Dear editor:
In 2014, as well as prior years, many large and very profitable corporations paid no federal income tax, yet received multimillion dollar refunds. For example, all of the following paid no federal income taxes in 2014, yet received rebates: Time-Warner profits $4.3B with $28 million rebate; CBS $1.8B profit and rebate if $235 million; Xerox profit of $629 million with a rebate of $16 million; and that is just three out of many profitable corporations that are the real welfare queens, not the poor.
Just 14 people in the U.S. increased their wealth by $157B in the past two years, yet we have a Congress that seems determined to hand over more taxpayer money to these corporations while making similar cuts to domestic programs, like food stamps, to pay for those cuts and making the false statement that they will create jobs. This meme is becoming tiresome and I've heard it since 1981 and have yet to see anything "trickle" down, only flattened wages with people having to use debt more and more just to make ends meet.
I keep hearing Republicans say we have to live within our means, then set about to reduce the means which is counterproductive and interestingly the amount of cuts to the poor is almost exactly the amount of money they show in tax cuts to corporations or more funds to defense, so they take from us and give it to those who don't need it. A reverse Robin Hood. If we are to live within our means and hope to balance the budget, then that is not accomplished by reducing our income.
Judith Zitko
Hot Springs Village
Editorial on 04/26/2015