The true cost of the bank bailout

The actual amount of money we the people forked for the bailout. When push comes to shove, not greed but government is good (for the rich). Forget free market, invisible hand and all that crap.
But there is no money for social security, medicare and all those socialist programs.

2016 Presidential Democratic Ticket

In my view, this is the dream ticket.

1. President: Bernie Sanders
2. Vice-President: Elizabeth Warren 
3. Treasury Secretary: Brooksley Born 
4. Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton (if she learns how to use her darn e-mail)

Understanding Marginal Tax Rate

There is a lot of confusion about taxes, especially about the marginal tax rate. This confusion is created on purpose on the part of the rich class to confuse people and convince them that any tax increase is bad really bad. Let's debunk this myth. 

What Is It?

The marginal tax rate is the percentage of tax applied to your income for each tax bracket in which you qualify. In essence, the marginal tax rate is the percentage taken from your next dollar of taxable income above a predefined income threshold.

The marginal tax rate includes federal, state and local income taxes, as well as federal payroll and self-employment taxes. This differs from the average tax rate, which is the total tax paid as a percentage of total income earned.

How Does It Work?

Federal income tax in America is considered a progressive tax because it is based income tax brackets. This assures that there is an increase of the marginal tax rate for each bracket.

The next table shows the marginal tax rates for a single filing person.

Tax Rate	Single Brackets
10%	$0 - $8,350
15%	$8,351 - $33,950
25%	$33,951 - $82,250
28%	$82,251 - $171,550
33%	$171,550 - $372,950
35%	$372,950  and above

Read more .....

Political Responsibilities for Economic Inequality

This is a short summary of the political responsibilities for the economic crisis and ultimately economic inequality. These responsibilities tie together Reagan, and the  #neoliberaldems Clinton and Obama policies. There is no difference between the 2 parties; they have pursued the same neoliberal policies, that is more wealth to the rich (20%) and screw the rest. 

• Reagan started the "deregulation" of the financial system, at least ideologically. But he could not make much inroads while in charge.
• Then came Bill Jefferson (Clinton that is) which in few years, with the help of Gramm, Leach and Bliley signed into law the Financial Services Modernization Act that eliminated the Glass-Stegall Legislation which separated the investment banks (Goldman and Sachs, for example) from the commercial banks (credit unions, for example).
• If this was not enough, Bill went ahead to sign into law the Commodity Futures Modernization Act which opened the floodgate to the derivatives (subprime mortgages, etc...) casino gambling that ultimately took down the entire (world) economy from which we have not recovered.

Wall street has been and is a big contributor to the Clinton (both) and Obama campaigns. I wonder why.

Read more .....

Economic Agenda for America

Getting Ready For Presidential Election

Useful Info

• Legislative districts in Washington: Washington: Legislative Districts Map  Each district has a Democratic party organization for example: 
• 47th District Democrats Next meeting will February 3 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
• 33rd District Democrats. Next meeting will be Mon, February 15, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM 
• For all the other districts you can search on line in google enter for example 33rd democrats Washington
  
  Start participating in your district party activity to become a delegate. Study the document listed before. 
• Note that a legislative district contains many precincts, each precinct comprises several blocks. Each precinct should have a Precinct Committee Officer (PCO). A PCO is the grassroots organizer and a key player in the delegate nomination process. If your precinct does not have a PCO, volunteer to be nominated.  For more information, see Become a PCO
• Do not confuse a legislative district with a congressional district. Washington has 10 congressional districts; they are intended for national elections to elect representatives in the house. While the number of representatives vary based on the population, each state in the Union has only 2 senators. For more information, see King County Elections.
• Learn how to become a delegate: Washington State Democrats 2016 Caucus and Convention Cycle Guide