Check out the new video that provides an overview of the work of Good Jobs Better Baltimore during its first two years, 2011-2013.
CLICK THE IMAGE TO SIGN UP!
Blog
Baltimore’s Fight for a Fair Economy, 2011-2013
Raise Maryland Ready to Keep Fighting for a Fair Minimum Wage
Just two months ago, the Raise Maryland coalition officially launched its campaign to boost the state’s minimum wage with a rally in front of the State House in Annapolis. Since then, there’s been a groundswell of support for the campaign that’s included everyone from faith leaders to political leaders, and from Costco to over 120 small businesses owners.
The coalition, which includes Good Jobs Better Baltimore, has taken action to let the legislature know that low-wage workers badly need a raise. The bill we’re backing would increase the state minimum from just $7.25 to $10 an hour by 2015.
Despite the bill’s wide popularity, the Chamber of Commerce and big businesses lined up against it, and on March 20 the Senate Finance Committee voted to shelve the bill in this year’s legislative session. Organizers say, however, that this is just the beginning of the campaign.
The evening after the bill was voted down, supporters gathered again in front of the State House. Over 200 people joined clergy from across Maryland in a candlelight vigil. It was a powerful show of support and a strong sign that the fight will continue.
“When you are fighting against big corporations like Wal-Mart and McDonalds, it can be a difficult and long struggle but we are confident that we will win this fight,” said Raise Maryland campaign coordinator Mat Hanson. “Maryland working families are struggling to get by and now more than ever we need to act.”
With so much accomplished so quickly, it’s only a matter of time before Maryland’s low-wage workers get the raise they deserve.
Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
On National Day of Action, We Highlight Congress’ Anti-Social Behavior
As America edged ever closer to the fiscal cliff, we headed to the Social Security Administration’s headquarters near Baltimore on Wednesday to highlight just how big the stakes are in this budget fight.
The nation is now less than two weeks away from the March 1 deadline when the devastating cuts known as “sequestration” would take effect. These reckless across-the-board cuts would slash funding for Head Start, food safety inspection and other vital programs.
Now word has come from Washington that some are seeking cuts to Social Security as well. And so activists from Good Jobs Better Baltimore and our coalition partners rallied outside Social Security’s offices with signs that said “Hands off Social Security” and “No More Cuts to Social Services.”
In what has become an all-too-familiar scene, Congressional Republicans are playing a dangerous game of chicken with the nation’s economy. While insisting on savage cuts to programs that help the most vulnerable among us, GOP congressmen like Maryland Rep. Andy Harris are refusing to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share in taxes.
Less than a month ago, Good Jobs Better Baltimore led an action outside Harris’ office in Bel Air that alerted the public to Harris’ dangerous game. That Jan. 30 protest and Wednesday’s Social Security demonstration were both part of national protests highlighting how right-wing lawmakers like Harris are jeopardizing our fragile economic recovery and putting American jobs at risk.
If you’re concerned about Harris’ reckless stance, you can take a stand here at our national day of action website, and tell him and other lawmakers “We Need Jobs, Not Cuts!”
Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
Tell Rep. Harris to Stop the Unkindest Cuts
With America rumbling toward the fiscal cliff, we put up a stop sign yesterday outside the office of Republican Congressman Andy Harris in Bel Air, Md.
Activists from Good Jobs Better Baltimore rallied with our coalition partners as part of a national day of action drawing attention to the looming — and wholly avoidable — fiscal crisis in Washington. Harris and his conservative colleagues in Congress are refusing to engage in good-faith talks with President Obama to avoid the devastating spending cuts known as the “sequester.” It’s those sequester cuts that would tip America over the fiscal cliff.
The sequester was passed as part of a bipartisan budget compromise in 2011. Its harsh across-the-board cuts were tentatively scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2013. But the sequester’s cuts were seen as so extreme that they would force both parties to find common ground before they took effect.
However, instead of seeking a responsible compromise, Harris and his right-wing GOP caucus are engaging in reckless brinksmanship as the March 1 deadline approaches. They adamantly refuse any deal that would spare the worst cuts by asking wealthy Americans to pay their fair share in taxes.
Harris’ position is clearly out of step with what Americans voted for in the 2012 election, and it’s a huge threat to the future of our economy.
