Of Course Our Tax Code Sucks, They Like It That Way

Congress writes the tax code. It is beyond complex and simply ridiculous. It hoses the middle class because we don't make enough to qualify for big exemptions and loopholes.

I kind of giggle when I hear people talk about the mortgage deduction. At 4% interest- the standard deduction provides more tax relief than itemizing. For me, the mortgage interest deduction is a waste of time.

It has been that way for years. It doesn't change because Congress and their cronies- like it just the way it is. Check out this list of government assisted tax dodgers. Don't expect it to change with Obama or Romney in. It won't.

I don't call these folks tax dodgers- tax cheats per se- because Congress created these loopholes for their corporate benefit. I am trying to fact check this list. Please don't be confused by the inclusion of CEO names...these are not individual returns, they are corporate.

OCT 25, 2012

2:18 AM UTC

1). 1. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $1.9 billion tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? Over $1.3 trillion.
Amount of federal income taxes Bank of America would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $2.6 billion.

2). Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein
Amount of fed
eral income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $278 million tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $824 billion.
Amount of federal income taxes Goldman Sachs would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $2.7 billion

3). JP Morgan Chase CEO James Dimon
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $416 billion.
Amount of federal income taxes JP Morgan Chase would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $4.9 billion.

4). General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $3.3 billion tax refund.
Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve? $16 billion.
Jobs Shipped Overseas? At least 25,000 since 2001.

5). Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $705 million tax refund.
American Jobs Cut in 2010? In 2010, Verizon announced 13,000 job cuts, the third highest corporate layoff total that year.

6). Boeing CEO James McNerney, Jr.
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? None. $124 million tax refund.
American Jobs Shipped overseas? Over 57,000.
Amount of Corporate Welfare? At least $58 billion.

7). Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
Amount of federal income taxes Microsoft would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $19.4 billion.

8). Honeywell International CEO David Cote
Amount of federal income taxes paid from 2008-2010? Zero. $34 million tax refund.

9). Corning CEO Wendell Weeks
Amount of federal income taxes paid from 2008-2010? Zero. $4 million tax refund.

10). Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $74 million tax refund.

11). Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2009? Zero. $55 million tax refund.

12). Deere & Company CEO Samuel Allen
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2009? Zero. $1 million tax refund.

13). Marsh & McLennan Companies CEO Brian Duperreault
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $90 million refund.

14). Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs
Amount of federal income taxes Qualcomm would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $4.7 billion.

15). Tenneco CEO Gregg Sherill
Amount of federal income taxes Tenneco would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $269 million.

16). Express Scripts CEO George Paz
Amount of federal income taxes Express Scripts would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $20 million.

17). Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman
Amount of federal income taxes Caesars Entertainment would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $9 million.

18). R.R. Donnelly & Sons CEO Thomas Quinlan III
Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $49 million tax refund.

Eighteen of the 80 CEOs who signed the call for deficit action are actually some of the biggest outsourcers and tax cheats in America. First, they crashed the economy in 2008. They followed that up by taking billions in taxpayer bailout dollars. Their next step was to outsource jobs and evade taxes. Now they are calling for action on a deficit that they helped create over the past four years.

Bin Laden, Gaddafi Proven Dead

Funny stuff. http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2012/10/finally-proof-of-death-papa-b.html

Never Write Faster Than You Can See

One of the problems with being an insanely popular blogger is that you are your own editor. I work on a razor thin margin. So finding quality help on the cheap can be difficult. In the old days, I would write something and save it, then view the blog the following day for accuracy and editing.

Sometimes I just shit canned the whole piece. I still kill 10-15% of my blogs. When you are a Police Chief in a small town- you simply can't tell the world that your boss is a self absorbed narcissist. You have to be careful. Your on the job life expectancy can drop precipitously based on content. Just because something is true- Eugene used to say- doesn't mean you gotta tell anyone. (Eugene was an old salty cop and one of my heroes) So content can be a problem but mostly- it is difficult to edit your own stuff.

Grammar and sometimes mistakes can you make.

Having said all of this- and having broken free of those chains that once bound me- let me offer up this advice.

If you write faster than you can see, go back and look at your writing often. Read it out loud. That's how I catch mistakes. I constantly re-read things I have written and I always seem to be editing. It's like a never ending process.

When I go to a new blog and read some horribly written stuff- that pretty much does it for me. The author of any given blog might be a genius but they still have to convey what they write in some understanding and meaningful way using decent, not perfect, writing.

I'm still not sorry I dumped English for law enforcement. It was a good trade.

A Pissing Match

Everyday I am on the computer for at least 4 hours. I read through about 20 links and I read a lot of comments. Once in awhile I stumble onto a real gem. Heres today's grand prize winner.  http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/10/25/ceos-self-serving-deficit-manifesto/?pending=1#comment-44182

I stared and drooled at that chart. It makes no sense. Then I thought, "Where did it come from?" I clicked back and read the source in the lower right hand corner. Everything started to crystalize. Note that the chart and the declining debt to GDP ratio stops in 2010. How would 2011 have looked? Well this article thinks it would have looked like this. Unfortunately, this is based on facts. http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-27/markets/30669494_1_gdp-report-private-inventory-investment-real-gdp

Where on that chart would they squeeze in 1.7% GDP or this year's 1.6% GDP?

From the governments lips to your eyes...Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property

located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012
(that is, from the first quarter to the second quarter), according to the "third" estimate released by the
Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the first quarter, real GDP increased 2.0 percent.

Now there might be some folks that think that I've completely left the rails. I swear a lot and I like to poke fun at all of these people and their collective egos. Some folks get downright angry at my opinions. They feel threatened when I threaten their "truth" of how the world turns.

Felix Salmon works for Reuters. This dude actually gets paid to write garbage like this. He has "editors" with "agendas." So Felix is confined to some degree. But I am not.

