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Forum Post: Coopertative Federal

Posted 9 years ago on Oct. 21, 2014, 8:41 p.m. EST by turbocharger (1756)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

If anyone is looking for a great credit union who wants to help a ton of people, check out: http://www.cooperativefederal.org/

They were referred to me for a project we are doing, and while too far away to be practical for us, they were very impressive. Based in Syracuse, but open to out of state opportunities.

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19 Comments


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[-] 8 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

''Half of Americans Poor or Near Poor - Census Report'', by Andre Damon :

''Forty-seven percent of Americans have incomes under twice the official poverty rate, making half of the country either poor or near-poor, according to figures released last week by the Census Bureau.

''These figures are based on the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which takes into account government transfers and the regional cost-of-living in calculating the poverty rate. According to that calculation, there were 48.7 million people in poverty in the United States, three million higher than the official census figures released last month. The US poverty rate, according to the SPM, was 15.5 percent.

''According to the Census SPM report, food stamps kept two percent of the population out of poverty in 2012, while unemployment insurance kept about one percent of the population out of poverty. The census figures reflect cutbacks in both of these programs in 2013.

''With the expiration of federal extended unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed at the end of last year, together with additional cutbacks to food stamps, the number of people affected by cuts to these vital anti-poverty programs will only increase.

''Cuts to these programs have been implemented and supported by both the Democrats and Republicans. The Obama administration’s 2015 budget proposal, for example, calls for slashing the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services, which funds the Head Start preschool program, and the Department of Agriculture, which administers the food stamp program, by more than five percent.''

Great link [ http://www.cooperativefederal.org/ ] btw & Syracuse sounds like a great place. Co-ops rock.

ipsa scientia potestas est ...

[-] 5 points by elf3 (4203) 9 years ago

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/26996-irs-whistle-blowers-agency-executives-behind-multibillion-dollar-corporate-tax-giveaways

Keeps getting better and better....absolute insane outrage. If you are poor don't screw up your taxes...if you are rich just be sure you bribed the agency....?!!! I'm so pissed about this I want to stop paying taxes. We should all boycott the IRS fuck em corpirate boot licking thieving from the poor and giving to the rich.

ex-IRS attorney explained that since 1998, IRS restructuring has focused on bringing in "outside people." This led to the employment of an extra layer of executives who were previously "partners from big accounting firms." Citing active IRS criminal agents, the ex-IRS attorney said: "Almost every large firm or corporation has a person inside the IRS. It's a revolving door, with the top two or three management layers all from big accounting and law firms, and this is why they won't work big billion dollar cases criminally. Private bar attorneys are, in effect, controlling the IRS. It's a type of corruption - that's the word used by one IRS agent I'm in touch with whose case was shut down by higher ups without cause."

[-] 7 points by SerfingUSA (451) 9 years ago

Yes, most low skilled criminals eventually end up in prison.

Highly skilled criminals usually end up running our society.

[-] 5 points by trashyharry (3084) from Waterville, NY 9 years ago

Hear no Evil.See no Evil.Speak no Evil.This is what carries ALL criminals through those Rough Patches,when their Machinations are glimpsed by the surrounding Community,engaged in their own honest efforts to earn a living and care for their families.Career Criminals do not have any such distractions as taking care of anybody or anything.They can focus entirely on their criminal activities.This is a great Advantage they will always have.

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 9 years ago

The Psycho-Sociopathic career criminals can and do have dependents ( not loved ones ) - they just don't care about them - at least not past the social faux facade that they provide.

[-] 5 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Russell Brand just articulated much of this righteous ire and angst at The 99% sturm und drang live on BBC TV in the UK but it applies to The 99% everywhere & thanx elf for a strong 'Truth-Out' link above + :

Honest Joes & Josephines work hard and get fleeced and taxed to the max but 'legal personhoods' and lawyers laugh all the way to the Crooked Banx & Banksters ! I'm fkn sick of it !! Way To Fkn Go Russell Brand, he seeks to Agitate & Educate - The 99% have got to Mobilise & Organise & sooner the better !!!

dum spiro, spero ...

[-] 7 points by beautifulworld (23767) 9 years ago

Russell Brand rocks! He has the ability to articulate the message of the 99% loudly and clearly. Well done, Russell!

Thanks, Shadz, for sharing this link.