If you’re concerned about Harris’ reckless stance, you can take a stand here at our national day of action website, and tell him and other lawmakers “We Need Jobs, Not Cuts!”
Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
Raise Maryland: Workers Can’t Survive on $7.25
Despite bone-chilling winds, nearly 100 people came together with warm hearts and high spirits in Tuesday’s rally to launch Raise Maryland, the campaign to increase the state’s minimum wage. With the current minimum wage set at just $7.25 an hour, low-waged Marylanders are finding it more and more difficult to keep up with the rising cost of living.
“Our people are working harder but aren’t earning more,” said Maryland Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola, a co-sponsor of the bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour. Living costs keep rising, Garagiola noted, but the minimum wage hasn’t kept up.
In fact, if the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation over the last 40 years it would now be $10.67 an hour. “We boast that Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the union,” said bill co-sponsor Del. Aisha Braveboy, “but do you know what it costs to live here?” Maryland’s current minimum wage is set at the lowest level allowed by the federal government. We now lag behind the District of Columbia and the 18 states that have already set their minimum wage above the federal level.
The rally launched what will be an ongoing campaign backed by the diverse coalition that comprises Raise Maryland. The coalition’s supporters include small business owners, clergy members, unions and policy advocates as well as low-wage workers like Lourdes Chaparro, who spoke at the event.
Chaparro told of the struggles her family has endured trying to make ends meet while she and her husband work low-wage jobs. Chaparro works at a home-cleaning company and has a husband who recently suffered a debilitating injury. “As hourly workers, we didn’t have sick time or health insurance to defray the costs,” Chaparro said.
It is because of families like Lourdes Chaparro’s — and the estimated 536,000 other Marylanders whose pay would be boosted by a minimum wage increase to $10 an hour — that this vibrant group came together to share their message despite the bitter cold. It is also for these hard working Marylanders that Raise Maryland will continue to fight until we have successfully lifted Maryland’s minimum wage.
Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
Baltimore Leaders Urge Congress to Raise the Federal Minimum Wage
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and City Council Announce Support for the “Rebuild America Act,” Point to the Need for Economic Boost for City’s Struggling Families
BALTIMORE – July 24th, 2012 – As concern grows over Baltimore’s declining population, city leaders urged Congress today to raise the federal minimum wage, pointing to the boost it would provide to Baltimore’s residents and to the city’s recovering economy.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young joined fellow council members, minimum wage workers, clergy, and community supporters to announce a plan to introduce a City Council resolution supporting the “Rebuild America Act,” which Democrats hope to bring to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives next month.
The bill would raise the federal minimum wage 85 cents a year for three years, bringing it to nearly $10 by late 2014. The law would then adjust the minimum wage each year to keep pace with the rising cost of living. It would also raise the sub minimum wage of $2.13 for tipped employees for the first time in more than 20 years.
“Too many of our neighbors are struggling to make ends meet on wages that have not kept up with the cost of rent, food or transportation,” Young said. ”Too many jobs in Baltimore have been replaced by low-wage jobs. If we don’t raise wages soon for our lowest paid workers, it will mean more families leaving our city, more small businesses that depend on consumer spending shutting their doors for good, and more vacant homes in our communities. Our city can’t afford inaction on this issue.”
Baltimore was one of just three major U.S. cities, along with Detroit and Cleveland, to experience a population decline in the last census. During the exodus of working families between 2000 and 2010, the city lost on average eight residents a day, represented at the press conference by eight silhouettes flanking presenters as they spoke. Baltimore’s dwindling population has paralleled the decline in good family-sustaining jobs in the once thriving regional shipping and manufacturing center. Currently, just 6 percent of jobs in the city are in mid-wage manufacturing while over 90 percent are in the low-paying service sector.
Bruce Gross, a minimum wage worker who spoke at today’s press conference talked about the hardships he faces trying to support his family on $7.36 per hour. ”I’m trying to raise three kids and two nephews on minimum wage and there isn’t enough for even the basic necessities. Raising the federal minimum wage could help end a huge struggle that families like mine face every day when we have to choose between paying bills and buying food or school supplies for our children.”
The wage increase would have a direct positive impact on the wages of 320,000 Marylanders and would generate $1 billion in new consumer spending in the state, according to Progressive Maryland. Tuesday’s press conference was part of a national day of action by leaders, activists and community organizations in 30 cities across the country urging Congress to pass the “Rebuild America Act.”
