Friday, May 6, 2011

Koch Brothers Are Living Large...

...while Attacking Social Security and Medicare, and many Americans don't like it. 

Just imagine how much tax the U.S. Treasury could collect, if the Bush tax cuts hadn't been extended, when people like the Koch brothers die. The inheritance taxes for the Koch brothers estate could be in the billions. The Koch brothers, who themselves inherited their vast fortune, probably didn't like having to pay inheritance taxes either when their daddy died. They didn't want to have to pay for government services that the poor and working-class needed...such as Medicare and Social Security.

The Koch brothers had plenty of places to party after their triumphant election wins last November. They paid to get Republicans put into office that would lower their corporate tax rate, end or lower the capital gains taxes they pay, bust labor unions to pay less in wages, and eliminate social programs like Medicare and Social Security so that the government would have more money for roads, bridges, no-bid government contracts, corporate subsidies, and government services that THEY could personally benefit from.

After the elections, when they got people like Scott Walker into the Wisconsin's governor's mansion, the Koch brothers might’ve celebrated at any one of their multiple homes in five states worth a total of $105.9 million. And that’s not including the Koch’s two-story single family home that David Koch bought for his young children to use as a play house!

The billionaire brothers who brought you the Tea Party, groups like Americans for Prosperity, "think tanks", and anti-worker governors like Scott Walker and John Kasich, are also using their great wealth to attack some of the most vulnerable Americans who had the audacity to fall on hard times, become old, or get sick.

The Koch Brothers Web of  Influence

The L.A.Times had reported - "Hundreds of environmentalists, union members and liberal activists converged on Rancho Mirage to rally against the influence of two of the nation's leading financial backers of conservative causes. Protestors waved signs condemning corporate greed and chanted slogans as they surged toward a line of helmeted police officers at the entrance to a resort where billionaires Charles and David Koch were holding a retreat for prominent conservative elected officials, major political donors, and strategists. 25 people were arrested for trespassing."

Brave New Foundation went on the offense and made the video below*. They went right up to the Kochs' doorsteps to ask them, "Why are you spending millions to try and buy our democracy?" 

The New York Times heard about the Brave New Foundation's camera crews and published an exclusive about "Koch Brothers Exposed" and what they're trying to achieve. One commenter said: "Everyone should read that article - these guys are rich like Gates and Buffett but have been focusing their power on undoing pretty much every government program starting with the ones that hurt their bottom line. There should be a lot of bright lights directed their way and on the myriad innocuous sounding think tanks, non profits, 'and citizen' groups [like the Tea Party] that they fund and micromanage. They have way, way too much power in this country."

Anonymous wrote: - "It has come to our attention that the brothers, David and Charles Koch--the billionaire owners of Koch Industries--have long attempted to usurp American Democracy. Their actions to undermine the legitimate political process in Wisconsin are the final straw. Starting today we fight back.

Koch Industries, and oligarchs like them, have most recently started to manipulate the political agenda in Wisconsin. Governor Walker's union-busting budget plan contains a clause that went nearly un-noticed. This clause would allow the sale of publicly owned utility plants in Wisconsin to private parties (specifically, Koch Industries) at any price, no matter how low, without a public bidding process. The Koch's have helped to fuel the unrest in Wisconsin and the drive behind the bill to eliminate the collective bargaining power of unions in a bid to gain a monopoly over the state's power supplies.

The Koch brothers have made a science of fabricating 'grassroots' organizations and advertising campaigns to support them in an attempt to sway voters based on their falsehoods. Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth and Citizens United are just a few of these organizations. In a world where corporate money has become the lifeblood of political influence, the labor unions are one of the few ways citizens have to fight against corporate greed. Anonymous cannot ignore the plight of the citizen-workers of Wisconsin, or the opportunity to fight for the people in America's broken political system. For these reasons, we feel that the Koch brothers threaten the United States democratic system and, by extension, all freedom-loving individuals everywhere. As such, we have no choice but to spread the word of the Koch brothers' political manipulation, their single-minded intent and the insidious truth of their actions in Wisconsin, for all to witness."

I hope when the Koch brothers finally die, the Bush tax cuts will have ended, and their children will have to pay back to the people of America, inheritance taxes. Maybe some, those who their parents had made to suffer so much, might get a little relief...such as food stamps to eat.

