Somerville — A person will accumulate a lot of stories over four decades in local office, and now longtime Somerville politician Gene Brune is putting them down on paper.
“I started jotting down things… and I realized I had some stories to tell,” said Brune.
Brune hasn’t found a title yet for his memoirs, and hasn’t worked out how they will be published, but said he expects to finish the manuscript this spring.
Without getting into the all the specifics, Brune said the book would chronicle some of the scandals that have shook the city over the years but it won’t be a tell-all that names the names of all the players.
Brune grew up in Somerville, traveled with the U.S. Army to Japan, married, divorced, and then started a life in public office. Brune was Ward 6 alderman from 1972 to 1980, when he unseated Mayor Tom August in a four-way race against a young Mike Capuano and Paul Haley.
During his time as mayor, the police chief at the time was indicted for cheating on a Civil Service exam, the FBI busted officials for taking bribes and Brune re-configured the often-corrupt Board of Assessors. He is credited by many as being the first “reform mayor,” while others credit Lester Ralph with that distinction. Brune is an ally of Mayor Joe Curtatone.
Brune became the register of deeds in 1988 and his old rival Capuano won the mayorship. Twenty years later, the man Brune backed in that mayoral race, John Buonomo, was arrested and charged with stealing cash out of the copier machines at the Registry of Deeds. Buonomo had been elected register of probate after another failed mayoral run in 1999.
Most Somerville histories fall into two categories, according to Brune: the architectural retrospective and the gangster confessional. Brune wants to add political memoir to the Somerville library.
Read more: Former Somerville mayor Gene Brune writes memoir - Somerville, Massachusetts 02144 - Somerville Journal http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x1354948976/Former-Somerville-mayor-Gene-Brune-writes-memoir#ixzz1jXtkG0Gv
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Gene Brune on Tufts
Brune to News: Can we set the story straight?
On November 14, 2006, in Uncategorized, by The News Staff ....
Brune to News: Can we set the story straight?
To the editor,
For a long time now I have had to listen to and read the many varied and wild stories in reference to the sale of the former Western Jr. High School site, now known as the tab building. The article would always mention that when serving as mayor I gave away the building to tufts for $1.00.
I always thought that newspapers did everything possible to check the facts before putting something in print. In the Nov. 8 “News Talk” column, your newspaper failed to do so.
The facts, as I remember them, are during my tenure as mayor, when it was decided that the former Western Jr. High School was no longer needed by the School Department and in very serious disrepair, it was turned over to the city.
Because it was not needed by the city and too expensive to repair, I thought it would be in the best interest of the city to sell the building and invest the proceeds in education and the remodeling of the Teele Square fire station. Both of which I did.
Certainly we wanted the school building to be used for something that would benefit the city and not be a hardship on the neighborhood, or negatively affect the children attending the adjacent Powderhouse Community School. After going out for bid the city ended up with two bidders, Flamingo Construction Co., who wanted to renovate the building and rent space to an assortment of companies, and Tufts University, which was willing to move their administrative offices into that location. Both were willing to lease back space to the city for 25 years to be used for our senior center, SCALE and other non-profit activities.
Tufts University came up with the highest offer of one million, six hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and was willing to rent space to the city starting at $8.90 a sq. ft., including utilities. They proposed to give us a ten year lease, with the option of three additional five year terms.
Flamingo construction offered the city much less and, in fact, went bankrupt six months later. As I remember, seven aldermen agreed that tufts would be our best choice. Four aldermen wanted Flamingo Construction Co. Even though they offered a lesser price.
Also, I personally called then Tufts president Jean Mayer, and asked him for an additional three hundred thousand dollars to be placed in an interest bearing account to be used after the first ten years of the lease to pay for any increase in cost for space rented by the city for our senior center and SCALE.
In retrospect, I was asking tufts to finance any future rent increases by them. President Mayer said that he would honor my request. When the city had to renew their lease the three hundred thousand, with interest, was almost six hundred thousand dollars. One could say that Tufts University paid almost two million three hundred thousand dollars for the Western Jr. High School site. That is a far cry from the $1.00 figure that is always used by those who may by chance dislike me or Tufts.
Any one who observed me during my ten years as mayor in the eighties, saw me work through perhaps the worst financial times in years, having the most dangerous chemical spill in the history of the state, taking on proposition 2 ½, having been stuck with several appellate tax cases requiring millions of dollars to be paid back, and having the cities health insurance bill double. Despite all that I brought the red line into Davis Sq., built a new comprehensive high school, planted over 4000 trees, refurbished every city park and square, rebuilt over two hundred streets and much more, yet in my ten years I never once used any part of the 2 ½ percent that I could by law use to raise taxes. All of this is a matter of public record and fact. This doesn’t sound like a mayor that would give a building away for a $1.00.
