Eat the rich, before they eat you!

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/1/infographic-hunger-and-food-insecurity-in-maps-and-charts

Pitchfork time?

Eat the Rich Indeed!

Most Americans pay federal income tax of about 13.6% toward providing for essential needs for a functioning society.. But corporations that make billions each year pay only a tiny fraction of this.

Just how little do they pay? By gaming the complex system they’ve created themselves, often with their own lobbyists and lawyers writing the actual text of loopholes taken up by their legislative lackeys, many corporations are able to squeeze out so many breaks they actually pay next to nothing. For example:

Tesla makes $3 billion a year, but pays only 1.5% in federal income tax.
General Motors makes $6 billion a year, and pays only 4%.
T-Mobile makes $11 billion a year and pays a microscopic 0.4%.
Most surprising of all: General Electric makes $7 billion a year and receives from the government 6% (that’s right, GE’s negative effective tax rate is -6%).

According to analysis by Oxfam and American researchers, twelve of the world’s richest people are doing a lot of damage to the environment. The analysis examined the purchases and investments of billionaires including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Larry Page, and Elon Musk, calculating their carbon footprints based on superyachts, private jets, megamansions…you know, normal billionaire stuff. They found that the possessions and investments of the top billionaires created around 17 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equal to the emissions created by powering 2.1 million homes per year or running 4.6 coal-fired power plants annually.

A different report from Oxfam published over the weekend added insult to injury, showing that the richest 1% of humanity creates more carbon emissions than the poorest 66%. The report also revealed that 91% of deaths related to extreme weather occurred in developing countries, proving developing countries are paying the price for climate change.

Finally, the U.N. warned this week that the Earth is on track to see a full 3 degrees Celsius of global warming if we continue to pollute at current levels. Temperatures have already risen 1.4C above pre-industrial levels to date, and wealthy, polluting countries need to make big changes to turn that around. “Present trends are racing our planet down a dead-end 3C temperature rise,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement on Monday. “This is a failure of leadership, a betrayal of the vulnerable, and a massive missed opportunity. Renewables have never been cheaper or more accessible. We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality. It requires tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels.”

According to Americans for Tax Fairness research, 26 top billionaires paid an average income tax rate of just 4.8% over 6 recent years when all their income is counted―far less than the top income tax rate of 37%.  This is because the ultra-wealthy’s largest source of income each year is the growth of the value of their investments. And, unlike income from work, investment income isn’t taxed until the investment is sold.

The ultra-rich shouldn’t get away with paying lower tax rates than regular working people. That’s why we’re building massive support for the newly introduced Billionaires Income Tax.  Thanks to our work together, 16 senators have already signed-on to this bill. And thousands of grassroots supporters have signed-on as grassroots co-sponsors, demanding Congress act.

At a time when America’s 741 billionaires are worth a record $5.2 trillion, we’re demanding they pay taxes on their wealth gains each year, just like working people pay on their wages from work.

Clean air now a rich luxury good SMFH

According to an Americans for Tax Fairness analysis, America’s roughly 800 billionaires are now worth a collective $6 trillion.

Since Republicans passed the tax scam in 2017, billionaire wealth has more than doubled―up $3.1 trillion in the last six-and-a-half years.