###
Congress needs to act now to hold down interest rates on student loans
Education is a key factor in upward social mobility — it opens the door for better employment opportunities, and a better life. Unfortunately, due to high tuition costs, it seems like a college education is falling out of reach for many students in our country.
One saving grace is low interest student loans, but now that may be in jeopardy too. Congress — especially the Senate — is hopelessly deadlocked due to election year politics. As a result, the fate of Stafford loans, utilized by low and middle-income students, hangs in the balance.
If the Senate cannot reach a compromise by July 1st, attending college will become more difficult for millions of Americans.
Sign on and let others know that you believe America is at its strongest when people receive a good education. We need to prepare today’s youth for the jobs of tomorrow and a college education is one of the best ways to do that.
Sign our petition and tell Congress to keep interest rates on student loans low!
Activists rally on May Day for good jobs, smart growth and foreclosure reform
Inspired by the Haymarket massacre in 1886, May Day has become a day for workers to rally for the principles instilled by the labor movement. Things like: fair pay, safe working conditions, and equality in the workplace. It has since expanded to include themes like corporate corruption, money in politics, and immigrant rights.
Ironically, the United States does not officially recognize May Day as a holiday; rather, President Glover Cleveland backed a national labor holiday in September, which would become Labor Day. Nevertheless, Americans still take to the streets on May 1st — in solidarity with other workers around the world — to protect workers’ rights, and other issues of regional and national importance.
In Baltimore, we are joining the national movement to hold corporations, members of the 1%, and our own government accountable. Foreclosures, mass unemployment, a lack of regulation in the banking industry, unfair development projects (like the EBDI), and the focus on youth jails over educational spending, have caused Baltimoreans to awaken from a slumber. We need policies that will help support a strong and vibrant middle class in our city.
Baltimore is and has been ground zero for many of these economic troubles. We all see the vacant buildings and lots, the crumbling schools and the lack of job opportunities and understand how they contribute to a general sense of despair. However, when we give in to these feelings of despair, corporations and other entrenched interests win. Our power lies in collective unity. By standing together and not giving up, we have the chance to win real change. This May Day, we fought for what we believe in.
For more pictures, check out our Facebook page.
Sign spinning outside Wells Fargo
On April 24th, in solidarity with the protests taking place at the Wells Fargo shareholder meeting in San Francisco, activists from Good Jobs Better Baltimore gathered outside a Wells Fargo in downtown Baltimore to hold the bank accountable for predatory lending, tax dodging, and job cutting.
Carrying signs and handing out leaflets, activists sought to let people know that Wells Fargo needs to become a better corporate citizen.
Customers are tired of being treated like a statistic. While Wells Fargo’s leadership worries about bonuses, dividends, and stock prices, its customers are worried about keeping their homes — or their jobs.
It is a serious situation that demands our attention. According to a recent blog post in the Huffington Post, once again banks are getting “too big to fail.” Banks are also pushing back on regulations that are meant to keep us from falling back into the financial abyss. Unfortunately, they are winning. We have not learned anything from the past several years. It’s the lack of regulation that helped doom AIG and Lehman Brothers. These are not good trends, which makes it all the more important for people to speak out against these policies.
Consumers win key reforms from Maryland Legislature
Ever since Wells Fargo — one of the principal actors in the housing market collapse – came to our city last fall, we’ve been talking about how predatory lending policies have devastated our city.
By utilizing subprime mortgages, targeting minority communities, and processing applications with robo-signing, big banks have created a situation that will take years to fix. According to a recent report, 1 in 11 Maryland children directly affected by foreclosure.
However, over the last several months we’ve — along with groups like the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition — been working on solutions to hold banks accountable and improve the lives of people in our community. Thanks to our efforts, we’ve produced some tangible results in Annapolis.
During this session, the Maryland state legislature has passed some key legislation to help consumers. Here are some of the highlights:
- Foreclosure Reform — The Maryland General Assembly passed key legislation that will improve Maryland’s foreclosure mediation process. By allowing homeowners to file for mediation prior to defaulting and by creating a registry for foreclosed properties, Marylanders will have a better chance of staying in their homes. In addition, regulators and enforcers will know who’s responsible for vacant homes.
