I just wanted to share a few pieces that ask the good questions – why aren’t the money-thieving crooks getting prosecuted, and just how much are they getting away with?

60 Minutes Asks: ‘Why Aren’t We Prosecuting Wall Street?’
http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com//diane-sweet/60-minutes-asks-why-arent-we-prosecuti

Maybe because, oh…

6 Shocking Revelations About Wall Street’s “Secret Government”
http://www.alternet.org/economy/153274/6_shocking_revelations_about_wall_street%27s_%22secret_government%22?page=entire

But then, it’s totally okay to be shady, as long as you’re not an unrich individual person:

Zuccotti owners owe city $139G in back taxes
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-04/news/30475960_1_business-taxes-debt-finance-commissioner-david-frankel#ixzz1fi0q4fGH

I know, I know – this is where the old argument gets busted out that enforcing rules and having appropriate tax levels will cause businesses to go offshore, taking their money with them. It’s such a popular thing being said across the world right now that it’s sort of glaringly obvious that it’s the same scary bullshit being peddled over and over again in the hopes that we the people will willfully shoulder more of the tax burden ‘for the good of all’. We’ve been told that trickle down economics will ensure something will make it down to the hoi polloi (though it hasn’t ever magically worked in the past), that social programs must continue to be cut to the bone (when the US has the much fatter defense spending it can cut into), and wages? They have been stagnant my entire life. Wake up, my friends – realize you aren’t likely to win the lottery, and demand that everyone pay their fair share. Unless you’re super-rich, you’re paying more than your fair share in local and national taxes, sales taxes – you name it. It is not class warfare to expect the wealthiest to pay their share, and it is not communism to take care of those at the bottom. Society is comprised of all of us, not just the best-seeming.

Anyways, I shall get out of your hair for now, and otherwise – have a great Saturday!