General Electric

Presidents Who Began As Democrats But Were Elected To The White House As Republicans!

Ronald 1 Comment

In the past century, we have had three Presidents who were originally connected to the Democratic Party in some fashion, but ended up becoming President as Republicans.

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) originally served in government under Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, providing Belgian relief at the beginning of World War I, and serving Wilson as an aide throughout the war and at the Versailles Peace Conference. He was rumored to be a possible candidate for President in 1920, but was bypassed, and ended up serving as Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, before running for President in 1928.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) served in the military as one of the top generals of World War II under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and was offered the chance to run as a Democrat for President in 1948 by Truman himself. When Ike decided to stay nonpartisan, Truman ran for a full term, and then became a critic of Eisenhower, when he ran as a Republican in 1952, and their relationship was frosty for years after until after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) was for many years a Democrat, and active as a labor leader for the Screen Actors Guild. He was a loyal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and then had a change of view, due to his marriage to Nancy Reagan and his working for a very conservative oriented corporation, General Electric, and switched his loyalties to the Republican Party, and got noticed when he gave an inspiring speech for the Presidential campaign of Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona in 1964. Two years later, he won the Governorship of California as a Republican.

So three Republican Presidents of the last century converted from the Democratic Party roots they originally shared!

Senator Bernie Sanders’ Guide To Corporate Freeloaders!

Ronald Leave a comment

Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has come up with a list of what he calls “Corporate Freeloaders”, corporations that have failed to pay taxes to the US government, and demonstrate an arrogance that is infuriating!

At the top of the list is Exxon Mobil, paying no federal income taxes, but receiving a rebate from the government, while making $19 billion in profits in 2009!

Bank of America is second on the list, making $4.4 billion in profits, but gaining a $1 trillion bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, and even receiving a $1.9 billion tax refund!

General Electric is third on the list, cutting American jobs by one fifth, earning $26 billion in profits over five years, and receiving a $4.1 billion tax refund!

The rest of the list includes oil companies Chevron, Valero Energy, and Conoco Phillips; banking and finance companies Goldman Sachs and Citigroup; and in transportation, Boeing and Carnival Cruise Lines.

So, in summary, it is the oil and energy companies, the banks and finance companies, plus transportation companies and General Electric, who have willingly robbed the nation of needed tax revenues!

Is there any way to justify this? Is it “Christian values” to refuse to pay taxes? Is it moral or ethical to do this? Or is it just plain greed, selfishness, and corruption that explains how the top American corporations can have no limit to their lack of patriotism and commitment to the advancement of the American people, instead of just themselves?

Tax Day Is Here, And The Wealthy And Corporations Are Evading Taxes With Pride!

Ronald Leave a comment

As Tax Day arrives, the average middle class person is paying his or her taxes, and yet has no certainty that the social safety net is going to survive, thanks to the Republican Party and its intention to continue to cut taxes on the wealthy and corporations, as they have been advocating since Ronald Reagan’s time!

The tax system maximum under FDR was about 73 percent; under Eisenhower 91 percent; under Richard Nixon still about 50 percent; and under Bill Clinton close to 40 percent. But under George W. Bush, it has gone down to 35 percent, and Congressman Paul Ryan wants it to be 25 percent!

The result has been to produce the greatest stratification of wealth, greatest maldistribution of wealth, greatest inequities between the rich, the middle class and the poor in American history, in the midst of three foreign wars, and an aging population and massive social needs!

Meanwhile, the top corporations pay extremely low or no taxes at all, including General Electric and the major oil companies and banks, and many have overseas subsidiaries and operations. In so doing, they evade taxes, hire fewer American workers, charge higher prices to consumers, and give lower dividends and earnings on their investments to retirees. This country is run by the corporations, and the opposition party has no problem with that, since they gain large campaign contributions from these companies, as in the midterm Congressional elections of 2010, spurred on by the Citizens United case of the Supreme Court!

If the wealthy and the corporations do not learn that such inequities in society can lead to discontent and uprisings, then some day they may face the kind of violent change we are seeing elsewhere in the world. Exploitation can only go so far and then, regrettably, lead to dangerous scenarios that no one should wish for!

British Budget Demonstrations Turn Violent: Is This Portending The Future In America?

Ronald Leave a comment

The year 2011 is only three months old, but already we have had massive demonstrations protesting dictatorial government in the many countries in the Middle East, with some of these demonstrations, unfortunately, turning violent. But it is clear the younger generation wants opportunities for a real future, rather than one of poverty and deprivation and lack of human rights.

Sadly, now we are starting to see massive demonstrations and the danger of violence in countries around the world affected by the economic crisis, by citizens who cannot tolerate the massive cuts in education, health care, and other public services that the population of these nations cannot comprehend occurring, as it will hit the poor and the middle class in massive ways, while the plutocracy–the rich and the powerful–of these societies do everything they can to evade taxation or responsibility for their part in promoting the advancement of society!

We have now seen protests against British government actions to promote massive cuts in programs, and it has led to violence by the masses who are being harmed by it, and want the elite wealthy to pay more than they do in taxes, and stop evading of taxes by corporations!

We may have had Tea Party demonstrations before the midterm elections last year in the United States. But as the American people come to realize the extent of tax evasion by companies such as General Electric just revealed this week, and the growing influence of the Koch Brothers and other billionaires in lining their own pockets by manipulating the Republican Party in the states and in the Congress, and the anti labor, anti elderly, anti youth, anti minorities, anti women, and anti public services mentality of our plutocracy which has been assisted by the corruption of the Republican dominated, Koch Brothers influenced Supreme Court majority allowing unlimited corporate spending in the Citizens United Case of January, 2010, the result, unfortunately, is likely a mass reaction in a way highly dangerous of public order!

The American people are not going to permit the total destruction of the middle class and the kicking of the poor to the curb, by selfish, greedy interests who care about nothing but their own wallets!

So portending the future in America is indeed terrifying, as we are going through rougher times now than ever before, and the future seems very gloomy for most Americans, even those who are fortunate enough to have employment, but are being abused by their companies or their government employers in the name of the advancement of personal gain over social responsibility!