- Mortgage Debt Relief – According to our friends at MCRC, a “new law ensures that Marylanders who lose their homes to foreclosure or short sales won’t be taxed on any mortgage balances that were written down in the process. Without this bill, those balances could count as taxable income, and that would cost families tax benefits, push people into higher tax brackets, and leave families who have already lost their homes facing tax bills they can’t pay.”
- Closing Tax Loopholes — The Maryland General Assembly also passed legislation that will stop banks from taking advantage of the Homestead property tax credits, which belonged to homeowners, when taking over a foreclosed property. This allows counties and towns to collect full property tax revenues from banks and help close budget shortfalls.
If you’d like to pledge your support, please sign our petition. Let’s show the big banks that people are in favor of helping families stay in their homes.
Baltimore Residents Join National Tax Day Protests, Call on 1% and Corporations to Pay Their Fair Share
As Baltimoreans rushed to the city’s main post office to file their taxes by the April 17 deadline, taxpayers across the street at Shot Tower Park gathered for a rally calling on tax dodgers to pay their fair share.
The protest, one of hundreds happening around the country today, highlighted the fact that some of the most profitable U.S. corporations are exploiting loopholes to evade paying billions in taxes. Participants, wearing stickers with the message, “I paid my fair share, the 1% should too,” spoke out against a backdrop of visuals representing vital public services facing deep budget cuts like schools, libraries and infrastructure projects.
Recent reports from Citizens for Tax Justice show that 26 of the most profitable U.S. corporations, including Wells Fargo, Exelon, and GE, have paid negative federal income tax rates between 2008 and 2011. Had they paid the full 35 percent corporate tax rate over this period, they would have paid at least $78 billion in taxes—funds that would have been available for vital public services.
Maryland residents don’t have to look far to see the consequences of corporate tax dodging. Our state’s recently enacted “doomsday” budget raises the specter of the loss of millions in funding for already woefully underfunded public services. In education, the cuts could mean a loss in per-pupil funding of over $11 million, a devastating blow to Baltimore’s city school system, where over 70 percent of our schools are already rated in “poor condition.”
Organizers of the protest are demanding that Congress support the Buffett Rule (H.R. 3909, S.2230) and that they also take action to close tax loopholes that let corporations pay lower tax rates than regular working people.
Tell greedy corporations to pay their taxes
Corporations are always complaining about high tax rates in the United States. However, a recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, shows that 30 highly profitable Fortune 500 companies paid no net federal come tax from 2008 through 2010.
As tax day approaches, we need you to write a letter to local papers to get the message out there: Corporations need to pay their fair share in taxes. You will find all the instructions after you click the link. We’ve even provided a sample letter for you. It will only take a few minutes to help us with a worthy cause.
Wells Fargo “Evicted” as Citizens Take Action in Foreclosure Fight
On March 22nd, local residents and activists from Good Jobs Better Baltimore, 1199 SEIU, 32BJ SEIU, Occupy Baltimore, and Occupy Our Homes arrived with a moving van, foreclosure signs, caution tape, and a “sheriff” from Good Jobs Better Baltimore to “evict” the bank. We held this event to highlight the negative effects Wells Fargo has had in Baltimore and nationwide as a corporate tax dodger and a bad actor in the foreclosure crisis.
According to a recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, “Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008 – 10”, Wells Fargo was one of 249 corporations that paid less than their fair share in federal corporate income taxes in 2010. In fact, the bank did not pay anything in taxes, yet received a $17.9 billion tax subsidy between 2008 and 2010, money that could have gone towards job creation, health care or education.
Wells Fargo was also one of the worst actors in the housing market collapse, issuing subprime loans in Baltimore at a rate 2nd only to Countrywide from 2005 to 2009. While the bank chooses to characterize their shady lending practices as the rogue actions of a few low level employees, a report issued this March by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development concluded that managers at Wells Fargo and other big banks were aware of problems and “did nothing to correct them”, and that the banks “violated state laws governing the foreclosure process.” Wells Fargo is cited specifically throughout the report.
Last Friday, Good Jobs Better Baltimore and other activists staged a surprise “celebration” to commemorate Wells Fargo’s 160th birthday at a downtown bank branch.
