GE Paid No Taxes Last Year

With Tax Day being yesterday and having been forced by Uncle Sam to pay over $500 "back" to the US and NYS governments, I think that everyone will appreciate this article today. General Electric, one of the world's largest corporations and the owner of NBC paid no US taxes last year.


That's right. In fact, because they "lost" money, they were entitled to receive $1.1 billion from the US government through a tax credit. That's a tax rate of NEGATIVE 10.5%. This is no joke.

But what about the $10.8 billion profit overseas? GE is "indefinitely" deferring income tax payments on those profits, Eisele said.

It may seem like accounting magic, but it's completely legit.

GE isn't the only "Top 5" company on this year's Fortune 500 list that owed no income taxes. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), which suffered major losses in 2009, included a tax benefit of $1.9 billion in its annual profit.

What the hell are we doing? And just wait till they ask for a bailout.

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Needle Exchange Programs: Effective, but at What Cost?

Albany, New York has recently begun a needle exchange program for drug addicts with the hope that the spread of illnesses, such as AIDS or HIV, would lessen. This would cost taxpayers over $150,000 annually; however, it is argued, that without so many people getting sick, it could save money in the end.

At first, I was against this; supplying addicts with the equipment to do illegal drugs sounded nuts. But, being the good little reporter that I try to be, I researched this deeper and was surprised by what I found.

Looking at reports from regions that have already tried similar programs, it became clear that the benefits of such programs were surprising. Studies from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands, along with raw data from Wales and Uzbekistan clearly show that not only will addicts use such programs, but it helps to reduce HIV a sizable amount. Furthermore, with the spread of education, it is possible for people to be convinced to stop doing drugs.

However, there is a major caveat in the data that sticks out. In the data from the US, UK, Canada, Wales, and the Netherlands, the amount of money saved by having these programs is not clearly stated. The only hard data was from (who would have guessed) Uzbek statistics. They place the minimum cost per infection averted at $1,288 and as high as $9,537. That's per person who did not get a disease because of the program.

So, which saves the taxpayers more money? The data does not say, but nearly $10,000 per illness-stopped could outweigh the many of the benefits.

In the end, it is very surprising to see how effective these programs were in preventing HIV and spreading education. However, the cost could be incredibly high. But after looking at this data, I am no longer very against this program... I need to study it further to come to a final conclusion.

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Quote of the Day

"I will not raise taxes on 95% of American families."

--Barack Obama, 2008


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Obama Discusses Americans' Responsibility: Follow the Government, Pay Taxes, and Love Liberty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fort Belvoir, Virginia- In a press conference after his annual golf game on Memorial Day, President Barack Obama took a minute to reflect on the significance of the United States.

"I stand here before you, a young President in an age of violence, turmoil, and recession. What the next year holds, I cannot say. What tomorrow will bring, I cannot know. But I know this: every American has a responsibility to help his fellow man.

"When you look around, we see people without healthcare, families without food, men and women without jobs. Now, I ask you this: what is our responsibility to these people, the less fortunate who live in our country? The answer is not clear, but the feelings are.

"Our commitment is to help those in need. We must take this obligation not with pain or malice, but with zeal. We must restructure healthcare and make it available to all. And we must pay our taxes so that those without jobs can receive the money they need. We must love one another like we love our family, and we must allow the government to have the power to help those in need.

"In our country, the government is the only structure that can rebuild our economy and help the needy. What other organization can earn public trust, use money to its fullest extent, and give people jobs? But the most important point of the government is trust. We all must trust the government to do the right thing, and most importantly, you all must trust me. I can help everyone; all I need is your trust, loyalty, and taxes. That's all I ask.

"But importantly in this time of upheaval, I ask that you put your trust in the government and what it can do. Let the government rebuild the country, let us help each other, and let us lower crime. Yet remember, regardless of what the government does, we will always protect your liberty. That is what the government is here to do; protect freedom.

"The Obama Administration will always be here to protect your freedom, you have my promise," President Obama concluded.

The President then declined to take questions, and left to loud applause from the Press.



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Can Someone Explain This to Me? Part 1

Okay, Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President. So now it's time to look at some policies. The one up today: Tax Cuts and (almost) Universal Health Care.

Can someone explain to me how President-Elect Obama will cut taxes and pay for the Health Care he is proposing? He says he'll give a tax break to 95% of Americans and raise taxes on the wealthy, right? Does this mean a massive increase in taxes on the "rich," on top of the ones he promises? Does it mean he won't cut taxes? Or does it all mean that we all get a nice big tax increase? Either way, it doesn't seem like Sen. Obama will be able to fulfill both promises.