Monday, July 25, 2011

It's All the Unions' Fault! Part V: The M&I And Associated Banks Edition

Remember how Scott Walker and WISGOP, both wholly owned subsidiaries of Koch Enterprises, tried to tell us that the current economic woes are because of those greedy union workers? Well than surely it couldn't be because there's a revenue problem due to them showering favors on their big money donors, like the banks, right?

Wrong:
The report shows Green Bay's Associated Bank paid no state income from 2000 to 2009, despite booking some $2.6 billion in profits over the period. 
It also shows Milwaukee's M&I Bank, which was sold recently to a Canadian bank, paid an effective tax rate of less than 1 percent on its boom years' profits. 
No wonder Wisconsin had a budget problem.
Gee, you think that maybe if you were telling campaign donors that they don't have to pay their taxes, maybe that could lead to a revenue problem, which in turn would lead to spending outpacing revenue?

It's not the unions that are the problem, it's Walker and his Republican legislative cronies who are sabotaging the state. That's the disease we need to cure with the only effective remedy: Recall.

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