Eugene c. Brune
152 curtis street
Somerville
Former mayor
Present register of deeds
On November 14, 2006, in Uncategorized, by The News Staff ....
Brune to News: Can we set the story straight?
To the editor,
For a long time now I have had to listen to and read the many varied and wild stories in reference to the sale of the former Western Jr. High School site, now known as the tab building. The article would always mention that when serving as mayor I gave away the building to tufts for $1.00.
I always thought that newspapers did everything possible to check the facts before putting something in print. In the Nov. 8 “News Talk” column, your newspaper failed to do so.
The facts, as I remember them, are during my tenure as mayor, when it was decided that the former Western Jr. High School was no longer needed by the School Department and in very serious disrepair, it was turned over to the city.
Because it was not needed by the city and too expensive to repair, I thought it would be in the best interest of the city to sell the building and invest the proceeds in education and the remodeling of the Teele Square fire station. Both of which I did.
Certainly we wanted the school building to be used for something that would benefit the city and not be a hardship on the neighborhood, or negatively affect the children attending the adjacent Powderhouse Community School. After going out for bid the city ended up with two bidders, Flamingo Construction Co., who wanted to renovate the building and rent space to an assortment of companies, and Tufts University, which was willing to move their administrative offices into that location. Both were willing to lease back space to the city for 25 years to be used for our senior center, SCALE and other non-profit activities.
Tufts University came up with the highest offer of one million, six hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and was willing to rent space to the city starting at $8.90 a sq. ft., including utilities. They proposed to give us a ten year lease, with the option of three additional five year terms.
Flamingo construction offered the city much less and, in fact, went bankrupt six months later. As I remember, seven aldermen agreed that tufts would be our best choice. Four aldermen wanted Flamingo Construction Co. Even though they offered a lesser price.
Also, I personally called then Tufts president Jean Mayer, and asked him for an additional three hundred thousand dollars to be placed in an interest bearing account to be used after the first ten years of the lease to pay for any increase in cost for space rented by the city for our senior center and SCALE.
In retrospect, I was asking tufts to finance any future rent increases by them. President Mayer said that he would honor my request. When the city had to renew their lease the three hundred thousand, with interest, was almost six hundred thousand dollars. One could say that Tufts University paid almost two million three hundred thousand dollars for the Western Jr. High School site. That is a far cry from the $1.00 figure that is always used by those who may by chance dislike me or Tufts.
Any one who observed me during my ten years as mayor in the eighties, saw me work through perhaps the worst financial times in years, having the most dangerous chemical spill in the history of the state, taking on proposition 2 ½, having been stuck with several appellate tax cases requiring millions of dollars to be paid back, and having the cities health insurance bill double. Despite all that I brought the red line into Davis Sq., built a new comprehensive high school, planted over 4000 trees, refurbished every city park and square, rebuilt over two hundred streets and much more, yet in my ten years I never once used any part of the 2 ½ percent that I could by law use to raise taxes. All of this is a matter of public record and fact. This doesn’t sound like a mayor that would give a building away for a $1.00.
Eugene c. Brune
152 curtis street
Somerville
Former mayor
Present register of deeds
Thursday, November 3, 2011
30 largest companies pay no taxes
..Thirty companies paid no income tax 2008-2010: report
By Kevin Drawbaugh | Reuters – 2 hrs 50 mins ago....
Share8EmailPrint......Politics slideshows.
.Tibetans clash with police in Nepal
15 photos - Tue, Nov 1, 2011Herman Cain denies harassment claims
76 photos - Tue, Nov 1, 2011World population: 7 billion
30 photos - Tue, Nov 1, 2011...See latest photos »....(Reuters) - Thirty large and profitable U.S. corporations paid no income taxes in 2008 through 2010, said a study on Thursday that arrives as Congress faces rising demands for tax reform, but seems unable or unwilling to act.
Pepco Holdings, a Washington, D.C.-area power company, had the lowest effective tax rate, at negative 57.6 percent, among the 280 Fortune 500 companies studied.
The statutory U.S. corporate income tax rate is 35 percent, one of the highest in the world, but over the 2008-2010 period, very few of the companies studied paid it, said the report.
The average effective tax rate for the companies over the period was 18.5 percent, said Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, both think tanks.