Sometimes this conflict of opinions denigrates into a pissing match. This happens when someone senses some bullshit (aka opinion) and challenges it. The bottom can fall out quickly. You know you are in a pissing match when the contestants quit talking about the subject matter and instead they are reduced to comparing credentials, calling each other names, and taking any cheap shot available to them. This insanity is called a pissing match.

Like most of you, I like watching a good pissing match. I don't like being involved in them so much. However, after having read a couple of gawd awful pieces by Felix Salmon, I could not contain myself any longer. Sometimes you just have to challenge stupid. I felt like that today.

Let the pissing match begin.

Trump Shoots Blank, Field Bet Wins

Obama's very first executive order once he became President was to seal all of his personal records.

Who does that? Well, a guy worried about his personal records, that's who.
There are only a few reasons to do that. Citizenship status, your lineage, some type of fraud.

So the Donald offers 5 million bucks to Obama's favorite charity if he will release his college transcripts and passport information. It's a shame he didn't offer more. The reality is, is that Obama is so dishonest that there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that he would disclose that information. I suppose the beauty here- is that Obama knows millions of us know he is full of shit and a fraud. http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/2012/10/25/trumps-5m-offer-least-transparent-president-history-obama-good-country

So Trump's offer will go uncollected. It's probably the safest bet in history. And as usual, it is the type of self indulgent, "it's all about me" mentality that Trump is known for.

Bobby Kennedy said pay attention to what a man does, not what he says. Obama's very first action as President was to seal his personal/personnel records. That tells you all you need to know.

FG's Outlaw Line on the Big Trump News

I've been surfing the intermesh a little tonight- trying to figure out what Donald Trump's big news about Obama is going to be Wednesday. Apparently, Trump thinks he has something big. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82770.html

Douglas Kass tried to steal some of Trump's thunder by revealing his October surprise yesterday. Here's what he tweeted about it:

"High above the Alps my Gnome has heard that Donald Trump will announce that he has unearthed divorce papers between the Prez and his wife."

Here at Frankenstein Government, I am never afraid to go out on a limb. President Obama provides such a target rich environment of half truths, lies, sealed personnel records, wandering rhetoric, and opaqueness that even I am left in awe. I often think that Obama could teach run of the mill sociopaths a thing or two. Maybe graduate school. So we have a job ahead of us- sorting out the possibilities.

Since I have wasted 4 years of my life following this moron- I feel uniquely qualified to offer up my "line" on what Trumps's big news is.

Obama cheating on LV golfcourse, playing the "don't" and hungover prior to first debate, 2-1.
Obama cheating on wife and pending divorce years ago, 3-1.
Obama whispering in Netanyahu's ear, telling him holocaust did not happen. 8-1.
Obama's school transcripts documenting his alien status, 4-1.
Obama's mother had another son, a secret brother, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 15-1.
Obama using false documents, any kind, including passport, 5-1.
Obama is not a serial liar, tells truth most of the time, 61-1.
Both Obamas losing Illinois licenses to practice law due to illegal activities or greasy palms, 7-1.
Obama is a Muslim, had plans to turn west wing into a mosque, 9-1.
Obama receiving undocumented and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources, 4-1.
Obama is gay. That's why we have never found a girlfriend, 2-1.
Obama is the son of somebody other than Barack Obama Sr., 11-1.
Michelle Obama is Patrick Ewing's sister, 1-1.

Field bet. None of the above, something else. 2-1.

Ok, that's it. I ruled out dope dealing because Trump says that's not it. Anything seems possible with Obama. So let's hope Trump doesn't keep us waiting. Place your bets below. All bets off when the Donald tweets, eastern time.

Don't Vote At All

Great blog on ZeroHedge.

This is an excellent piece on why you shouldn't vote at all. I liked it a lot and Casey made some excellent points. But Casey offers no solution. Not voting, as Casey advocates, will accomplish nothing. Someone will always vote. Casey seems more invested in protecting a superior ego which maintains that not voting- allows you to escape responsibility for our broken system.

I don't see the solution there.

But for those of you who agree, this piece might be for you. Interesting enough to link. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-22/doug-caseys-top-five-reasons-not-vote

Joe Biden's Brother "Wins" 100 Million Dollar Contract in Iraq

When it comes to unethical conduct, nobody can match this administration. I know drug dealers with more restraint. They all should be in prison. I mean that.

I will add this. When Obama loses this election, pay attention to his pardon list.

Richard Nixon Never Let Me Down

-Hunter Thompson, from the Great White Shark Hunt, I think.

"I never expected much of him and he never let me down."

Thirty years later, with millions of people just dying to boot Obama out of office and stick Romney in, I feel exactly the same way. All over again, one more time.

An ode to George McGovern. http://www.dailypaul.com/259842/quote-fear-and-loathing-on-the-campaign-trail-1972

Sheep and Muppets

The fascinating thing about sheep and muppets- is that the sheep and muppets always think someone else is the sucker.

The truth is- millions upon millions of people are suckers. That makes the likelihood that you are a sucker- pretty good. The goal of the wise guys is simple. They convince the sheep and the muppets to turn over their money. They make gobs of money by taking advantage of math challenged sheep and muppets.

It really is that simple.

I have often written on how capitalists prey on their own. They do this without a conscience. Capitalists justify it by saying it's your fault for not educating yourself rather than applying some ethical or moral responsibility to themselves. Stealing from the poor and uneducated, whether it's legal or not, is deplorable. A fair profit for your work or service used to be the standard. Now days, corporate America
will charge you just as much as humanly possible- so long as it is marginally legal.

Behold that low bar. http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/10/22/greg-smith-goldman-sachs-worse/?iid=Lead