LOD: Investing in Bad Government

Another report, this one by Citizens for Tax Justice, spotlights mega-corporations that rake in massive profits and pay nothing in federal income taxes – in fact, they get a credit, which means money from you. This is what happens when corporations rig the tax code to their advantage, a product of their investment in bad government via political donations and unconscionable lobbying. (One of the 12 corporations in the spotlight is Wells Fargo, the owner of Wachovia.) To compound the problem, you may have heard that a federal district judge in Virginia last week ruled that the Citizens United ruling means corporations can make direct donations to candidates, not just spend for uncoordinated promotion of the candidate. Oops, now it appears the judge thinks he may have gone too far and is reconsidering his decision. Either way, unlimited corporate spending in politics poses an enormous challenge for an honest democracy.