U.S. Corporations Dodges Billions of Dollars in Income Tax

"America is in the grip of a societal economic panic. Lawmakers cry “We’re Broke!” as they slash budgets, lay off schoolteachers, police, and firefighters, crumbling our country’s social fabric and leaving many Americans scrambling to survive. Meanwhile, multibillion-dollar American corporations like Exxon, Google and Bank of America are making record profits. And while the deficit climbs and the cuts go deeper, these corporations—with intimate ties to our political leaders—are concealing colossal profits overseas to avoid paying U.S. income tax".

"WE’RE NOT BROKE is the story of how U.S. corporations have been able to hide over a trillion dollars from Uncle Sam, and how seven fed-up Americans from across the country, take their frustration to the streets . . . and vow to make the corporations pay their fair share".

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IMHO, it is not just a "republican" thing as these corporations have been getting away with it for decades now. So, the democrats are just as bad at letting these corporations get away with it! Case in point, our current democratic president, Barack Obama bailed out the big banks & mortgage lenders to the tune of $187 - $360 billion in taxpayer money from the Treasury just for Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac alone! So, I guess there CAN be bi-partisanship in Washington, DC when it has to do with screwing the American people in favor of corporations and banks!

Joint Resolution to Claim State Sovereignty

I have drafted a joint resolution to reclaim our state sovereignty and hope that it can be presented to the legislature at the beginning of the next session. Is there any state representative with backbone who will introduce it?

STATE OF MAINE

1st Session of the 126th Legislature (2013)

HOUSE JOINT

RESOLUTION #                                                            By:      

AS INTRODUCED

A Joint Resolution claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers; serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates; providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed; directing distribution; and that a committee of conference and correspondence be appointed.

WHEREAS, the people of Maine are a proud and independent people who guard the freedom to claim, direct and control their natural, inherent and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness, with zealous conviction; and

WHEREAS, Section 2, Article I, of the Constitution of the State of Maine, sets forth the

Declaration of Rights and reads as follows: “All power is inherent in the people; all free governments are founded in their authority and instituted for their benefit; they have therefore an unalienable and indefeasible right to institute government, and to alter, reform, or totally change the same, when their safety and happiness require it”; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, today, in 2013, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

 WHEREAS, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to

the Constitution of the United States; and

 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States,

 505 U.S. 144 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

WHEREAS, Congress has inappropriately delegated its monetary authority to the private federal reserve bank, thus failing to protect and provide a sound monetary system as defined and mandated by the Constitution of the United States, forcing an unstable currency on us resulting in the past, and the current, economic perils; and

WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now
pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session of the 126th Maine Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that the state of Maine hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this serves as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions, or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives be, and is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the State of Maine in the Congress of the United States.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a committee of conference and correspondence be
appointed by the Speaker of the House and of the Senate, which shall have as its charge to communicate the preceding resolution to the legislatures of the several states, to assure them that this State continues in the same esteem of their friendship and to call for a joint working group between the states to enumerate the abuses of authority by the federal government and to seek repeal of the assumption of powers and the imposed mandates.

Just to let you know, 37 other states have introduced similar resolutions. 7 states passed it in both houses, 18 have introduced it and are still pending, 9 have passed at least one house and 3 have failed. So Maine, are we going to be the independent people we really are & reclaim our sovereignty like other states have done & are doing?

DOJ Admits To Banks Scare Tactics Stop Indictments

DOJ’s head of Criminal Division, Lanny Breuer has admitted in a speech he gave at the NYC Bar Association on Deferred Prosecution Agreements, that scare tactics used by the banks lawyers, CEOs and economists actually do stop his office from indicting them for the frauds committed upon American homeowners and taxpayers!

He stated: "the decision of whether to indict a corporation, defer prosecution, or decline altogether is not one that I, or anyone in the Criminal Division, take lightly. We are frequently on the receiving end of presentations from defense counsel, CEOs, and economists who argue that the collateral consequences of an indictment would be devastating for their client. In my conference room, over the years, I have heard sober predictions that a company or bank might fail if we indict, that innocent employees could lose their jobs, that entire industries may be affected, and even that global markets will feel the effects. Sometimes – though, let me stress, not always – these presentations are compelling".

Excuse me? An indictment would be devastating for their client? They've made 100's of billions of dollars on this huge ponzi scheme of foreclosure fraud! And how devastating is it to the homeowner who loses his home? But that doesn't seem to stop any kind of prosecution there!
Is it any wonder why the OIG won't go after the lenders who falsified loan paperwork that were sold to Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac that taxpayers money are on the hook for to the tune of $187 - $360 billion for, but are looking to "lock up" homeowners who have walked away from these fraudulant mortgages? (See my article on More Governmental Double Standards for full story). When you have the OIG who won't go after the bank crooks and the DOJ who won't indict them (in fact in his speech, he states how proud he is to how well his office has worked with them!), a congress & president who bails them out with taxpayers money and then the whole aforementioned system joining in with the court system to hunt down and prosecute homeowners and rubber stamp the banks claims, is it any wonder why people are losing their homes, businesses, livelihoods, families and sometimes their very lives?

More Governmental Double Standards

Mortgage cops taking tough stance against strategic defaulters as Office of Inspector General (OIG) on the prowl for strategic defaulters


Lew Sichelman of the Chicago Tribune wrote "Strategic defaulters, beware. The feds are coming for you. And they are not happy.

Not the FBI. The Office of the Inspector General at the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The OIG may not have the same fearsome "G-man" reputation as its better-known counterparts at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but it is every bit as much a law enforcement agency, with the same powers to search, seize and arrest. Special OIG agents are even authorized to carry firearms.

The OIG's mission is to seek administrative sanctions, civil recoveries and criminal prosecutions against anyone who abuses the FHFA's programs. And it is pursuing its calling with passion, if not vengeance.

Investigators are searching not only for lenders who have sold materially deficient loans to Fannie and Freddie, but also individuals, including those who reneged on their promises to repay their mortgages. So if you are a "strategic defaulter" who decided it was better to walk away from your obligation than to keep paying for a house that was worth substantially less than you owed, it's time to start looking over your shoulder".

He further states that the OIG says "If there is any indication that you falsified information on your new loan application, the OIG is "absolutely" going to refer you for criminal prosecution, Wolfe said. "We're not just going to demand repayment," he said. "We're going to lock (people) up."

And herein lies where the double standards come in. Notice that the OIG office not only is investigating homeowners who defaulted, but is supposed to also be searching for LENDERS who sold deficient loans. But have you heard of any LENDERS being hunted down to be "locked up"? How vigorously is the OIG going after the "big boys" who started this whole disgusting foreclosure fraud in the first place? Apparently, not too vigorously, as we have yet to see one lender, one bank, one rich boy banker to be criminally prosecuted and be forced to don the black & white striped uniform of crook-hood that they so definitely deserve and have earned. These lenders have stolen mind boggling amounts of money with their ponzi scheme on a grand scale but yet, the OIG office is going to be adamantly searching for and going after the homeowners who have walked away from their mortgages who owe more than $1 billion to Fannie and Freddie. Now, even though $1 billion is a lot, compared to what the lenders have stolen, it's merely a pittance. But who does the OIG office want to hunt down to pay back the $187 billion in taxpayer money that the Treasury has invested so far to keep Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac afloat — by some estimates, the tab eventually could reach more than $360 billion - surely not the ones who are responsible for the lion's share of the bill, of course not! Let's just let the big time crooks who falsified paperwork in selling deficient loans, assignments of mortgages, promissory notes and deeds of trusts (to mention only some of it!) continue to skate away from their crimes because they're just "too big to jail"!