Why more and more people will #OccupyWallStreet

These are recent Tweets from Bernie Sanders @ http://twitter.com/#!/senatorsanders @SenatorSanders. Senator Bernie Sanders is the longest serving independent in congressional history. Tweets are from the senator's staff. http://sanders.senate.gov

October 2, 2011

• In 2009 Exxon Mobile made $19 billion in profits, paid no federal income taxes and took a $156 million rebate from the IRS.
• Ford's federal income tax rate was just 2.3 percent in 2009 even though it made $3 billion in profits.
• GE took a $1.1 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, even though it made over $10 billion in profits in 2009.
• The US has the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country in the industrialized world.

October 1, 2011

• Bernie's audit of the Fed showed that $16 trillion was loaned to American & foreign banks & businesses. http://ow.ly/6Kv4M
• In their heydays, 40% of total profits in America went to the financial sector. Today, the top 6 financial institutions in the US have assets equal to more than 60% of our GDP.
• From '98 to '08 the financial sector spent over $5 billion in campaign contributions & lobbying to deregulate
• After adjusting for inflation, middle class families earned more income in 1998 than they do today.

September 30, 2011

• Hedge fund managers who made a billion dollars last year now pay a lower effective tax rate than many teachers.
• Between 1980 and 2005, 80% of all new income created in this country went to the top 1%.
• The percentage of income going to the top 1 percent has nearly tripled since the 1970s.
• During the Bush years, the wealthiest 400 Americans saw their wealth increase by some $400 billion and are now worth over $1.3 trillion.

September 29, 2011

• Today, the richest 400 American families own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans.
• 3 out of the 4 largest financial institutions are bigger today than before the financial crisis began.
• Today, 1 in 4 credit card holders are paying interest rates of more than 20%. That is usury.
• This year alone the financial sector spent over $170 million on lobbying & campaign contributions to gut Dodd-Frank.
• From 1998 to 2008 the financial sector spent more than $5 billion on campaign contributions & lobbying.
• Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year, even though it made $10 billion in profits in 2009.

September 28, 2011

• Since 2000, nearly 12 million more Americans have slipped into poverty.
• The official unemployment rate has been 8.6% or higher for 30 consecutive months, the longest on record.
• Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, even though it made $4.4 billion in profits.
• Corporate tax revenue in 2010 was 27% smaller than 2000, even though corporate profits are up 60% over the last decade.
• A record-breaking 50 million Americans have no health insurance & 45,000 die every year because they don't have access to health care.

You get the idea. Make no mistake, the American public is absolutely fed up.

Listen to Senator Sanders amazing speech of December 2010: http://perimeterprimate.blogspot.com/search/label/Bernie%20Sanders