"Koch Brothers Exposed" on FACEBOOK

The Koch Brothers Have Their Hands in Everything! Koch Industries, Koch Enterprises, Koch Foods, and Koch Financial.

The Koch family of industrialists and businessmen is most notable for their control of Koch Industries, the second largest privately owned company in the United States. The family business was started by Fred C. Koch, who developed a new method for refining heavy oil into gasoline. Fred's four sons became involved in litigation against each other in the 1980s and 1990s. According to the Koch Family Foundations and Philanthropy website, "the foundations and the individual giving of Koch family members" have financially supported organizations "fostering entrepreneurship, education, human services, at-risk youth, arts and culture, and medical research."

David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch—the two brothers still with Koch Industries—are affiliated with the Koch family foundations and are also known for their funding of conservative and libertarian policy and advocacy groups in the United States. Since the 1980s the Koch foundations have given more than $100 million to such organizations, among these think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, as well as more recently Americans for Prosperity. Koch Industries has an estimated annual revenue of a hundred billion dollars. 

SOURCE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_brothers 

Koch Industries (pronounced "coke") is the real thing, one of the largest (if not the largest) private companies in the US. Koch's operations are diverse, including refining and chemicals, process and pollution control equipment, and technologies; fibers and polymers; commodity and financial trading; and forest and consumer products (led by Georgia-Pacific LLC). Its Flint Hills Resources subsidiary owns three refineries that process more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Koch operates crude gathering systems and pipelines across North America as well as cattle ranches with more than 15,000 head of cattle in Kansas, Montana, and Texas. Brothers Charles and David Koch control the company. 

Koch gets straight A's. Indiana-based Koch Enterprises is a diversified, private holding company active in aluminum, automotive finishing systems, air-conditioning equipment, and adhesives. Its global business includes subsidiaries George Koch Sons (engineers, installs, and services auto finishing systems), Koch Air (distributes Carrier HVAC equipment), Gibbs Die Casting (castings aluminum and magnesium auto components), Brake Supply (repairs and replaces brakes and hydraulic systems for auto and mining equipment), and Uniseal (makes structural adhesives, thermoplastics, and sealant systems for industrial and auto markets). President Bob Koch's great grandfather, George Koch, founded the company in 1873. 

Kids, always telling jokes that make their parents groan, ask why the chicken crossed the road. But it's you who should cross the road -- to get to Koch Foods -- because the company is ready with a whole henhouse full of poultry products. Its products include value-added fresh and frozen chicken, such as chicken tenderloins, tenders, strips, boneless breasts, and wings, along with diced and pulled white and dark meat, and whole and whole cut-up chickens. Koch's customers include companies in the retail food and foodservice sectors throughout the US, as well as overseas. 

Koch Financial caters to government entities looking to stretch their budgets -- and fortunately for Koch there are plenty of them. Koch Financial, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, offers cities, states, school districts, and other public entities tax-exempt asset leasing. Since leases appear as a line-item on yearly operating budgets, leasing assets rather than buying them allows public entities to carry less debt. The company's lease financing covers outlays such as equipment, real estate, software, and services. Koch Financial's municipal securities trading arm invests in tax-exempt and tax-advantaged assets. Koch has worked with public entities in all 50 states. 

SOURCE:
http://www.google.com/finance 

Don’t be a "Koch-Head": boycott these products and tell them we are not for sale. 
To identify these brands, please look for the following logo anywhere on the packaging.

U.S. Product  Boycott List:
* Vanity Fair 
* Quilted Northern
* Angel Soft 
* Sparkle
* Brawny
* Mardi Gras 
* Dixie 

Koch Brothers in the News:

Walker Paying Back the Koch Brothers in Wisconsin With Union Busting and No-Bid Power Plant Sales

Koch brothers quietly open lobbying office in downtown Madison

BILLIONAIRE KOCH BROTHERS’ TEA PARTY: David Koch Brings “The Sugar” of Money

* The full un-edited video is here

1 comment:

  1. Do we know if the Koch brothers' father, Fred, used his social security and medicare? If he did, it would be the height of hypocrisy.

    ReplyDelete