Their report also listed General Electric Co, Paccar Inc, PG&E Corp, Computer Sciences Corp and NiSource Inc as among the 30 that paid no taxes. All 280 corporations examined were profitable over the period.
Corporations will say rightly that the loopholes that let them slash their taxes were perfectly legal, the report said.
"But that does not mean that low-tax corporations bear no responsibility ... The laws were not enacted in a vacuum; they were adopted in response to relentless corporate lobbying, threats and campaign support," the report said.
As Congress and the Obama administration struggle with a sluggish economy and high deficits, corporations are pressing Capitol Hill for more tax breaks, including one that would let them bring home overseas profits at a reduced tax rate.
The congressional "super committee" tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in additional budget savings by November 23 is so far deadlocked across a familiar divide -- Republicans refusing any tax hikes, Democrats defending social programs.
On Tuesday, a panel of budget experts warned super committee members that they would fail the country if they do not meet their goal. Financial markets have been waiting for many months for signs that Washington can get its financial house in order, but few have been forthcoming.
LOOKING BACK AT REAGAN
The report referred back to the 1986 tax reform pushed through by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, who approved the largest corporate tax increase in U.S. history, largely by ending tax breaks, while cutting individual tax rates.
"Reagan solved the problem by sweeping away corporate tax loopholes," said the report, which was co-authored by Citizens for Tax Justice chief Robert McIntyre. His research 25 years ago played a key role in convincing Reagan reform was needed.
The industrial machinery business enjoyed the lowest effective tax rate during the study period, while the highest rate was paid by healthcare companies, the report said.
What are the tax breaks that corporations enjoy? One big one is accelerated depreciation that lets them write off equipment faster than it actually wears out. Deductions on executive stock options help. So do tax breaks for research and development and for making products in the United States instead of overseas. Offshore tax shelters play a role, too.
The average effective corporate tax rate, as calculated by McIntyre's group, was about 14 percent before the Reagan reforms; afterward it shot up to 26.5 percent in 1988.
As companies found their way around the reforms, the effective rate fell back to about 17 percent by 2002-2003.
Unlike in Reagan's time, taming corporate tax breaks alone will not solve today's deficit problem. Such breaks cost the government about $102 billion in lost revenues in 2011, a year when the federal deficit was an estimated $1.3 trillion.
Corporate loopholes are dwarfed by tax breaks that benefit individuals, such as the mortgage interest tax deduction -- a middle class sacred cow -- on its own worth $104 billion.
Still, said the report, "If we are going to get our nation's fiscal house in order, increasing corporate income taxes should play an important role."
(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh; editing by Carol Bishopric)
..
By Kevin Drawbaugh | Reuters – 2 hrs 50 mins ago....
Share8EmailPrint......Politics slideshows.
.Tibetans clash with police in Nepal
15 photos - Tue, Nov 1, 2011Herman Cain denies harassment claims
76 photos - Tue, Nov 1, 2011World population: 7 billion
30 photos - Tue, Nov 1, 2011...See latest photos »....(Reuters) - Thirty large and profitable U.S. corporations paid no income taxes in 2008 through 2010, said a study on Thursday that arrives as Congress faces rising demands for tax reform, but seems unable or unwilling to act.
Pepco Holdings, a Washington, D.C.-area power company, had the lowest effective tax rate, at negative 57.6 percent, among the 280 Fortune 500 companies studied.
The statutory U.S. corporate income tax rate is 35 percent, one of the highest in the world, but over the 2008-2010 period, very few of the companies studied paid it, said the report.
The average effective tax rate for the companies over the period was 18.5 percent, said Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, both think tanks.
Their report also listed General Electric Co, Paccar Inc, PG&E Corp, Computer Sciences Corp and NiSource Inc as among the 30 that paid no taxes. All 280 corporations examined were profitable over the period.
Corporations will say rightly that the loopholes that let them slash their taxes were perfectly legal, the report said.
"But that does not mean that low-tax corporations bear no responsibility ... The laws were not enacted in a vacuum; they were adopted in response to relentless corporate lobbying, threats and campaign support," the report said.
As Congress and the Obama administration struggle with a sluggish economy and high deficits, corporations are pressing Capitol Hill for more tax breaks, including one that would let them bring home overseas profits at a reduced tax rate.
The congressional "super committee" tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in additional budget savings by November 23 is so far deadlocked across a familiar divide -- Republicans refusing any tax hikes, Democrats defending social programs.
On Tuesday, a panel of budget experts warned super committee members that they would fail the country if they do not meet their goal. Financial markets have been waiting for many months for signs that Washington can get its financial house in order, but few have been forthcoming.
