"I Pay Taxes, Why Don't Corporations?" — Episode 1 of Survivor, Trickle-down Economics

http://www.CoffeePartyUSA.com/Survivor
Music courtesy of Flobots. http://flobots.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/tax_breaks_infographic.html

This already infamous news report by David Kocieniewski of The New York Times begins:

"General Electric, the nation's largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010. The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.

Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion."

*****

As one Coffee Party volunteer put it, "Americans are entertaining ourselves to death." Desperate Taxpayers and Survivor: Trickle-Down Economics should be America's most watched TV shows. We don't have the bank to produce a TV show, but we are producing a series of Survivor web videos that give voice to the other America that lives outside the confines of that shiny box in our living rooms. We're inspired by an exploding student-led movement to demand reality-based policy instead of ideology-based policy from Congress.



It's time to speak up and show up!

1) You can call our speak-out line (301) 259-1869 and record your message or story.

2) You can email us a photo holding signs such as "Survivor of Trickle Down Economics" or "Desperate Taxpayer." Or you can create your own message and send the photo to: survivor@ coffeepartyusa.com.

3) If you can shoot video, please do, and upload it to YouTube. Send us the link and we can pull it down from the web and add it to our video.

Here are some example lines you can say, or write on a sign to hold in a photo:

"I pay taxes."
"I've paid taxes all my life."
"I work hard."
"Aren't I too-big-to-fail."
"Invest in me."
"I'm ready to work."
"I'm ready to start my career."
"Where are the jobs?"
"Corporate welfare has failed us."
"Invest in our future."
"Cancel the Corporate Welfare reality TV show."
"Time to invest in America."
Send your photos and/or video clips to: survivor@ coffeepartyusa.com.

Join our new Taxpayers Take Action 2011 strategy group on Facebook, and contribute an incredible exchange of ideas for action and information on which to base action.

And, our primary Facebook page just topped 350,000 fans. This will be the engine that pushes out our videos and all our April actions.

Below are some of the first voice messages we received. We will be downloading the audio and using them to create videos for our series, supplemented by photos sent to us by the callers. The true voice of America does not need its own cable "news" channel to participate in the exchange of ideas; all we need is the opportunity to be heard.

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[sporktek]

There is not now, nor has there ever been, any evidence to support the *idea* that tax breaks on this scale create jobs for Americans. There is, however, plenty of evidence that indicates that steep tax cuts for corporations deprives the treasury of revenue that is *impossible* to recoup from small and medium businesses and individuals, and that these tax cheats use their extra profits to invest in overseas labor.

[rickbar123]

Great vid. The Corporation is the enemy of the American people.

[maldarkangel]

IN Bakervit US, corporations don't pay taxes; taxes pay corporation.

[3089280288]

Is there a video on all the corps that don't pay taxes?

[IncoherentCommenter]

everyone send in your videos of corporations paying taxes. you idiots seem to think its 3 fat guys in suits with private jets that pay the taxes, either that or you think the buildings pay taxes.

[Yankhadenough]

I wish the misguided tea partiers would see this. They were misinformed and supporting the interests of 1% uber wealthy/corporate tax avoiders instead of their own best interests.

[WallyChapman]

@Attagurlscott what exactly is the point you're trying to make? The floor is in charge of accounts payable, the chairs take care of marketing and the ceiling is the executive director. There's no people running the corporation so obviously no one can write a check....... Do I have it right?

[attagurlscott]

how does a corporation pay a tax? does the floor write the check? maybe the ceiling? ohhh PEOPLE pay taxes... but it's easy to hate the big bad evil (faceless) "corporation"... an entire argument based on having a phantom entity write a check.

[Rbayse]

I did a project for school and the figures I got from my research for GEs liquid profets from 2010 as mush higher then what you are saying in this video.

[Phuqker]

Even those corporations that "pay taxes" don't really pay taxes. The money that corporations remit to the government doesn't have magic pixie dust attached to it. As far as they are concerned, it's just another expense, just as if the price of some input to production had increased.

What do businesses do when expenses rise? You guessed it, they pass it along. Consumers, shareholders, and sometimes employees actually pay corporate taxes, but mostly consumers.

[KinoYoga]

Thank you!!!!!!

[Marochka]

Warren Buffet is the most sincere, honest, wonderful man. Not all rich people are bad. I totally agree that corporations need to pay their fair share, let's close the loop holes people! I don't understand why so many middle class Americans vote Republican? They sure as hell don't work for us and they certainly don't practice any faith the way it was meant...you know with morals and ethics and stuff.