Inside the bank, activists released balloons with messages like “Wells Fargo: Pay your fair share in taxes,” and “Wells Fargo: Received tax subsidy of $17.9 billion.” Outside, individuals dressed as big money bankers with fake money bulging from their briefcases greeted passersby and handed out special “thank you” cards to Baltimore residents. The cards thank Baltimore for “sitting by while we did not pay our fair share in taxes,” and “allowing us to celebrate in style.”
For more pictures, check out our Facebook page.
As income gains go to the 1%, the rest of us wonder, where is the recovery?
In his updated paper, Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States, Emmanuel Saez explains that while the top 1% of wages earners lost the most during the Great Recession — this always happens — they’ve also made the most gains during the recovery.
Do you know who is not feeling the gains from the economic recovery? You guessed it, the 99%.
One of the most damning statistics from the study shows that the 1% is accumulating wealth at a staggering rate again. According to the paper, “In the first year of the recovery, 93 percent of all income gains went to the top one percent.”
Furthermore, Saez concludes that the recovery was “uneven” and this can help explain “recent public demonstrations against inequality.”
Another study from the Economic Policy Institute proves just how sad the situation has become. Even a college education does not get you as far anymore. Statistics show that “In 2011 the hourly wage of entry-level male college graduates was just a bit over $1.00 higher than in 1979, a rise of 5.2 percent over thirty-two years.”
To learn more about Saez’s paper, NPR has a nice write up below:
Paychecks for young adults getting slimmer
By Eve TahminciogluYoung adults may be facing their own version of “The Hunger Games” when entering the workforce today because they’re probably going to be hungry for more money.
Wages for young workers have been declining for more than a decade. They fell off a cliff during the Great Recession to levels not seen since the 1970s for certain groups of entry-level workers, according to new data from center-left think tank the Economic Policy Institute.
(OK, maybe it’s not exactly “The Hunger Games” just yet. In that dystopian future, depicted in a trilogy of novels and now a movie, a reality TV show follows teens fighting to their death, with the winner earning food for his/her home state. But you get our point.)
Not surprisingly, the news is worse for those with less education; and the pay gap between entry level men and women no matter what the education level is still alive and well.
Entry-level wages for high school graduates were actually lower than they were in the 1970s. For college grads, starting wages were below what their counterparts pocketed in the late 1990s. Today, the average wage for all these young adults, no matter education level, is about $15 an hour.
And whether they have a college degree or not, women still aren’t bringing home as much bacon as the men, but the gap has been narrowing. The good news, unfortunately, is partly attributable to the fact that the guys are getting paid less because of the economy.
“When the labor market is strong for workers the prospects for young workers are very strong, and when the labor market is weak their prospects are very weak,” maintained the Institute’s president Lawrence Mishel about the data that’s part of his forthcoming book ‘The State of Working America” due out in August. “The recent decade affirms this general finding, as the wages of entry-level workers have fared extremely poorly during this period of general wage stagnation.”
Here’s a breakdown of the numbers:
- The entry-level hourly wage of a young male high school graduate in 2011 was 25.3 percent less than that for the equivalent worker in 1979, a drop of roughly $4.00 per hour in 2011.
- Among women, the entry-level high school wage fell 14.2 percent over the same period, and dropped by $1.64 last year.
- Wages for high-school educated women are still far below those of their male counterparts, a gap of 15 percent.
- In 2011 the hourly wage of entry-level male college graduates was just a bit over $1.00 higher than in 1979, a rise of 5.2 percent over thirty-two years.
- Women college grads did better, with their wages growing by 15.4 percent, or $2.50, from 1979 to 2011.
- The gender pay gap among this group, however, still persists. The hourly wage for college educated men was $21.68 in 2011, compared with $18.80 for women.
Too bad young adults don’t qualify for child ticket prices anymore. Adult tickets for the upcoming “The Hunger Games” movie are going for $11 a pop.
BGE customers benefiting from our fight for a better merger
After a long battle featuring public hearings, protests, and a face-to-face meeting with Constellation CEO Mayo Shattuck, we helped win key improvements in the final Exelon-Constellation merger deal.
The merger contains strong protections for local jobs, support for green technologies, and an expanded commitment to low-income assistance programs.
Without pressure from groups like Good Jobs Better Baltimore, Maryland People’s Counsel and the Sierra Club, Constellation and Exelon executives would have been free to implement a merger deal that would have only enriched executives and maximized profits for the company. Just imagine what the merger deal would have looked like without public pressure. It certainly would not have included a 1 billion benefits package for Maryland residents.
