.
Kimberly says: To the government and media: Shut up and shut the darned thing down.
Aware citizens have been thinking of some excellent consequences of a government shutdown – it would stop the wars in Afrghanistan and Iraq, it would stop the ability for the US to continue to use unmanned drones to kill people in places like Pakistan, and it may cause a hiatus in lessons in torture at the School of the Americas. Wow! A shutdown could truly help a lot of people.
And, really, this shutdown stuff has happened before. Nothing really happens. It is just a game for Obama and the Democratic politicians to say there was a crisis, so they can compromise more gracefully with the Republicans. It is such a theatrical, manipulative, game. I can hardly stand the ominous news reports all this week threatening us with a shutdown.
Anyway, at Common Dreams, they have a story from Institute for Policy Studies which explains more about why the threats of a shutdown, and the claims of a need for austerity are so empty. Don’t miss the key facts about who has the money and who pays the taxes…
(excerpt from) Common Dreams
Published on Thursday, April 7, 2011 by Institute for Policy Studies
Unnecessary Austerity, Unnecessary Shutdown
Reversing tax giveaways to the super-rich and the nation’s largest corporations could raise $4 trillion within a decade and avert possible government closures…
Key Tax Facts
- 15,753: The number of households in 1961 with $1 million in taxable income (adjusted for inflation).
- 361,000: The number of households in 2011 estimated to have $1 million in taxable income.
- 43.1: Percent of total reported income that Americans earning $1 million paid in taxes in 1961 (adjusted for 2011 dollars)
- 23.1: Percent of total reported income that Americans earning $1 million are likely to pay in taxes in 2011, estimated from latest IRS data.
- 47.4: Percent of profits corporations paid in taxes in 1961.
- 11.1: Percent of profits corporations paid in taxes in 2011.
A P.S. for the New Yorkers out there: I realized that the Institute for Policy Studies has a good angle we should apply to Governor Cuomo and his current focus in on education. Cuomo wants districts to use their surplus and backup funds. While Cuomo is crying poverty and gutting government services (including to children and to the disabled), how about he check out which rich people and rich corporations are hoarding money? And, what about quasi independent agencies such as the MTA. Do they have reserve funds they can spill into this ailing economy?
Filed under: afghanistan, Anti-War, Barack Obama, international politics, Iraq, News, Peace, politics, progressive politics, rants, US Politics, war Tagged: | government shutdown, Governor Cumom, military drones, military spending, Obama, shutdown, soa, taxes, war
Good point. There are people on both the left and the right, who, when they chant, “Shut It Down,” really mean shut it down!
Once it’s down, some people will seriously want it to stay down.
Good point