LOOKING BACK AT REAGAN
The report referred back to the 1986 tax reform pushed through by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, who approved the largest corporate tax increase in U.S. history, largely by ending tax breaks, while cutting individual tax rates.
"Reagan solved the problem by sweeping away corporate tax loopholes," said the report, which was co-authored by Citizens for Tax Justice chief Robert McIntyre. His research 25 years ago played a key role in convincing Reagan reform was needed.
The industrial machinery business enjoyed the lowest effective tax rate during the study period, while the highest rate was paid by healthcare companies, the report said.
What are the tax breaks that corporations enjoy? One big one is accelerated depreciation that lets them write off equipment faster than it actually wears out. Deductions on executive stock options help. So do tax breaks for research and development and for making products in the United States instead of overseas. Offshore tax shelters play a role, too.
The average effective corporate tax rate, as calculated by McIntyre's group, was about 14 percent before the Reagan reforms; afterward it shot up to 26.5 percent in 1988.
As companies found their way around the reforms, the effective rate fell back to about 17 percent by 2002-2003.
Unlike in Reagan's time, taming corporate tax breaks alone will not solve today's deficit problem. Such breaks cost the government about $102 billion in lost revenues in 2011, a year when the federal deficit was an estimated $1.3 trillion.
Corporate loopholes are dwarfed by tax breaks that benefit individuals, such as the mortgage interest tax deduction -- a middle class sacred cow -- on its own worth $104 billion.
Still, said the report, "If we are going to get our nation's fiscal house in order, increasing corporate income taxes should play an important role."
(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh; editing by Carol Bishopric)
..
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Folks on the way
When the Folks on the way up heard someone loudly say what the fuck in a public place it was unsettling. The fact it was in Starbuck on a Saturday morning made it more uncomfortable.
The two guys reading the Herald noted that one of their colleagues had been arrested on a murder charge in Atlanta. What the Fuck one said to the other without considering the young children within arms length.
The young couple with their two children where more than uncomfortable by the outburst. And, though it was not intended to offend- it did. The young college age girl at the counter turned with her mouth open- thinking like this stuff still happens here.
Thus the FOWUP got a taste of Somerville from my days. The two guys commenting looked like they had a rough night and stopped in to get the brain functioning for the day.
Had they done this in the Somerville of 20 years ago- they would have been told or demanded to make an apology and shut up. However the FOWUP approach was to ignore the two and leave quickly.
There approach probably is the better one. And thats a luxury the can afford because these types are not long for that part of Somerville. One way or another they will be forced out by prices or their own bad decision making.
The two guys reading the Herald noted that one of their colleagues had been arrested on a murder charge in Atlanta. What the Fuck one said to the other without considering the young children within arms length.
The young couple with their two children where more than uncomfortable by the outburst. And, though it was not intended to offend- it did. The young college age girl at the counter turned with her mouth open- thinking like this stuff still happens here.
Thus the FOWUP got a taste of Somerville from my days. The two guys commenting looked like they had a rough night and stopped in to get the brain functioning for the day.
Had they done this in the Somerville of 20 years ago- they would have been told or demanded to make an apology and shut up. However the FOWUP approach was to ignore the two and leave quickly.
There approach probably is the better one. And thats a luxury the can afford because these types are not long for that part of Somerville. One way or another they will be forced out by prices or their own bad decision making.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Stop Coddling the rich
Stop Coddling the Super-RichBy WARREN E. BUFFETT
Published: August 14, 2011
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Kelly Blair
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Editorial: The Truth About Taxes (August 7, 2011) OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.
These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.
Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.
If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.
To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.
Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.
The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)
I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.
Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.
Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.
But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.
My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.
Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway.
Published: August 14, 2011
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Kelly Blair
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Times Topic: Income Tax
Related in Opinion
Editorial: The Truth About Taxes (August 7, 2011) OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.
These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.
Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.
If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.
To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.
Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.
The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)
I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.
Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.
Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.
But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.
My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.
Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Raising the S
There where two competing groups. One wanted to exploit and enjoy the resources that came with the power of winning an election. Or as they put it "to the victah goes da spoils"
The other wanted to raise the S. The others had been outside the walls that existed and believed it could get better- and that in any case the explotation and corruption was not working.
The S was really down and hurting. To some it meant Slum to others Scum ... there was little question that it meant the white trash of the Boston area to many outsiders...
Much of that was not deserved. But some of the pols
The other wanted to raise the S. The others had been outside the walls that existed and believed it could get better- and that in any case the explotation and corruption was not working.
