100 Arrested Black Friday at Walmart Wage Protests

Even Santa was arrested.

A protest on behalf of Walmart workers in Ontario, California led to the arrest of up to 10 people Friday, among them Karl Hilgert, who dressed up as Santa Claus for the event, according to The San Bernardino Sun. The protest was one of around 1,500 planned nationwide Friday blasting Walmart for poverty wages, and unfair working hours.



http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/arrests-made-wal-mart-black-friday#sthash.i1XWCrHw.dpbs

Wall Street: Everyone breaks the rules but NOONE GOES TO JAIL. They get a bonus.

After the crash of 2008, regulators finally did exactly that. What has resulted is a wave of scandals with odd names; LIBOR fixing, FX collusion, ISDA Fix.
To outsiders they sound like complex acronyms that occupy the darkest corners of Wall Street, easily dismissed as anomalies. They are not. LIBOR, FX, ISDA Fix are at the very center of finance, part of the daily flow of trillions of dollars. The scandals are scarily close to what some on Wall Street believe is standard business practice, a matter of shades of grey.
I imagine the people who are named in the scandals are genuinely confused as to why they are being singled out. They were just doing what almost everyone else was, maybe just more aggressive, more reckless. They were doing what they had been trained to do: bending the rules, pushing as far as they could to beat competitors. They had been applauded in the past for their aggressive risk taking, no doubt. Now they are just whipping boys.


http://www.alternet.org/economy/wall-street-ethics?page=0%2C1&akid=11202.294211.vqZDqm&rd=1&src=newsletter930687&t=11

The Growing Resistance to the 'Walmartization' of our Economy IS WORKING, slow and steady.

Walmart could easily provide a living wage. A recent study by Demos shows it would even be in their best interest to do so because it would stimulate the whole economy. And there are signs that Walmart is feeling the heat. The CEO, Michael Duke, announced this week that he will step down. And Walmart hired a public relations firm to smear Walmart protesters. Our sense is that this effort will backfire as it shows the desperation of this Goliath that will fall to mobilized Davids. We hope that you will support the Walmart workers and press for real transformation. Imagine what a better place the world would be if Walmart began to pay workers at a living wage and had to compensate communities for the damage it has done.
In fact, Walmart is not the only corporation that mistreats its workers; it’s just the largest one. Here is a list of ten American companies that pay the least. In addition to Walmart employees, other workers are fighting for a living wage. Fast food workers and those who make supplies for the fast food restaurants have also been holding strikes and rallies.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/corporate-elites-are-witnessing-growing-wave-resistance-walmartization-our-economy?page=0%2C2&akid=11202.294211.vqZDqm&rd=1&src=newsletter930687&t=9

WalMart Workers Protesting Low Wages - very good, DON'T SHOP AT WALMART

Workers stage a very novel protest inside a Walmart.

http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/black-friday-join-walmart-strikers#sthash.dlLqMFBO.dpbs

WalMart could pay $5.80 more per hour WITHOUT RAISING PRICES!

The report, titled “A Higher Wage is Possible: How Walmart Can Invest in Its Workforce Without Costing Customers a Dime,” found that Walmart could raise wages by $5.83 per hour without raising prices. The report revealed that Walmart spends $7.6 billion annually buying back shares of its own stock. Amy Traub, co-author of the report, said share buybacks are “Wall Street financial maneuvers” that are unproductive, and often fail, in the long run, its goal of making its shares worth more. The report quotes a Wall Street Journal business analyst,

http://www.alternet.org/labor/why-walmarts-plan-pit-low-wage-workers-against-low-wage-consumers-failing

Land Tax: If we really want the 1% to pay their fair share of taxes

Tax Land value. If we want a real overhaul/simplification of the tax code, the way to do it is to tax land value. It might be the only tax we need. No sales tax. No income tax. No payroll tax to fill a Social Security trust fund. No corporate income tax that, as we can plainly see, offshores profits. No need to tax labor and industry at all. Just tax the stuff that humans had nothing to do with creating, and therefore have no basis to claim ownership over at all. You’ll find that almost all of it is “owned” by the fabled 1 percent.

http://www.alternet.org/tax-land-end-1-percents-plutocracy?akid=11177.294211.UTPmsy&rd=1&src=newsletter928098&t=17

4.8 Million people to lose Unemployment Benefits Jan 1, 2014

Congress needs to extend the benefits to stop the suffering of those without a job.

