FAT CAT LA LEGISLATORS THREATEN TO EVICT 37,000 SENIORS, DISABLED FROM NURSING HOMES WHILE BIG CORPORATIONS WITHHELD $15 BILLION IN TAXES SINCE 2011!
Pay Them $7.25 an hour, Cancel Sales Tax
Take Away Legislators’ Health Care, Pensions
4,760 Corporate Lobbyists, Right Wing Groups in Louisiana Bankrolling Candidates & Writing Legislation.
A People’s Budget Commission Should Investigate Campaign “donations” (bribes) from these corporations
All we hear is that there is a whopping budget deficit and the only thing that can be done is to take away medical care, education, housing. In truth, it is only the working class and poor people paying all the taxes. According to a state study, the budget is being defrauded of $2 billion a year due to corporate exemptions, loopholes, and rebates. See this on who’s not paying taxes and which right wing billionaires are funding state legislators.
The majority of state legislators belong to:
ALEC: American Legislative Council.
This is made up of the biggest oil companies, banks, military industries, and pharmaceutical companies. They give ALEC millions. They host lavish meetings with state legislators to tell them what laws to propose and how to vote. They write the legislation and word for word their puppets introduce it. Louisiana legislators are hosting the national ALEC Conference in New Orleans in August.
If you have $30,000, you can have dinner with them. Koch brothers: ultra-right wingers, major players in ALEC and other right-wing organizations. Made billions from oil and gas.
State Policy Network – similar to ALEC
What is their legislative agenda: To oppose equality for women, raising the minimum wage, environmental laws, and workers’ rights. They are anti-immigrant, homophobic, defend police killings and are rabidly pro-war. They are against Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Food Stamps and Housing Assistance. They are for mass incarceration in for profit jails. They believe only the very rich count.
GOVERNOR’S OFFICE REVEALS 7,000 CORPORATE TAX EXEMPTIONS COSTING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS YEARLY
A few companies that get tax breaks are:
Exxon Mobil: $263 million
Valero Oil: $315 million
Cleco Oil: $180 million
Fracking companies: $1.2 billion
Walmart: $700,000 to build stores in prosperous neighborhoods fraudulently obtained money slated for poor neighborhoods
Cheniere Energy: $117 million
Property Tax Refund to Corporations: $427 million
The state paid out, in one year, $210 million more in tax credits and rebates than it has collected from corporate taxes. Former Secretary of Revenue,
Barfield, admitted that of 87 largest companies, only l/4 paid any taxes
while 96% were profitable.
Sources: The Advocate, Office of the Governor, Good Jobs First This does not include the millions in tax abatements given locally in New Orleans, especially to hotels, casinos, private medical facilities and more
UNITY IS NEEDED TO FIGHT BACK TOGETHER FOR ALL THE NEEDS OF LOUISIANA’S HARD-WORKING PEOPLE.
The legislature is supposed to protect the well being of the people of Louisiana. However, they are only looking out for their own bank accounts and the corporations who fund their campaigns. In exchange for campaign money (while “legal”, Workers Voice calls it bribes) they make sure the super wealthy and big corporations are piling up profit at the expense of the people. These greedy politicians are creating misery, suffering and death, while enjoying their mansions. There is not a shred of democracy in this. Just like the U.S. Congress, another millionaires club, they have declared war on the working-class people of this state by cutting the wealthy’s taxes and taking away money from food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, social security, housing assistance and more.