We have all been seeing in the news about Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Portland, and Occupy Denver; Occupy everything except a bar of soap for some. The common theme we hear is that there are no jobs, corporate greed is holding back on jobs, the rich are stingy and not “paying their fair share” in taxes. The claim is that 1% holds all of the wealth and that 99% apparently do not, leading one to believe that 99% of the country is broke, out of work and dying of hunger.
According to the National Taxpayers Union, the so called rich already pays a disproportionate amount of income taxes and we also know that 47% of lower wage earners pays no income taxes.
Beyond taxes, as I said above, corporations are accused of being greedy, not wanting to hire people while they hold massive amounts of profits, yadda, yadda, yadda. That too is not quite accurate as there are corporations ready, willing and all too able to hire up to one million workers and it is the government blocking the access to those jobs.
I have long advocated on this blog for government to issues drilling rights to our oil companies so they can recover our own natural resources that we still must have to meet our energy needs. The so called “green” alternative sources remain inefficient, expensive and unreliable, as Britain found out when during one of the worst cold snaps they have ever seen, their alternative sources, windmills, froze and produced no electricity to heat homes.
While the oil & natural gas companies represented by the American Petroleum Institute, some 470 in all, stand ready to increase hiring during this ongoing economic downturn, some of the very people out “occupying” whatever, complaining they can get a job, are some of the very people who oppose oil companies putting people back to work.
Mark Green, of the API tells us, “Current policy is preventing this industry from doing more to help the economy - through job creation, investment and contributions to the federal treasury. Not to mention improving our energy security.”
He also informs us that, “these companies already contribute $86 million a day to the federal government in taxes, royalty payments, rents and bonuses.”
ExxonMobil brings to our attention a recent Washington Post article questioning industry claims of job increases due to the estimates “include jobs that are created in supporting the work of the oil and gas industry – service station employees or steel suppliers who provide raw materials for industry projects are two examples.”
I think any honest person can agree with their conclusion of, “a job is a job – and our country needs every one of them.”
ExxonMobil’s Ken Cohen goes on to list several examples of jobs in support of the oil industry, thousands as a matter of fact. Even locally, we recently saw a $200 Million oil rig constructed right here in Vancouver, Washington. Imagine how many more jobs would be opened up if government eased their restrictions, moratoriums and banning of allowing the oil companies to do what they do best, recover our own resources.
A petition is even being circulated to the White House for approval of the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline to carry Alberta's Shale Oil to the Texas Gulf, a project ready to create thousands of jobs.
Isn’t that the main reason we continue to hear are behind these nationwide Occupy anything but a bar of soap protests? No jobs from the “greedy” corporations?
And yes, I know that not everybody at these protests really want a job, but a good many people are frustrated as this Great Recession goes into another year with no end in sight.
What I don’t see are any of the Occupy anything but a bar of soap crowd protesting the White House or Congress, demanding they end the prohibitions and let oil companies achieve their capacity.
We continue to hear cries of “redistribute the wealth.” The best redistribution of wealth is from a decent paycheck. The oil companies are poised to begin hiring people, paying decent wages, increasing revenues to the treasury and supplying our energy needs, cutting off our need to buy foreign oil from enemies.
And yes, their wealth will increase.
But so will yours. A paycheck again in your pocket will increase your own wealth.
If you all must protest and really want to see an end to the Great Recession, it is time you changed direction and protested who is really keeping you locked out of work. Government!
Get government prohibitions out of the way and you too could soon be Occupying a Paycheck instead of an unemployment check.
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2 comments:
You are aware the about 45% of tax receipts are through payroll taxes, correct? That those taxes are paid largely by working class people? That that percentage has grown by 20% since the 60s? But of course you hear the 43% thing on the radio or on Fox and assum, der-a-der, these people pay no taces. It really is sad. But that's why dumb people keep getting elected.
Uh, do you miss the word "income tax?" You do realize that is what was written, don't you?
About that payroll tax, Who Pays the Payroll Tax?
Now, what is it about private sector jobs being blocked when there are hundreds of thousands, over a million just waiting to be filled and fuel an economic recovery?
Time to wake up. Without private sector jobs, there will be no fresh revenue coming in.
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