We feel it’s important to remind companies like Constellation and Exelon that corporate social responsibility should be part of their business model. For too long, corporations have siphoned funds from public coffers and treated workers like disposable objects. Our campaign will continue to hold corporations like Exelon accountable in the coming months.
We thank all the activists who rallied outside Constellations headquarters or gave passionate testimony in front of the PSC. Without your persistence, this merger deal would look at lot different.
So let’s talk about specifics. Some key provisions of the merger deal are:
- A doubling in funding for the Electric Universal Service Program (EUSP), which provides vital assistance to low-income BGE customers.
- An additional $50 million to support weatherization for low- to moderate-income customers, lowering energy costs and creating up to 500 jobs.
- The company’s contribution to EmPOWER Maryland, a green jobs program, more than doubled, increasing from $4 to $10 million.
- Natural gas and poultry litter energy development- commitment increased from 25 MW to 255 MW. Could create approximately 2,500 jobs
- $30 million toward offshore wind project that could create 430 new jobs and enable Maryland to be a leader in off shore wind development
- Agreement to develop or assist in development of 30 MW of solar energy, doubling the amount of solar on the Maryland grid, and creating up to 1,200 jobs.
To read more about the completion of the merger, check out….
“Maryland PSC Approves Constellation Sale To Exelon,” Baltimore Sun, 2/17/12
Baltimore residents and activists hold “Funeral for the American Dream” in front of Wells Fargo
Last week, Baltimore metro area residents — angered by the policies of big banks like Wells Fargo — held a mock funeral for the American Dream in West Baltimore. Attended by more than 75 people, activists first gathered at the John Wesley United Methodist Church to listen as speakers told of disheartening foreclosure battles with banks; shady evictions; and crumbling communities. Speakers also encouraged people to move their money to a local credit unions.
After listening to these speeches, participants walked in a mock funeral procession to a Wells Fargo branch — led by pallbearers, mock caskets, and a trumpeter. Once they reached the bank, those in the procession tossed roses into the mock caskets. All this happened to the tune of a man playing taps on the trumpet.
For additional coverage:
- “In West Baltimore, a Funeral for the American Dream,” Baltimore Brew, February 3, 2012
- “West Baltimore Protest Voice Community Frustration With Home Foreclosures,” CBS WJZ 13, February 2, 2012
Pulling Back the Curtain: Exposing the one percent behind big bank bonuses
On January 23rd, The New Botton Line — an organization challenging banking influence in our country — released a report titled, “Pulling the Curtain Back: The 1% Behind the 2011 Big Bank Bonuses.”
The publication explains how large banks, despite the excesses of the housing bubble and the consequences of the housing market collapse, continue to pay out large bonuses and salaries while middle class families suffer.
Bank executives realize that public opinion is against them and have tried to say that overall compensation is down. However this is untrue. According to the report, “The nation’s top six banks—Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs—paid out $144 billion in bonuses and compensation this year, making 2011’s payday the second highest on record for these six firms.”
This is what really hits home. Banks offered questionable loans before the housing bubble reached its zenith, asked for government support when things went bad, and then failed to take any responsibility for their actions. Instead, banks continue to lobby for reduced regulations, while middle class workers are just struggling to pay the bills.
The report also gives examples of how banks executives and board members could take responsibility and make things right…
- Just half of the banks’ bonus and compensation pools would be enough to write down the principal on all underwater mortgages in the country.
- If the six banks took half of their bonus and compensation pools and put it directly into a jobs fund, they could create 1.8 million jobs and still have enough money left over to pay the average employee $60,605.
- Just 72% of the $144 billion in bonuses and compensation at the top six banks would have been enough money to plug the $102.9 billion in budget holes for all 50 states for the current fiscal year.
To read more about the report, click on the links below:
Wells Fargo receives massive corporate subsidies, depriving Maryland of over $82 million in much needed funds
The recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, “Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008-10,” lists 249 corporations that paid less than their fair share in federal corporate income taxes in 2010.
In other words, 249 of the country’s largest and most profitable corporations paid less than the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate of 35% in 2010. Instead, these 249 companies got a 2010 federal tax subsidy totaling over $87.27 billion.
One of these corporations, Wells Fargo, got a 2010 federal tax subsidy of OVER $4.42 BILLION. Maryland’s share of this massive corporate tax giveaway comes to OVER $82 MILLION.