[-] 4 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Like Russell Brand, Ebola is a metaphor for all that the American right loathes about progressive politics as both come from abroad and both make the case for Universal Public Healthcare. Brand was excellent and like a force of nature on BBC TV's flagship 'Newsnight' programme last night (23rd Oct.'14 & the link above) but now I'll draw your attention to a more sobering piece by the also excellent Gary Younge :

''... what really terrifies the right about Ebola is that it shows – albeit in a deadly, scary, tragic way – that we are all connected. It shows that no matter how strong the gates around your community, how high the wall on your border, how sophisticated the alarm on your house; no matter how much you avoid state schools, public transport and public libraries; no matter how much you pay the premium to retreat from the public sphere – you cannot escape both your own humanity and the humanity of others, and the fact that our fates are tied. If you want to feel secure in Texas, regardless of your race, income or religion, it’s in your interests that people have healthcare in Monrovia.''

I just know that Russell Brand would both echo and amplify this message and I'll encourage any and all readers to watch him again on the 'You-Tube' link above, while it lasts & before the BBC try to remove it.

pax, amor et lux ...

[-] 9 points by beautifulworld (23767) 9 years ago

Russell Brand was 100% right in everything that he said on Newsnight. Those who want to keep their head in the sand may do so, but at our peril. I think it is kind of funny that the little weasel journalist, Evan Davis, tried to snare him with the 9/11 question, however, it may have backfired because, hmmm, some people may actually have been listening and may now research the matter on their own. There is a price to pay for getting the truth out there and kudos to Russell Brand for standing his ground and speaking TRUTH TO POWER.

And, great article on ebola by Younge, thanks. Geesh. He really gets to the heart of the matter.

"Ebola makes the case for government: an institution Conservatives have no love for. It is an issue of public health to which no individual or privatised response can make any substantial, meaningful contribution. To fight an epidemic like Ebola you need a well-resourced public sector, well-trained government employees, central planning and coordination and a respect for science."

Also, "it makes the case for public healthcare. In 2012, 43% of Americans reported not getting the medical care they needed because of costs. The figure for the uninsured is far higher. Fearing high bills and long waits at emergency rooms, the uninsured generally wait to see if an ailment is really serious before seeking assistance. Imagine how likely they would be to seek immediate help for a temperature and, if they did turn out to have Ebola, how many people they might infect before they did."

Imagine, now, how a disease can remind us that the government exists to promote the general welfare of the people. The failures with regard to ebola clearly express how our government has failed us in just about every way.

[-] 7 points by beautifulworld (23767) 9 years ago

Russell Brand: "...fossil fuel energy companies that are damaging the planet receive tax subsidies, and renewable energies like wind and water and solar energies, they don't receive it. Like, yeah, I have to be careful to take a deep breath once in a while because otherwise it seems like there's a fathomless tundra of wickedness covering us."

[-] 7 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Russel Brand and Matt Taibbi, though of course very different ... are also rather similar in my opinion because they both expose, highlight and then insist that we join the dots. Both are open minded and soft hearted and exhort us to be the same and connect our hearts and heads for The 99% ! Thanx for your excellent comments & excerpts above & in compliment & solidarity, I'll append & recommend :

''Matt Taibbi was the scourge of finance who called Goldmach Sachs a ‘vampire squid’. Curious about the law’s leniency on fraudsters, he began to investigate how so many Americans do end up in jail – and what he learned blew him away''.

fiat justitia ruat caelum ...

[-] 4 points by beautifulworld (23767) 9 years ago

One thing to keep in mind is that millions of dollars are being spent on riot gear for the Ferguson police force while 39% of African American children are living in poverty. Our priorities are screwed up, or is it really our priorities? Hmmm, seems the priorities getting attention are those of the military corporate industrial complex. We need to turn the priorities around to those of the people, not corporations, and not the wealthy who love perpetual war and violence and the riches it brings them.

[-] 6 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Re. Mike Brown's murder, I am truly shocked at the level of hate and loathing displayed by US Right-Wing !!! The thing to be most intolerant of is 'intolerance' !! Solidarity with the struggle in Ferguson ! A culture of repressive violence at home and abroad, has implications for all.

multum in parvo ...

[-] 6 points by beautifulworld (23767) 9 years ago

"Isn't this a wonderment? A progressive, peace-loving liberalism that can accept a president actually checking off names on a death list, like Stalin in the Politburo -- that can accept "dirty wars" that have slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians and destabilized whole regions, breeding more violence and terror."

Thanks for that great article. And, re: Mike Brown - Whatever happened in that car did not justify his being shot 6 times to his death.