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/48-million-lose-jobless-benefits-dec

How the Republicans have destroyed the Middle Class the last 30 years.

When Ronald Reagan was elected president, he started the United States down a path of economical and social destruction. In his first four years in office, from 1981 to 1985, Reagan lowered the top income tax bracket from 70% to 50%. Over the next four years, Reagan took the top bracket from 50% and cut it down to only 28%. With the lack of revenue coming into the federal government, the national debt tripled and to make up for the loss, Reagan raided the Social Security trust fund and went on to raise taxes eleven times, primarily on working Americans.

http://www.examiner.com/article/from-reagan-to-bush-how-the-gop-has-broken-the-american-dream

Heartlessness: Cutting Food Stamps to Children and more - Where does Heartless come from?

America’s current surge of mean-spiritedness,  observes Gordon Lafer, the University of Oregon author of the EPI study, essentially erupted right after the 2010 elections. In 11 states, those elections gave right-wingers “new monopoly control” over the governor’s mansion and both legislative houses.
Lafer links this right-wing electoral triumph directly to growing inequality. A widening income gap, he explains, “has produced a critical mass of extremely wealthy businesspeople, many of whom are politically conservative,” and various recent court cases have given these wealthy a green light to spend virtually unlimited sums on their favored political candidates.


http://www.alternet.org/economy/are-heartless-people-simply-born-way?page=0%2C1&akid=11130.294211.ChixoG&rd=1&src=newsletter922213&t=19

A POOR CHILD in the South will remain POOR! Upward mobility is worse in the US than most countries.

Class Warfare is real and worse than most other major countries.  The Southern US is particularly worse than most other parts of the US.  The Poor will Stay Poor in the South, not much chance of moving up economically.

http://www.alternet.org/media/no-class-warfare-please-were-americans?akid=11129.294211.XOYYYp&rd=1&src=newsletter921903&t=23

Why do we, the little people, keep blaming the Super Rich?

 Why Do we Plebians keep blaming the Super-rich? Because, Dammit, They're to Blame

We're an odd bunch, we Americans.  We've had a hate-hate relationship with the very rich for as long as we've existed as a country, but, damn their black hides, we can't stop taking care of them.

http://www.ramonasvoices.com/2013/11/why-do-we-plebians-keep-blaming-super.html

Corporations OUT TO TAKE OVER OUR GOVERNMENTS AND LAWS

Remember that referendum about whether we should create a single market with the United States? You know, the one that asked whether corporations should have the power to strike down our laws? No, I don't either. Mind you, I spent 10 minutes looking for my watch the other day before I realised I was wearing it.

During its financial crisis, and in response to public anger over rocketing charges, Argentina imposed a freeze on people's energy and water bills (does this sound familiar?). It was sued by the international utility companies whose vast bills had prompted the government to act. For this and other such crimes, it has been forced to pay out over a billion dollars in compensation. In El Salvador, local communities managed at great cost ( three campaigners were murdered) to persuade the government to refuse permission for a vast gold mine which threatened to contaminate their water supplies. A victory for democracy? Not for long, perhaps. The Canadian company which sought to dig the mine is now suing El Salvador for $315m – for the loss of its anticipated future profits.
In Canada, the courts revoked two patents owned by the American drugs firm Eli Lilly, on the grounds that the company had not produced enough evidence that they had the beneficial effects it claimed. Eli Lilly is now  suing the Canadian government for $500m, and demanding that Canada's patent laws are changed.


http://admin.alternet.org/civil-liberties/full-frontal-assault-democracy-europe-and-united-states?akid=11114.294211.rxfK4r&rd=1&src=newsletter919989&t=19

Sunday Shows Fail to Cover Devastating Cuts to SNAP Program

While the media opined over whether the rollout of the Affordable Care Act was a disaster or not and spent their time pimping Halperin and Heilemann latest gossip book for them, what they failed to discuss this past Sunday were the devastating cuts that were just allowed to happen to the food stamp program, otherwise known as SNAP.
There was one notable exception to that rule, which is the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC, who spent a very large portion of her show on the topic this Sunday, but when it comes to the broadcast networks, as our friends over at Media Matters reported, the subject was apparently one they didn't think was important enough to discuss: SNAP Cuts Disappear From Network Sunday Show Coverage:


http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/sunday-shows-fail-cover-devastating-cuts

90% not represented in Washington DC

Washington DC Politico's listen to those who fund their campaign.  That is the top 10%.  All the laws, rules and policies are made today to improve the lot of the 10%  The needs of the 90% are not considered because we cannot afford to pay to play the game.  As our pockets get picked, wealth inequality increases.

http://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/search?q=Health+Care+Study

Americas Greatest Shame: Child Poverty and cutting food assistance. 900 Million vets have food stamps cut

Here's the best of all. After getting $480 billion in bailout cash, the top financiers in the country paid themselves more than $150 billion in bonus money for a job well done. Is this a great country or what?

