by whitehouse
Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President hosted a forum on Women and the Economy, welcomed the President of Brazil, traveled to Florida to urge the Senate to pass the Buffett Rule, and took part in the great annual White House tradition, the Easter Egg Roll.
That’s April 6th to April 12th or “You’re Proof of Change.”
Today, the President released his 2011 federal income and gift tax returns. He and the First Lady filed their income tax returns jointly and reported adjusted gross income of $789,674. About half of the first family’s income is the President’s salary; the other half is from sales proceeds of the President’s books. The Obamas paid $162,074 in total tax.
The President and First Lady also reported donating $172,130 – or about 22% of their adjusted gross income – to 39 different charities. The largest reported gift to charity was a $117,130 contribution to the Fisher House Foundation. The President is donating the after-tax proceeds from his children’s book to Fisher House, a scholarship fund for children of fallen and disabled soldiers.
The President’s effective federal income tax rate is 20.5%. The President believes we must reform our tax system which is why he has proposed policies like the Buffett Rule that would ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share while protecting families making under $250,000 from seeing their taxes go up. Under the President’s own tax proposals, including the expiration of the high-income tax cuts and limitations on the value of tax preferences for high-income households, he would pay more in taxes while ensuring we cut taxes for the middle class and those trying to get in it.
The President and First Lady also released their Illinois income tax return and reported paying $31,941 in state income tax.
Download the Obamas’ tax returns
The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden also released their 2011 federal income tax returns, as well as state income tax returns for both Delaware and Virginia. The Bidens filed joint federal and combined Delaware income tax returns. Dr. Biden filed a separate non-resident tax return for the state of Virginia. Together, they reported adjusted gross income of $379,035. The Bidens paid $87,900 in total federal tax for 2011. They paid $13,843 in Delaware income tax and $3,614 in Virginia income tax. The Bidens contributed $5,540 to charity in 2011.
Download the Bidens’ tax returns
American taxpayers are able to go online and see exactly how their federal tax dollars are spent. You can visit the taxpayer receipt and after entering a few pieces of information about your taxes, the taxpayer receipt will give you a breakdown of how your tax dollars are spent on priorities like education, veterans benefits, or health care.
View the President and First Lady’s tax receipt
View the Vice President and Dr. Biden’s tax receipt
| For too long, our political process has been dominated by too much money and too much power concentrated in the hands of too few.That’s why Workers’ Voice was created: to build an independent voice for the working and middle class. That voice will be fighting for the 99%—working people joining together to recognize the value of hard work and call for good jobs, a fair economy and to build a strong middle class.
As megamillionaires like Mitt Romney, the Koch brothers and large corporations plan to try and buy the 2012 elections, Workers’ Voice—powered by cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned energy—will activate and energize networks of working families, both online and offline, to come together to organize their friends, family, co-workers and neighbors, and make their voices heard. As Theresa Brown, a worker from Cooper Tire in Ohio, said this morning at a press conference to launch Workers’ Voice, “It doesn’t matter if you’re in a union or not because we’re all fighting corporate greed and it’s time that we stood up and took this country back because we’re tired of it.” Susan Baskett, who is from Michigan and unemployed, said, “Politicians aren’t paying attention to, or doing enough, to put people like me back to work. Workers’ Voice will let us connect with other people in similar situations so we can work together to organize our neighborhoods and communities.” Check out Workers’ Voice and sign up here. Workers’ Voice represents and fights for all working families—union and nonunion—around political campaigns, legislative issues and holding elected officials accountable. And we hope you’ll be a part of it. Thanks for all the work you do. In Solidarity, Manny Herrmann |
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Myths And Facts About Oil And Gasoline
UPDATED: National Review Drops Writer For Speaking At “White Supremacist” Conference
Experts Reject Study From Koch-Backed Center Claiming Health Care Law Will Increase Deficit
| Give a wake up call to Cargill |
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As you know, Tripa rainforest is in a state of emergency.
The Tripa forest of Sumatra, home to Indigenous communities and critical to the survival of endangered Sumatran orangutans, is still in peril from the landclearing fires started by palm oil companies in March.
U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill—trader of 25% of the world’s palm oil—can make a difference by adopting the safeguards necessary to guarantee that rainforests, communities and critical habitat for endangered species are not destroyed through its palm oil business.
Cargill clearly needs a wakeup call. Can you commit five minutes of your time to give it to them?
Applying the kind of pressure required for Cargill to take a stand for the local people of Tripa, the survival of Sumatran orangutans, and the 130 million year old rainforests that they call home is no small task, but it’s a worthy one.
Are you ready to do what it takes to transform the destructive behavior of a corporate giant? Cargill needs to hear from you, and hundreds of other rainforest advocates like you, to be moved to action at this critical moment.
Let’s give this sleeping giant a wake up call today to save Tripa!
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For the forests, |
By ThinkProgress War Room on Apr 12, 2012 at 4:37 pm
We’ve previously told you about the 1% Pledge — a pledge run by Washington superlobbyist Grover Norquist that the vast majority of Congressional Republicans have taken. Instead of merely pledging to uphold the oath they take to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” these Members of Congress also pledge to never, ever raise taxes on anyone and/or end any of the wasteful tax loopholes and giveaways written into our broken tax code.
