Well, he's a pretty rich guy himself. Still, he has some thoughts on other rich people and taxes and he minces no words. An excerpt: I’ve known rich people, and why not, since I’m one of them? The majority would rather douse their dicks with lighter fluid, strike a match, and dance around singing “Disco Inferno” than pay one more cent in … Read More
The Tone-Deaf Romney Gaffe
If you haven't seen it yet, here is the interview in which Romney said he's "not concerned with the very poor." As an sidenote, kudos to Soledad for actually hearing Romney say those words and asking him about it. Good journalists listen, and Soledad is a good journalist. The Romney camp, as well as Romney himself, seem perplexed by this. … Read More
Baum Law Firm Closes
Never heard of the law firm of Steven J. Baum? Well, that law firm, located near Buffalo, represents banks and mortgage servicers when they attempt to foreclose on homeowners and evict them from their homes. It is the biggest law firm of its type in the State of New York. The firm has been denounced by consumers and consumer advocates for participating … Read More
That Word Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means
Seems some right-wingers have an axe to grind with Elizabeth Warren, running to unseat Scott Brown as Massachusetts Senator. Their complaint? She's rich. Elizabeth Warren may have embraced the Occupy Wall Street movement and the “99 percent” crowd, but public records reveal the liberal firebrand belongs to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. Her financial well-being will likely hand conservatives … Read More
1%
I saw a headline in which Michael Moore admits he is in the 1% (the top 1% of income-earners in this country). Of course, he's within the 1% in monetary terms only. He's with us 99 percenters in every other respect. "Wait", I thought. "Just how do you know what percent you are?" Ah, thank you Wall Street Journal. I'm … Read More
Not Just Warren Buffet
WSJ reports: A new survey from Spectrem Group found that 68% of millionaires (those with investments of $1 million or more) support raising taxes on those with $1 million or more in income. Fully 61% of those with net worths of $5 million or more support the tax on million-plus earners. So the lower and middle AND wealthiest classes all support a … Read More
How’s Bank of America Doing?
Yesterday, I wrote about Bank of America's chutzpah in seeking to add a $5 monthly fee for use of the Bank of America debit card. Sadly, BofA wasn't the only big bank contemplating this fee; there is evidence of a possible illegal collusion of big banks to charge customers new fees, just for the convenience of using their debit cards to spend … Read More
Three Ways That Wall Street Occupies Washington, DC
From Think Progress: 1. Wall Street Occupies Washington With Massive Campaign Contributions: On Nov. 12, 1999 President Bill Clinton signed into law the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, a Depression-era law that created a firewall between commercial and investment banking. Repealing this law was one of the top legislative goals of the financial industry. In the 1998 election cycle, commercial banks spent … Read More
Is Occupy Wall Street the Antithesis of the Tea Party?
A lot of comparisons are being made between these two movements. And if one were to watch the media, it certainly looks like the fault lines are drawn, i.e.,: Tea Party = loved by Fox News = conservativeOccupy Wall Street = treated with disdain by Fox News = liberal But some are noting that the OSW movement really isn't hippies … Read More
People Like Class Warfare
A new Washington Post/Bloomberg poll asked Americans whether they would support or oppose a variety of ideas to reduce the budget deficit. Unppoular ideas were pretty much what you expect: raising taxes on the middle class, reducing Social Security benefits, and reducing Medicare benefits. But a couple of ideas enjoyed broader support — most of the public approves of reducing military spending and … Read More
Elizabeth Warren on “Class Warfare”
(Extended) quote of the day: “I hear all this, you know, ‘Well, this is class warfare, this is whatever'. No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own — nobody. “You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid … Read More