The S was really down and hurting. To some it meant Slum to others Scum ... there was little question that it meant the white trash of the Boston area to many outsiders...
Much of that was not deserved. But some of the pols
Thursday, May 5, 2011
this is the crap we dont accept
See article below ... I think we can write a comparable tale...
The sums are little smaller (so far/ and/ or that we know about)... but the end result seems quite similiar... Taking money from a senior and then not reporting it as income ...
Looks like that could be two possible felonies.... wonder if anyone we know should be concerned about that?
One dime away...
By David Abel, Globe Staff
The elected tax assessor of Needham was arraigned in federal district court today on charges he failed to pay more than $100,000 in taxes on money he allegedly filched from an elderly woman, prosecutors said.
Kevin Foley, 53, who is also a longtime firefighter in Needham, pleaded not guilty to three counts of “willfully attempt[ing] to evade and defeat the income tax due … by concealing and attempting to conceal from all proper officers of the United States of America his true and correct income.”
“I wish not to comment,” Foley said after claiming to be indigent and in need of a public defender. A public defender representing him today declined to comment.
He was released on $50,000 bail and on condition that he have no contact with a 77-year old Needham woman, whom he allegedly stole money from, or her family.
Assistant US Attorney Robert A. Fisher said in court that Foley has failed to pay his taxes over the past 20 years.
“That’s including taxes on legally earned income,” Fisher said, noting Foley knew the woman well.
In the indictment, a grand jury charged that Foley withdrew cash from the woman’s bank accounts and purchased money orders for his personal use; endorsed checks drawn from her bank accounts to pay personal expenses including his mortgage; transferred money from her account to his bank accounts; used her ATM card to withdraw money for his own use; and withdrew money from her account to purchase a cashier’s check, which he used to by a boat for himself.
The indictment alleges Foley failed to pay $115,552 on nearly $500,000 in income between June 2006 and April 2010.
Neither the alleged victim nor her family members could be reached for comment.
Needham Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick said the town is reviewing the charges and will decide soon whether he should be suspended from his position as a firefighter, which he has been since 1987. He was elected tax assessor in 2007.
“The town’s expectation is that our employees will conduct themselves to the highest moral and ethical standards, and we will act expeditiously to address illegal activity or other improper conduct,” she said in a statement.
If convicted, Foley could be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison and be required to repay the taxes he owes.
He will have to reappear in court on June 16.
The sums are little smaller (so far/ and/ or that we know about)... but the end result seems quite similiar... Taking money from a senior and then not reporting it as income ...
Looks like that could be two possible felonies.... wonder if anyone we know should be concerned about that?
One dime away...
By David Abel, Globe Staff
The elected tax assessor of Needham was arraigned in federal district court today on charges he failed to pay more than $100,000 in taxes on money he allegedly filched from an elderly woman, prosecutors said.
Kevin Foley, 53, who is also a longtime firefighter in Needham, pleaded not guilty to three counts of “willfully attempt[ing] to evade and defeat the income tax due … by concealing and attempting to conceal from all proper officers of the United States of America his true and correct income.”
“I wish not to comment,” Foley said after claiming to be indigent and in need of a public defender. A public defender representing him today declined to comment.
He was released on $50,000 bail and on condition that he have no contact with a 77-year old Needham woman, whom he allegedly stole money from, or her family.
Assistant US Attorney Robert A. Fisher said in court that Foley has failed to pay his taxes over the past 20 years.
“That’s including taxes on legally earned income,” Fisher said, noting Foley knew the woman well.
In the indictment, a grand jury charged that Foley withdrew cash from the woman’s bank accounts and purchased money orders for his personal use; endorsed checks drawn from her bank accounts to pay personal expenses including his mortgage; transferred money from her account to his bank accounts; used her ATM card to withdraw money for his own use; and withdrew money from her account to purchase a cashier’s check, which he used to by a boat for himself.
The indictment alleges Foley failed to pay $115,552 on nearly $500,000 in income between June 2006 and April 2010.
Neither the alleged victim nor her family members could be reached for comment.
Needham Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick said the town is reviewing the charges and will decide soon whether he should be suspended from his position as a firefighter, which he has been since 1987. He was elected tax assessor in 2007.
“The town’s expectation is that our employees will conduct themselves to the highest moral and ethical standards, and we will act expeditiously to address illegal activity or other improper conduct,” she said in a statement.
If convicted, Foley could be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison and be required to repay the taxes he owes.
He will have to reappear in court on June 16.
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