Jun
2013 13
2013 13
These 13 CEO Severances Would Total $2 Billion If They All Failed Miserably at Their Jobs at Once
We spotted this infographic from Bloomberg Businessweek that exposes the $100+ million severance packages that would be awarded to 13 CEOs should they fail miserably at their jobs. Talk about support for the argument that executive pay does not reflect executive performance. These days, screwing up can make you rich! There appears to be little ...
May
2013 22
2013 22
Koch Brothers Linked to Censorship of PBS Documentary About Post-Citizens United America
A recent expose in the New Yorker by writer Jane Mayer reveals that two major PBS stations attempted to edit and censor an upcoming documentary titled “Citizen Koch” for fear of the billionaire brothers halting their financial support of PBS. The collapse of the film follows the fallout of a November 2012 PBS documentary, ...
May
2013 21
2013 21
iHaven: From ’09-’12, Apple Successfully Shielded “At Least $74 Billion” in Tax Dollars from U.S. Treasury
According to a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report issued Monday, Apple has avoided paying tens of billions of dollars in U.S. taxes by shifting money to offshore tax havens. Apple has been able to cut some of its tax rates as low as 0.05% by using a complicated web of offshore entities. Of ...
May
2013 8
2013 8
ALEC Removes Journalist from Oklahoma City Event After Distributing “Anti-ALEC Photos” Document
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) recently met in Oklahoma City to talk about things progressives hate. But when attendees arrived they were greeted by something progressives love: hundreds of protesters. The “ALEC is not OK” campaign managed to roundup over 600 anti-ALEC participants for a successful action. The real...
Apr
2013 19
2013 19
AFT Report Highlights Hedge Fund Managers Who Secretely Work to Undermine Pensions
A new report from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) lists 34 executives at hedge funds and investment firms who help make contributions to or are leaders of organizations with a negative view on traditional pensions. In naming these executives the union is hoping to persuade other unions to stop investing the flow of pension ...
Apr
2013 17
2013 17
Big Bank Mortgage “Settlement” is a Disgrace, Will Deliver Less Than $1,000 to a Majority of Victims
As the details of the OCC mortgage settlement come out, one thing remains torturously clear: those who lost their homes due to improper practices are unlikely to receive proper severance for their mistreatment. Between 2009 and 2010, nearly 3.9 million households saw their properties foreclosed upon by the nation’s 11 leading financial...
Mar
2013 21
2013 21
Construction Union Health and Pension Funds Taking Banks to Account for Mortgage Malevolence
The United States Supreme Court last week refused to hear an appeal by financial institution Goldman Sachs that sought to halt a class action settlement which alleges the company provided false and misleading information about mortgage backed securities it had underwritten. On Monday, after the news broke, Goldman Sachs saw its share drop 2...
Mar
2013 7
2013 7
Watch the YouTube Video Explaining Income Equality That Went Viral
When it comes to YouTube views, socio-economic information isn’t exactly a chart-topping topic. But a video explaining the severity of income equality in our country has gone viral due in large part to its simple and effective design. The video suggests no solutions but asks the kind of questions that start meaningful conversations such as, ...
Mar
2013 6
2013 6
Warren: “I am really concerned that too-big-to-fail has become too-big-for-trial.”
To the dismay of her critics, Senator Elizabeth Warren’s debut on the Senate Banking Committee has put on display the effective, no-holds-barred approach to affecting change that made her so popular among voters. While questioning federal banking regulators in what has been dubbed “the St. Valentine’s day massacre,”...
Mar
2013 4
2013 4
Federal Court: Dow Chemical’s $1B Tax-Dodge Was “Artificial” and “Designed to Exploit Weaknesses in the Tax Code.”
A federal court in Louisiana has rejected $1 billion in tax deductions claimed by Dow Chemical between 1993 and 2003 and ordered the company to pay a penalty of 20 percent interest. Dow Chemical created partnerships with their Switzerland-based headquarters to show artificial losses and was assisted by Goldman Sachs and the law firm of ...
Feb
2013 22
2013 22
MISS THIS? Facebook Not Only Paying Zero Taxes This Year, They’re Receiving a $429,000,000 Refund
In their first annual earnings report since the launch of their IPO, a little noticed but evily genius accounting loophole will allow Facebook to enjoy a multi-billion dollar tax break this year through a tax deduction for the cost of executive stock options and share awards. Facebook reported $1.1 billion in pre-tax profits from its ...
Feb
2013 20
2013 20
Bermuda Hedge Fund Reinsurance Tax Dodging Reaches New Heights as IRS Sits Idly By
A growing trend in tax avoidance is the practice of hedge funds setting up reinsurance companies in Bermuda, funneling money to the tax haven and then back to the states. This takes advantage of an IRS loophole the agency knows needs to be closed but has been reluctant to act on. This gaping hole in ...
