Salem-News.com Taxes articles Page 1

Tired of Wars and Spending: You`re About to Get More of Both

Tired of endless wars and endless spending on weapons systems; well vote the prostitutes out.

(JAMESTOWN, RI) - Your Congress is at work again bringing about the next war and spending more money on the military than the military wants.

Congress is inching its way to a war with Iran by passing resolutions written and put forth by the powerful pro-Israel lobby group, AIPAC.

Billion Dollar Bait & Switch: States Divert Foreclosure Deal Funds

While the settlement between five of the country's biggest banks did not require states to use the settlement money on programs related to the crisis.

(NEW YORK CITY) - A ProPublica analysis of the landmark mortgage settlement reveals states have diverted $974 million of the funds to pay down budget deficits or fund programs unrelated to the foreclosure crisis.

Paul Kiel and Cora Currier explain, "Thatā€™s nearly forty percent of the $2.5 billion in penalties paid to the states under the agreement."

Evidence of Widespread Wage Theft

A growing body of research has begun to reveal that wage theft is a widespread problem in Oregon and the nation.

(SILVERTON, OR) - Wage theft is inherently challenging to quantify.

Wage theft occurs when employers pay workers less than the minimum wage, donā€™t pay time-and-a-half for overtime hours, cheat on the number of hours worked, steal tips or donā€™t pay workers at all.

The Illusion of Corruption

People are not evil or corrupt; institutions are.

(CHENNAI, India) - Since 1995 an institution called the ā€˜Transparency Internationalā€™ [TI] has been publishing data on countries ranked from least to most corrupt based on ā€œperceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. Their definition:

Corruption is essentially "the misuse of public power for private benefit."

Michael Bloomberg Enters CA Prop. 29 (Cigarette Tax) Money Race with a $500K Contribution

The nonpartisan MapLight Voter Guide was made possible in part by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation.

(BERKELEY, CA) - A MapLight analysis of campaign contribution data from the California Secretary of State shows that a recent contribution of $500K from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg raises the total for committees supporting California's Proposition 29 (Cigarette Tax) to $8.5 million.

Committees opposing California's Proposition 29 have raised nearly $40 million.

Too Big To Blame

I never knew a city boy who was worth a damn. - Ernest Hemingway

(SASKATCHEWAN) - The Dodd-Frank Bill, an Act to regulate the American financial industry and provide investor and public protection, was passed by Congress and the Senate over a year ago.

Since that time, at least one senator has observed that following the greatest scam in world history, all the known perpetrators are still prominent, richer than ever.

Merkley, Levin Call on Regulators to Close `JPMorgan Loophole`

The Volcker Rule goes into effect this July, but regulators have not yet finalized their rules.

(WASHINGTON DC) - Oregonā€™s Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) today sent a letter to regulators, calling on them to close the ā€œJPMorgan Loophole.ā€

Although the Dodd-Frank Act prohibits banks from proprietary trading, the regulatorsā€™ proposed rule creates a new loophole that could allow proprietary trading to continue even after the law goes into effect.

Occupy Present... Single Payer Health Care

eople interested in fairness, and improved sustainable health care for everyone will want to mark their calendars for this free presentation.

(SALEM) - Occupy Salem will present a forum featuring activist Rosalie Pedroza sharing her views on single payer health care.

The forum will take place at 7 pm on Monday, May 24th at the office of Oregon PeaceWorks, 104 Commercial St. NE, in downtown Salem.

Your Hard-Earned US Tax Dollars and Church Pension Funds at Work for Israel

On American Mothersā€™ Day weekend, Palestinian teenagers and mothers offer support to prisoners on lengthy and dangerous hunger strikes.

(CHICAGO) - Mass demonstrations in support of 2500 Palestinian hunger strikers swept through the West Bank this weekend.

Marchers moved through the streets of Hebron, Kafr Qaddoum, Nablus, Nabi Saleh, Niā€™lin, Ramallah, al-Walaja and outside of Ofer prison. The picture at right was taken in Hebron.

Should Republicans be Arrested and Jailed?

The short answer is "Yes". The long answer is "Of course."

(Calgary, Alberta) - One of the most famous sentences in the English language is the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

ā€œWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.ā€