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Only a handful in the Congress--members like Senator Russell Feingoldof Wisconsin and Representatives Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Barbara Leeof California--have shown the courage to question the giveaways and thequick wipeout of civil liberties and other citizen protections. In mostcases, such as the $15 billion airline bailout and corporate tax breaks,legislation has been pushed to the forefront with little or no hearingsand only fleeting consideration on the floor of the Senate and the Houseof Representatives. One of the boldest grabs for cash has been by corporations seeking toeliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which was enacted duringthe Reagan Administration to prevent profitable corporations fromescaping all tax liability through various loopholes. Not only do thecorporations want relief from the current year's AMT taxes, but they areseeking a retroactive refund of all AMT taxes paid since 1986. This giveaway, as passed by the House of Representatives, would makecorporations eligible for $25 billion in tax refunds. Just 14corporations would receive $6.3 billion of the refund. IBM gets $1.4billion; General Motors, $833 million; General Electric $671 million;Daimler-Chrysler $600 million; Chevron-Texaco $572 million. The 14biggest beneficiaries of the minimum tax repeal gave $14,769,785 in"soft money" to the national committees of the Democratic and Republicanparties in recent years. Soon to join the bailout parade is the nation's insurance industry,which is lobbying the Congress to have the federal government pick upthe tab for future losses like those stemming from the attack on theWorld Trade Center. Proposals are on the table for taxpayers to eitherpick up losses above certain levels or to provide loans or loanguarantees for reinsurance. The insurance companies want federal bailouts, but they continue toinsist on regulation only by underfunded, poorly staffed stateinsurance departments, most of which are dominated by the industry. Anybailout or loan program involving the insurance companies must includeprovisions which ensure that insurance companies cannot refuse to writepolicies and make investments in low, moderate and minorityneighborhoods. Allegations about insurance company "redlining" ordiscrimination against citizens in these areas have been prevalent formany years. It would be a terrible injustice for citizens to be forcedto pay taxes to help bail out insurance companies that discriminateagainst them. Congress needs to address this issue before it evenconsiders public assistance for the industry. People-concerns have been missing in all the bailouts. When theairline companies walked off with $15 billion plus in bailout money, thethousands of laid-off employees--airline attendants, maintenance crews,baggage handlers and ticket counter employees--received not a dime.Attempts to include health benefits and other help for these employeeswere shouted down on the floor of the House of Representatives. Last month, more than 400,000 employees lost their jobs nationwide andthe national unemployment rate rose to 5.4 percent, the highest levelsince 1996. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said roughly a fourth ofthe lost jobs were the direct result of the terrorist attacks ofSeptember 11. Bailouts, benefits or other aid for these victims of theattacks? No, that's reserved just for the corporations under thepolicies of the Bush Administration and the present Congress. Yet it is the workers in the low-wage jobs--like those in restaurants,hotels, retailing and transportation--who are bearing the brunt of thelayoffs in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center,according to a report from the New York State Department of Labor.Almost 25,000 people told the department that they lost their jobsbecause of the trade center disaster. An analysis by the department ofthe first 22,000 of the claims found that 16 percent worked at bars, 14percent worked at hotels, 5 percent worked in air transportation and 21percent in a category termed "business services." Only 4 percent workedat Wall Street brokerage firms. While more workers lose jobs, the Administration is pushing forauthority to expand the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)under new "fast-track" authority. The Department of Commerce concedesthat at least 360,000 jobs have been lost under NAFTA, and privateresearch groups estimate the total may be twice that number. Now, withunemployment rising to alarming levels, the Administration decides tocave to pro-NAFTA corporate demands which will only make the laborpicture worse. No bailout for laid off workers, just a hard crack acrossthe knees. As Bill Moyers, the author and national journalist, commented:"They (the corporations) are counting on your patriotism to distractyou from their plunder. They're counting on you to stand at attentionwith your hand over your heart, pledging allegiance to the flag, whilethey pick your pocket." The present crisis cries out for shared sacrifice--not the opportunismso blatantly displayed by the nation's corporate interests. PresidentBush and the Congress must summon the courage to resist the self-servingdemands--the kind of courage and shared sacrifice that guided the braverescue workers on September 11. For More Information:
www.citizenworks.org ###
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