The Bank of America office across from the Capitol will be a target for Lansing's first-ever US Uncut protest that asks corporations to pay their fair share of taxes
US Uncut is organizing a series of protests outside corporations they believe are not paying their fair share in taxes. Inspired by the UK Uncut movement in England, US Uncut will host a protest at 10 a.m., this Saturday, February 26 at the Bank of America Office on the south side of the Capitol. (The address is 201 Townsend Street, on the corner of Townsend and Allegan streets.)
US Uncut asks why we are being asked to accept a proposed $100 million cut in Pell grants for higher education while BofA avoids paying taxes:
Despite ruining the economy with their reckless greed, Bank of America has consistently avoided any form of accountability to the American taxpayer. In fact, in 2009, Bank of America actually received a net tax benefit. Yes, last year, the federal government gave Bank of America $2.3 billion. That money alone could almost completely cover the proposed $2.5 billion cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low-income families pay their heating and cooling bills and affects 34 million households. Bank of America is the largest bank and 5th largest corporation in the country, holding over $2.2 trillion in assets, and yet it pays less in taxes than the average American household, which made between $35,400 and $52,100 and had an effective tax rate of 14.2%.
MoveOn.org also emailed me asking whether I would be willing to a host a rally at the Capitol in Lansing at noon. (Click here if you are a MoveOn member who wants to do so.)
What’s happening in Wisconsin is a standoff over the future of the American Dream. Over 100,000 protestors have turned out in Madison to stop horrific anti-worker legislation proposed by the newly elected tea party Governor Scott Walker. But now, the billionaire founders of the tea party, the Koch brothers, have started spending big money airing TV ads to support Gov. Walker and just opened a lobbying office in downtown Madison. The Koch brothers know that what’s going on in Wisconsin isn’t just about Wisconsin—it’s about the fights happening nationally over slashing state budgets, busting unions, and ultimately attacking the American Dream itself. We need a huge wave of mobilization across the country to show our solidarity and stop the radical right’s attack on the American Dream in its tracks. That’s why we’re helping to organize over 70 solidarity rallies, one in every state capital and other major cities nationwide, this Saturday at noon. MoveOn members have already planned over 30 rallies, but we still need someone to volunteer to host a rally in Lansing.
Any union protests planned for Saturday? It could get crowded.