That’s over $82 million that could have gone to pay for:
- Medicaid
- Food, home energy, and housing assistance for the poor
- The Earned Income Tax Credit, the nation’s largest anti-poverty program
- Education programs for low-income preschoolers, special needs students and undergraduates
- Disability compensation for veterans
If Wells Fargo had paid its fair share in 2010, what could it have meant for spending on these vital programs in Maryland?
JOB CREATION — Over 130 jobs created from additional health care spending.
HEALTH CARE — Over $8 million for Medicaid – enough to serve over 1,200 people.
FEEDING THE POOR — Over $2 million for anti-hunger programs, including:
- Over $1 million in food stamp benefits – enough to feed over 940 people. Over $173,000 in WIC benefits – enough to feed over 360 low-income mothers and children.
- Over $361,000 in nutritional assistance for low-income school-age children – enough to provide over 216,000 meals to over 810 children.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND UTILITIES
- Over $970,000 for rental assistance – enough to help over 110 families find decent, affordable housing.
- Over $151,000 in home energy assistance – enough to help over 220 households keep warm during the winter and cool during the summer.
QUALITY EDUCATION — Over $1 million for education programs, including:
- Over $165,000 in aid for high-poverty schools – the equivalent of providing extra academic support for over 190 at-risk students.
- Over $333,000 for schools to provide services to students with disabilities – the equivalent of helping to improve educational outcomes for over 170 students.
- Over $632,000 in Pell Grants – enough to help over 160 low-income students pay for college.
- Over $140,000 for Head Start – enough to help over 10 low-income preschoolers develop early math and reading skills.
LIFTING FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY — Over $1 million in Earned Income Tax Credits – enough to help lift over 570 households out of poverty.
TAKING CARE OF THOSE WHO SERVE — Over $910,000 in disability compensation for veterans – the equivalent of helping over 100 disabled veterans and their families.
Exelon receives massive corporate subsidies, depriving Maryland of $17 million in much needed funds
The recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, “Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008-10,” lists 249 corporations that paid less than their fair share in federal corporate income taxes in 2010.
In other words, 249 of the country’s largest and most profitable corporations paid less than the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate of 35% in 2010. Instead, these 249 companies got a 2010 federal tax subsidy totaling over $87.27 billion.
One of these corporations, Exelon, got a 2010 federal tax subsidy of OVER $914 MILLION. This is the same Exelon that is acquiring BGE and parent company Constellation energy.
Maryland’s share of this massive corporate tax giveaway comes to OVER $17 MILLION.
That’s over $17 million that could have gone to pay for:
- Medicaid
- Food, home energy, and housing assistance for the poor
- The Earned Income Tax Credit, the nation’s largest anti-poverty program
- Education programs for low-income preschoolers, special needs students, and undergraduates
- Disability compensation for veterans
What if Exelon had paid its fair share in 2010? What could it have meant for spending on these vital programs in Maryland?
HEALTH CARE: Over $1 million for Medicaid – enough to serve over 200 people.
FEEDING THE POOR: Over $414,000 for anti-hunger programs, including…
- Over $304,000 in food stamp benefits – enough to feed over 190 people.
- Over $35,000 in WIC benefits – enough to feed over 70 low-income mothers and children.
- Over $74,000 in nutritional assistance for low-income school-age children – enough to provide over 44,000 meals to over 160 children.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND UTILITIES: Over $200,000 for rental assistance – enough to help over 20 families find decent, affordable housing. Over $31,000 in home energy assistance – enough to help over 40 households keep warm during the winter and cool during the summer.
QUALITY EDUCATION: Over $262,000 for education programs, including…
- Over $34,000 in aid for high-poverty schools – the equivalent of providing extra academic support for over 40 at-risk students.
- Over $68,000 for schools to provide services to students with disabilities – the equivalent of helping to improve educational outcomes for over 30 students.
- Over $130,000 in Pell Grants – enough to help over 30 low-income students pay for college.
LIFTING FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY: Over $251,000 in Earned Income Tax Credits – enough to help lift over 110 households out of poverty.
TAKING CARE OF THOSE WHO SERVE: Over $188,000 in disability compensation for veterans – the equivalent of helping over 20 disabled veterans and their families.