[-] 6 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

''The brave and besieged people of Ferguson, Missouri, have already caused serious complications for the U.S. National Security State. By virtue of simply standing their ground in their own small city, the demonstrators have forced the local, county and state police to show their true, thoroughly militarized colors.'' from :

From which : ''The increase in police brutality in this country is a frightening reality. In the last decade alone the number of people murdered by police has reached 5,000. The number of soldiers killed since the inception of the Iraq war, 4489.

''What went wrong? In the 19070’s SWAT teams were estimated to be used just a few hundred times per year, now we are looking at over 40,000 military style “knock and announce” police raids a year.

''The police presence in this country is being turned into a military with a clearly defined enemy, anyone who questions the establishment.''

fiat justitia ruat caelum ...

[-] 3 points by beautifulworld (23767) 9 years ago

Ferguson on twitter reveals the extreme racism that still exists in this country. Just one glance there would make you sick. Not sure that this country can change direction from the plutocratic fascism, militarization and corporatism that we are now in, back to democracy and peace.

[-] 6 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Re. ''back to democracy and peace'' ... hmmm !!! Not sure about the ''back to ...'' bit bw !! Not so sure that it really ever was, however it surely is a truly great and viable aspiration !

I've seen and been on the #Ferguson feed/stream/timeline & - it's a li'l scary !!!

veritas vos liberabit ...

[-] 5 points by beautifulworld (23767) 9 years ago

"Washington has also emerged as the world champion in generating terror. Former CIA analyst Paul Pillar warns of the "resentment-generating impact of the U.S. strikes" in Syria, which may further induce the jihadi organizations Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State toward "repairing their breach from last year and campaigning in tandem against the U.S. intervention by portraying it as a war against Islam."

The military industrial complex at work.

[-] 6 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

''Free College or Another New War?'' by 'World Beyond War' ( http://worldbeyondwar.org/ ) :

"World Beyond War"- Noting that U.S. college costs have gone up 500% since 1985, the Washington Post recommends seven countries where U.S. students can go to college for free without bothering to learn the language of the natives or anything so primitive. These are nations with less wealth than the United States has, but which make college free or nearly free, both for citizens and for dangerous illegals visiting their Homelands.

How do they do it?

Three of them have a higher top tax rate than the United States has, but four of them don’t.

What does the United States spend its money on that these other countries do not? What is the largest public program in the United States? What makes up over 50% of federal discretionary spending in the United States?

If you said “war,” it’s possible you were educated in a fine foreign country.

A comprehensive calculation of U.S. military spending puts it at over $1 trillion a year. The International Institute for Strategic Studies puts it at $645.7 billion in 2012. Using that smaller number, let’s compare the seven nations where Americans can find their human right to an education respected:

France $48.1 billion or 7.4% of U.S.

Germany $40.4 billion or 6.3% of U.S.

Brazil $35.3 billion or 5.5% of U.S.

Norway $6.9 billion or 1.1% of U.S.

Sweden $5.8 billion or 0.9% of U.S.

Finland $3.6 billion or 0.6% of U.S.

Slovenia $0.6 billion or 0.1% of U.S.

Oh, but those are smaller countries. Well, let’s compare military spending per capita:

United States $2,057

Norway $1,455 or 71% of U.S.

France $733 or 35% of U.S.

Finland $683 or 33% of U.S.

Sweden $636 or 31% of U.S.

Germany $496 or 24% of U.S.

Slovenia $284 or 14% of U.S. Brazil $177 or 9% of U.S.

It’s worth noting that in wealth per capita, Norway is wealthier than the United States. It still spends significantly less per capita on war preparations. The others all spend between 9% and 35%.

Now, you may be a believer in militarism, and you may be shouting right about now: “The United States provides these other nations’ warmaking needs for them. When Germany or France has to destroy Iraq or Afghanistan or Libya, who does the heavy lifting?”

Or you may be an opponent of militarism, and you may be thinking about its many additional costs. Not only does the United States pay the most in dollars, but it generates the most hatred, kills the most people, does the most damage to the natural environment, and loses the most freedoms in the process.

Either way, the point is that these other countries have chosen education, while the United States has chosen a project that perhaps a well-educated populace would support, but we don’t have any way to test that theory, and it doesn’t look like we’re going to any time soon.

We have a choice before us: free college or more war?

Copyright © 2014 — World Beyond War.

~

[Article copied verbatim under 'Fair Use' from : http://worldbeyondwar.org/free-college-another-new-war/ and please refer there and use that 'url' in order to access all the other embedded corroborating links]

ipsa scientia potestas est ...