We are constantly told that the recovery is just around the corner. Liberals say we need more stimulus. Conservatives call for more austerity and cuts in regulations. But all agree that sooner or later more growth will benefit the 99 percent. Unfortunately, it's not happening and it won't happen. Here's why.

First of all, they assume that trickledown actually works, that there is something mechanical within our heavily financialized economy that will bring renewed prosperity to the 99 percent. They look back at previous recessions and recoveries and continue to believe that slumps are followed by renewed growth and income gains for all.

http://www.alternet.org/hard-times-usa/americas-greatest-shame-child-poverty-rises-and-food-stamps-cut-while-billionaires?page=0%2C1&akid=11103.294211.eIKrgP&rd=1&src=newsletter918440&t=3

STEALING RETIREMENT MONEY BY HEDGE FUND RICH GUYS! Teachers, Firefighters and Police Retirement funds being stolen

MATT TAIBBI: Sure, there is a huge corruption case that just broke open [on September 26].  What I would say about that, is what did Willie Sutton say about why he robbed banks? That’s where the money is. Look, pension funds are sort of the last great big unguarded piles of money in this country and there are going to be all sorts of operators who trying to get their hands on that money. During the crisis era, it was Wall Street banks who were essentially looting these funds by selling them toxic, fraudulent mortgage backed securities. In Detroit, it was the workers themselves who were taking the money. They’re giving themselves what they called 13th checks, taking advances of their own money. But across the country the more typical narrative is not some worker who is making $19,000 who is really making out in this kind of corruption. It is the hedge fund who is making $50 and $60 million in fees managing state funds. That is the much more typical narrative.

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/taibbi-his-latest-expose-how-wall-street-hedge-funds-are?akid=10978.294211.U2Xj9P&rd=1&src=newsletter901960&t=7

401(k)s: How the Rich stole our retirement money: A BAD IDEA for the middle class.

It was a bad idea from the get-go but new research shows that America’s 401(k) revolution has left us even worse off than we thought. Here’s a look at how we got into this mess and where it will take us if we don’t wise up.
The Dumbest Retirement Policy in the World


http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/25/how-401ks-rewarded-the-rich-and-turned-the-rest-of-us-into-big-losers/

$6000.00: Your Gift to Corporate America each year. Don't talk - just pay up.

The average American family pays $6,000 a year in subsidies to big business.
That's over and above our payments to the big companies for energy and food and housing and health care and all our tech devices. It's $6,000 that no family would have to pay if we truly lived in a competitive but well-regulated free-market economy.
The $6,000 figure is an average,


http://www.alternet.org/economy/average-american-family-pays-6000-year-subsidies-big-business?akid=10963.294211.DhRkzL&rd=1&src=newsletter899822&t=11

RIP: The Middle Class: 1946 - 2013

The 1 percent hollowed out the middle class and our industrial base. And Washington just let it happen.

The lesson of the last 40 years is that we can’t depend on the free market to sustain a middle class. It’s not going to happen without government intervention. Even when American industry dominated the world, one reason workers prospered was that the economy operated on New Deal underpinnings, which included legal protections for labor unions, government regulation of industry and high marginal income tax rates.

http://www.alternet.org/rip-middle-class-1946-2013?akid=10961.294211.M3PKoA&rd=1&src=newsletter899398&t=15

Walmart Family gets Obscene Government Subsidies

Bernie Sanders

Sanders said that the overwhelming majority of the U.S. population believes that the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is “obscene” and a “starvation wage.” He said that he hopes to mount a strong push in the Senate to raise the minimum wage and that if enough grass roots support builds around the country, “we can force the House to do the right thing.”

“We have to create millions of new jobs” to help the economy, he said, “but we also have to make the minimum wage a living wage.”

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/sanders-slams-walmart-family-obscene-taxpa