax giveaways to large corporations, multimillionaire hedge fund managers, and the worst of the 1% that will cost America more than $100 billion over the next decade, including the ‘check-the-box,’ ‘earnings stripping,’ ‘valuation discount,’ ‘carried interest,’ ‘Hewlett-Packard,’ and ‘Real Estate Investment Trust’ tax loopholes.”

Add your name:

 

Dear fellow Progressive,

Just in time for tax day, Senator Bernie Sanders has figured out how President Obama can close massive tax loopholes with a few strokes of a pen, and he needs our help.

In a recent letter to President Obama, Senator Sanders outlined six loopholes that massive corporations, hedge fund managers, and the worst of the 1% use to dodge taxes and avoid paying us back for providing roads, courts, and an educated workforce.¹

Closing all six loopholes would raise more than $100 billion that could be invested in America — and best of all, the president can do it all without Congress.

Tell President Obama: End tax giveaways to the 1%. Click here to sign the petition.

The list of loopholes that the worst of the 1% use to avoid taxes reads like a how-to guide for multimillionaire hedge fund managers and multinational corporations trying to rip off a nation:

• The “check-the-box” loophole. Simply by checking one box, companies can claim that an entity it owns should be ignored by the IRS for tax purposes. By giving different stories to different governments, they can transfer profits between subsidiaries tax free. Closing this loophole would raise up to $78 billion over the next decade.²
• The “Hewlett-Packard” loophole. Companies are supposed to pay taxes when they bring offshore profits back to America. But if their offshore subsidiaries only provide a short-term “loan” to the onshore parent company, they can dodge the law. At one point, Hewlett-Packard was found to be “borrowing” billions, tax-free.³
• The “Real Estate Investment Trust” loophole. Real estate investment trusts are like mutual funds for real estate, and they don’t pay corporate income tax. But all sorts of companies, from private prisons to casinos, now claim to be real estate investment trusts in order to dodge taxes.⁴
• The “carried interest” loophole. Wealthy investors pay hedge fund managers billions to manage their money. But this loophole allows those fund managers to pretend that their income is actually a capital gain from selling investments — and capital gains are taxed at a far lower rate. Closing this loophole would raise up to $18 billion.⁵
• The “earnings stripping” loophole. CREDO members have fiercely fought corporate inversions, where big U.S. companies merge with a smaller foreign company to avoid paying taxes. The Treasury Department has already cracked down on one tax dodge related to inversions, and closing the other, the “earnings stripping” loophole, could raise up to $13 billion over the next decade.⁶
• The “valuation discount” loophole. If wealthy parents put a restriction on selling a company before transferring it to their children, it is considered less valuable and so they pay less in taxes — even if that restriction is then removed or ignored. The IRS could overlook these meaningless restrictions and raise up to $18 billion over the next decade.⁷

Tell President Obama: End tax giveaways to the 1%. Click here to sign the petition.

The Internal Revenue Service created the first three loopholes by accident, with administrative rulings that had unintended consequences — and President Obama could easily order the IRS to fix its mistake. The other three could be closed if the Treasury Department used its existing authority to call hedge fund managers “service providers” and issued new rules under the tax code.⁸

The Obama administration has likely held off on making these changes in order to meet Republican demands that any new investments be “paid for” by closing a loophole. But with a new, right-wing Congress adamantly opposed to any new spending or tax increases, the time for bargaining chips is over. President Obama needs to know that if he takes a bold stand in favor of tax fairness, Americans will stand with him.

Tell President Obama: End tax giveaways to the 1%. Click below to sign the petition:

http:// act.credoaction.com/sign/sanderstaxloopholes_alt/

Thank you for speaking out,

Murshed Zaheed, Deputy Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets

Add your name:

1. “Sanders Asks Obama to Close Six Egregious Corporate Tax Loopholes,” Sanders.Senate.gov, March 3, 2015.
2. “Potential Executive Actions to Close Tax Loopholes,” Budget.Senate.gov, Retrieved April 6, 2015.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.