*** Billionaire Leona Helmsley: “We don’t pay taxes, only the little people pay taxes.”
1] “Trump’s taxes illustrate how the game is rigged” [ Jared Berstein; Washington Post; 10/4/2016 ]
2] “Top 1% of wealthy held more assets than entire middle class.” [Alex Tanzi, Mike Dorning; Bloomberg News; 10/11/21]
***. “Corruption comes by degrees.” [ Juvenal ]
3]. Some details – Corrupt Republican 2025 Tax Bill:
– “GOP tax bill mainly benefits wealthy, analyses find” [ Tony Romm; New York Times; 5/18/25 ]
– “Tax bill adds $2.4 T to the national debt..To offset the cost, the measure would slash spending on social safety net programs by more than $1 trillion..” [Jacob Gage, Marianna Sotomayor, Matthew Choi; Washington Post; 5/23/25]
– “All kinds of perverse incentives in this tax bill” – “..even seven moths into fiscal year 2025..[the 119th Congress}.. will grab the prize as most fiscally irresponsible Congress ever.” [ Edward Lotterman; St.Paul Pioneer Press; 5/18/25 ]
4] Some other details about Trump-Musk economic INCOMPETENCE:
– “Sliding U.S. dollar is a fiscal headache” [Allegra Catelli, Michael Msika; Bloomberg News; 5/15/25]
– “Growth becoming harder to achieve” [ Evan Ramstad; Minnesota Star Tribune; 4/27/25 ]
– “U.S. Credit Rating Is Downgraded by Moody’s” [ Tony Romm, Andrew Duehren, Joe Rennison; New York Times; 5/18/25]
[ NOTE: Let’s be honest: virtually ALL of the Trump-Musk economic actions have been motivated by one thing: CUT TAXES ON THE RICH. PERIOD. The 2025 tax bill does that. Musk’s crazy government-slashing DOGE does that. Eviscerating the I.R.S. does that. Gutting environmental protections does that. Crippling consumer-friendly investigating agencies does that. Ending subsidies for EV vehicles does that. And, MUCH more………….]
5] Perspective: Mother Jones, March-April, 2011, page 25: “It’s The Inequality, Stupid”
– “A huge share of the nation’s economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundreth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. the average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.”
– Most Americans have a VERY inaccurate view of how wealth is distributed in the U.S. – vastly under estimating how extremely unequal and unfair it really is. Essentially refusing to believe had badly they’re being treated.
6]. SOLUTIONS – are easy, well known – CORRUPTION. prevents them being enacted:
– SOCIAL SECURITY – it’s been known for 40 years that the solution which ENDS any Social Security “crisis” is very simple: eliminate the earnings cap with no changes to benefits. In 2010, this would have solved any shortfall by 116%- yes, more than enough. [ Timothy Taylor; St.Paul Pioneer Press; 11/21/2010 ]
– “a living wage for all is attainable” [Nir Kaissar; Bloomberg Opinion; 7/8/21]: “the most pressing problem for the U.S. remains little acknowledged and unaddressed: Tens of millions of people work full time and can’t afford food, clothes, housing, health care and a proper education for their children” [ the problem: GREED – a simple refusal by large corporations to share their profits with workers.]
– “French Lessons on How to Grow the Middle Class” [Steven Pressman; The Washington Spectator; August 1, 2018]: France reduces financial burdens on families: by paid parental leave, affordable child care, how families with children are taxed. [American governments refuse to do these things sufficiently]
*** “No society can surely be flourishing and happy, if which the greater part of ther members are poor and miserable.”
[ Adam Smith – “Wealth of Nations” ]
7]. “Worker pay stagnates as it soars for CEOs” {Patrick Kennedy; Minneapolis Star Tribune; 9/19/19]: “CEO pay has risen 940.3% over the last four decades…Average worker pay rose just 12 percent since 1978..” [Note: “940.3% is NOT a typo]
8]. “Thousands of military families struggle with food insecurity” [Ashraf Khalil; Assoc. Press; 11/15/21]
9]. “Small Farms Struggle To Survive”. [ Alyssa Schukar; New York Times; 12/12/21 ]
10] Rich and Corporate Tax Cheats – some of many hundreds – details:
– “Tax cheats cost U.S. $1 T a year” [ Alan Rappeport; New York Times; 4/14/21 ]: “the agency lacks the resources to catch tax cheats.” [Note: virtually all of those are complicated returns – of the rich & corporations]
– “At least 55 firms paid no taxes in 2020” [ Patricia Cohen; New York Times; 4/4/21 ]
– “Firms move HQ oversea then exploit tax loophole” [ Steven D. Solomon; New York Times; 2/15/16 ]
11] BUT WE KNEW MOST OF THIS ALREADY !!!!! – Reagan, Bush II, Trump 2017 tax cut failures KNOWN:
– “A tax bill only millionaires could love” [ Bill Press; 1/1/2018 ]
– “Experts: Trump stands to save millions under tax measure” [ Drew Harwell; Washington Post; 12/24/17]
– “Art Of The Steal” [ Mother Jones; March-April, 2018]
– “Reaganomics Redux, but Worse” [Jeff madrick; Washington Spectator; February l, 2018} – “…fraud..”
{NOTE; The U.S. national debt for 1789-1980 America was just under $1 trillion. Reagan tripled it. Bush II doubled that [ and bills forhis immoral Iraq war, his2008 recession still being paid]. Trump’s 2017 tax cut is 25% of current U.S. national debt. Multiple Congresses have failed to pass legislation reducing debt [legal bribery!]. BUT – BOTTOM LINE: the rich refuse to pay taxes – have given legal bribes to Congress so they don’t fix it. The debt will now be used as a club to cut services for ordinary people like YOU – which is graphically done in Trump’s 2025 bill!!!!! Rome fell from corruption – will America???]
12]. Breaking News!!! – 5/24/25 New York Times: “GOP harnessing tax code to punish Trump’s nemeses” [Andrew Duehren]. YOU TELL ME – does this cross “the red line” into. DICTATORSHIP???? – in addition to other authoritarian uses of the tax code to punish ANYONE who dares cross him? YOU. TELL ME……………….
With Justice For All 