While some Republicans have recently come to their senses and publicly, even angrily denounced the 1% Pledge, at least one continues be locked in: Mitt Romney. Earlier this week, the lobbyist author of the 1% Pledge underscored that it would force Romney to oppose the Buffett Rule no matter what:
But Norquist voiced confidence that there’s not a chance the presumptive GOP presidential nominee will back away from the tax pledge, which binds office holders to “oppose any and all efforts” to increase the marginal income tax rate.
“He has basically endorsed the Ryan plan,” Norquist said in reference to the House GOP budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), which would lower the top individual tax rate to 25 percent. “He’s signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, so he’s put in writing that he would never do this.
“And what House of Representatives would allow him to and what Republican Senate would allow him to? This is not going to be an option,” Norquist added.
Not that we had any doubts about Romney’s ironclad opposition to making the very wealthiest Americans like himself pay their fair share in taxes, but here’s the rundown on what else Mitt Romney’s 1% Pledge means in practice.
Mitt Romney’s 1% Pledge in Action
Mitt Romney has promised a Washington lobbyist that he will never, ever:
And of course we know that for every dollar in giveaways to the wealthiest 1 Percent and special interests that Mitt Romney pledges to protect, that’s one more dollar he’ll cut from Social Security, Medicare, and programs that benefit middle class families. In fact, that’s exactly what Romney’s already said he’ll do: slash programs for the middle class in order to give trillions more in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.
IN ONE SENTENCE: Instead making pledges to Washington lobbyists to protect every last tax giveaway to the wealthy and corporate special interests, we need leaders who will pledge to uphold the Constitution and do what’s best for the country.
Tennessee Senate passes legislation to warn students that hand-holding is a “gateway sexual activity”.
Anti-union Gov. Scott Walker will face a primary challenger in Wisconsin’s recall election.
Meet the anti-women surrogates representing Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
Meet the right-wing fringe group whose support Mitt Romney is touting today.
Conservatives attack Hilary Rosen for raising children as a lesbian.
The male Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates tells female activist that she’s too stupid to understand his defense of ALEC.
Labor gets in on the Super PAC action with new Workers’ Voice PAC.
The Republican National Committee came out in favor of gay adoption, for a few minutes anyway.
Happy Sixth Birthday, Romneycare!
Equal Pay for Equal Work? Romney Will Have to Get Back to You Even as top party leaders, including Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, continue to denounce the GOP’s very real war on women as a “fiction” “manufactured” by Democrats and the media, Republicans continue to add more fuel to the fire. The Romney [...]
The Primary Is Over, But These Attacks Will Live On Late this afternoon, Rick Santorum announced that he was suspending his campaign, effectively handing the Republican nomination over to Mitt Romney. A top aide to the former Pennsylvania senator told reporters that Santorum and Romney agreed to meet in the near future, and Romney sent out [...]
Even the Gipper Wanted Millionaires to Pay Their Fair Share Last fall, when President Obama debuted the Buffett Rule — the simple idea that millionaires and billionaires should pay at least the same tax rate as middle class workers — we climbed into the wayback machine and found a video of President Ronald Reagan decrying “crazy” [...]
Progressives Put Spotlight on Shadowy Conservative Group You’ve probably never heard of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), but one of its biggest accomplishments has been in the news lately: so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws that encourage people like Trayvon Martin’s killer George Zimmerman to shoot first and ask questions later. ALEC is also responsible [...]
Tell the State Department that you care about the health of our oceans and urge them to either take the lead on establishing a network of marine reserves or to get out of the way this summer.
There’s almost no protection at all for the world’s oceans. And it shows… Companies like Chicken of the Sea are pushing some tuna and shark species to the brink of extinction in the Pacific Ocean with their destructive fishing practices.
Industrial fishing vessels are destroying the breathtaking coral habitats of the Bering Sea canyons and putting an entire ecosystem at risk.
Japanese, Icelandic and Norwegian whaling vessels continue to ignore international law and kill thousands of majestic whales from the Southern Ocean to the North Atlantic each year.
These challenges can be addressed together with a single solution — a network of fully protected marine reserves. So why is the State Department standing in the way?
It’s time they took action to protect our oceans. Urge them to take the lead in establishing a network of marine reserves before it’s too late.
Right now, less than one percent of the world’s oceans are set aside as marine reserves. That’s why we’re working on a global agreement which would allow the international community to establish a network of marine reserves on the high seas. Unfortunately, the US government seems to be standing in the way of these efforts by refusing to join along with other countries who are in favor of developing a new agreement to create a network of marine reserves.
The high seas are like the Wild West at the moment. It might be good for the companies that are making billions off the destruction, but it is killing our oceans. If we don’t start protecting and managing our oceans they aren’t going to survive. Marine reserves are a proven and cost effective tool for protecting biodiversity, rebuilding fish populations, and enhancing fisheries in surrounding areas.
The best chance we have to get the international community on the right path toward creating a network of protected areas is this summer in Brazil. The US delegation is developing their position right now. It’s the perfect time to let them know you are paying attention.
A global network of fully protected marine reserves would benefit sea turtles, whales, tuna, seals, narwhals and any other creature (including humans) that you can think of. We’ll be at the meetings this summer working hard for this outcome. Without your support, it won’t matter.
Send your letter to the State Department today and tell them that we need the US to join the G77, the European Union, and most of the rest of the world in standing up for marine reserves.
Thanks for your help.
John Hocevar Greenpeace USA Ocean Campaign Director
