http://www.alternet.org/media/7-rip-offs-corporations-and-wealthy-dont-want-you-know-about

Oligarchy, Plutocracy, whatever you want to call it...it  ain't right, and it's gotta change. Here's some clips from the article at alternet.org

http://www.alternet.org/media/7-rip-offs-corporations-and-wealthy-dont-want-you-know-about

1. Corporations Profit from Food Stamps
According to a JP Morgan  spokesman, the food stamp program "is a very important business to JP Morgan.
2. Crash the Economy, Get Your Money Back. Die with a Student Loan, Stay in Debt.
...banker-friendly "bankruptcy reform" has ensured that college graduates  keep their student loans till they die
3. Almost 70% of Corporations Are Not Required to Pay ANY Federal Taxes
The Wall Street Journal states, "The percentage of U.S. corporations organized as nontaxable businesses has grown from about 24% in 1986 to about 69% as of 2008, according to the latest-available Internal Revenue Service data.
4. Lotteries Pay for Corporate Tax Avoidance
Some astonishing facts reveal the extent of the problem. Low-income households spend anywhere from  five to nine percent of their earnings on lotteries. A Pennsylvania  survey found that nearly half of low-income residents planned to gamble at a newly-opened casino. America's gambling losses in 2007 were  nine times greater than just 25 years before.
5. The National Football League Pays No Federal Taxes
One of the most profitable organizations in America, with billions in tickets, TV rights, and merchandise sales, and with an NFL Commissioner who  earned more money than the CEOs of Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, and AT&T, is considered a non-profit. It has a  tax-exempt status. 
A Harvard University urban planning study  determined that 70 percent of the capital cost of NFL stadiums has been provided by taxpayers, rather than by NFL owners.
6. Live on Park Avenue, Get a Farm Subsidy
A disturbing but fascinating  report called "Farm Subsidies and the Big Dogs" lists Washington, DC, Chicago, and New York City, in that order, as the worst offenders.
7. Profit Margin Magic: Turning a dollar into $100,000
Calculations by  DataGenetics reveal that the ink in a $16.99 cartridge comes to almost $3,400 per gallon.
...and... Companies buy public water at almost no cost, treat it in  unknown ways, and then sell it back to us at an exorbitant markup.

We live in a mirage democracy

Following are a few clips from a long but worthwhile and eye-opening article.
Part one of two parts from Truthout.  Take the red pill and move on to your next webpage or other distraction, or take the blue pill and read on...

td

Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers , Truthout | News Analysis

http://truth-out.org/news/item/14489-lifting-the-veil-of-mirage-democracy-in-the-united-states

"We live in a mirage democracy," Zeese and Flowers assert, as they trace the history and describe the institutions of a not-so-robust US democracy.

....

Justice Louis Brandeis said it well when he stated, "We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both."

Over the past 40 years, income inequality in the United States has exploded from its lowest level in 1978 . What kind of democracy exists under these circumstances? And is real democracy possible for a global empire? How does nation-state democracy exist within the new globalized economy that serves transnational corporations?

....

The United States celebrates the founding of the country and the so-called "Founding Fathers" as the birth of democracy, but the real democracy movement occurred before the American Revolution. In fact, it was the founding fathers, a group of propertied elites, slave holders, noted lawyers and wealthy merchants, who created a system designed to prevent a truly democratic state.

....

President Abraham Lincoln warned in a November 21, 1864, letter to Colonel William F. Elkins about the corruption that would follow this rise of corporate power:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

....

Part II of this series on democracy, will focus on how participatory government and economic democracy are being put in place in Latin America and steps being taken in those directions in the United States. If we are to achieve the "We the People" government to which we aspire and end the mirage democracy we are in, these are the twin pillars on which real democracy will stand.

You can hear our interview with Chris Hedges and Cliff DuRand: What Kind of Democracy Exists in the US? on Clearing the FOG Radio (podcast) or view it onUStream/ItsOurEconomy.

This is Part I in a series on democracy in the United States. Next week we examine participatory democracy as an antidote to managed democracy.

You can intervene in the nation's budget debate by watching a Roots Action video and writing your Congressional representatives and the president here.

This article was first published on Truthout and any reprint or reproduction on any other website must acknowledge Truthout as the original site of publication.

Chevron-Ecuador case expert switches sides - SFGate

This case has been ongoing for a long time, and I've figured there was manipulation on both sides, but this is disappointing.  Too bad. Simply put, Texaco made a mess and then did cleanup that was stamped OK by gov't monitors - who likely weren't able to fully inspect all the problems. Chevron buys Texaco fields, and is held accountable when the full extent of the problems are documented...protracted legal battles follow, with David v.Goliath model. David uses many really hard rocks, Goliath uses lots of money to build protective armor. David apparently tries a less than legit tactic - not that Goliath hasn't done the same - so both sides have less than stellar records now. The blame is now obfuscated by years of ownership changes, manipulation and back room cigar smoke but fact remains - there remains a lot of petroleum nastiness out in the forest that needs to be cleaned up.

Chevron-Ecuador case expert switches sides - SFGate:

"The long-running environmental lawsuit against Chevron Corp. in Ecuador has pitted whole armies of lawyers, activists and technical experts against each other. Now a former combatant appears to have switched sides[to Chevron]."
...

"An Ecuadoran judge ruled against Chevron last year, ordering the San Ramon company to pay $19 billion. Chevron has vowed not to hand over the money and has sued the other side's lawyers for extortion and racketeering. The Ecuadoran team is now pursuing Chevron's assets in Argentina, Brazil and Canada to collect on the judgment.

Racketeering suit

Chevron obtained Reyes' statement as part of the racketeering suit. Company spokesmanKent Robertson said Reyes was not paid for his statement, nor was he promised work with Chevron.

"The fraud is going to come out, and he wants to be on the right side," Robertson said.

Karen Hinton, a spokeswoman for the Ecuadorans' legal team, accused Chevron of ghostwriting some of Reyes' comments, and said her team had not tried to force Reyes or anyone else to compromise their professional ethics. She also insisted that tests showed extensive oil-field contamination in the area.

"Reyes either lies or is mistaken when he claims that the plaintiffs acknowledged that the data from the judicial inspections did not support their claims," she said.

Reyes became involved in the suit at the end of 2005. He had just published a book "Oil, Amazon, and Natural Capital," arguing that Chevron and the Ecuadoran government together needed to clean up the oil fields."

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