How can we take it back?

[ImaginaryBloke]

"But what moved me the most was when Moore travels to Norway and visits what they describe as maximum security prisons, places that seem to be run like hotels where prisoners and prison guards act in harmony with one another, as opposed to American prisons where a cat and dog mentality exists and prisoners are treated like dirt. For me, seeing this for the first time made me shake my head in disbelief, especially when the documentary showed that prisoners had rooms that contained their own showers. With further research I found out that Norway’s prison system is based on the concept of restorative justice, which repairs the harm caused by crime instead of punishing individuals. Prisoners are treated like human beings and live in a humane environment. Their prisons have no bars on their windows and their kitchens are fully equipped with what would be considered to be contraband objects in American prisons."

"Prisoners in Norway live in environments that do not create systematic dependency. In sum, Norway focuses on rehabilitating prisoners instead of just warehousing them, enabling them to becoming better prepared to reenter society when released. This can be seen where Norway’s 20% recidivism rate is one of the lowest in the world, as compared to the United States where 76.6 % of prisoners are re-arrested within five years."

"By adapting a less punitive approach, Norway’s prisons prepare prisoners to return to the real world, arming them with the skills needed to effectively reenter society. Even sentences for serious crimes are limited to a maximum sentence of 21 years. However, after serving the sentence if the prisoner is found not to be rehabilitated they can be served with indefinite five year terms."

http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/michael-moores-portrayal-norway-prison-vs-my-15-life-sentence-us

This is an interesting comment about the Michael Moore film. A policy based on rehabilitation saves money for society. It is better for both the prisoners and the taxpayers. You see so many fake arguments in American debates about crime that do not hold when you try to back it up with data. Those politicians who run ads to get elected are bribed by the companies that run privatized jails. I once remember in the 1990's the argument that Cuba was committing human-rights violations because they had the highest incarceration rate in the world. Since then, the US comes out on top. Orwellian double-speak!

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

More Monsteranto News

'Finally,' FDA Will Start Testing Food for Presence of Monsanto's Controversial Glysophate

[...]

The World Health Organization found that glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup, was a probable human carcinogen and has been named as a leading cause of massive declines in monarch butterflies.

[...]

Leading scientists published an article about the exploding use of glyphosate around the world in yesterday’s issue of the journal Environmental Health. Pointing to concerns over rapidly increasing use, outdated science and the WHO’s finding, the authors called on regulatory agencies to take a fresh look at the real-world impacts of glyphosate and to start monitoring its levels in people and in food.

[...]

Just last week 35 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy expressing concerns regarding the potential negative health and environmental impacts of a pesticide, Enlist Duo, that combines glyphosate and 2,4-D. EPA is currently reanalyzing its decision to register the dangerous pesticide following a remand order from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Monsanto is also now embroiled in a legal battle with the state of California over the state’s move to list glyphosate as a carcinogen under Proposition 65 law. As the legal battle plays out California, a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity found that more than half of the glyphosate sprayed in the state was applied in the state’s eight most impoverished counties.

http://www.alternet.org/food/finally-fda-will-start-testing-food-presence-monsantos-controversial-glysophate-product



Monsanto Will Be Sent to Hague Tribunal for Crimes Against Nature and Humanity

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA), IFOAM International Organics, Navdanya, Regeneration International (RI), and Millions Against Monsanto, joined by dozens of global food, farming and environmental justice groups announced today that they will send Monsanto MON (NYSE), a US-based transnational corporation, to a tribunal for crimes against nature and humanity, and ecocide, in The Hague, Netherlands, next year on World Food Day, October 16, 2016.

[...]

Monsanto's Roundup, the most widely used herbicide in the world, was designated a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization in March.

Relying on the "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights" adopted by the UN in 2011, an international court of lawyers and judges will assess the potential criminal liability of Monsanto for damages inflicted on human health and the environment.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/global-food-farming-and-environmental-justice-groups-send-monsanto-tribunal-crimes

There is a website for the tribunal itself: http://www.monsanto-tribunal.org/
About time ... Now let us go back to sleep and not be disturbed by those bullies.

 

[Matt3737]

As for what I propose, voluntary sterilization (for money) seems ethical to me.

Do you realize that this is essentially a different way of forcibly sterilizing the poor? Indebtedness is a legally binding, hence actionable status.

actionable adjective

furnishing ground for a lawsuit.

liable to a lawsuit.

ready to go or be put into action; ready for use:
to retrieve actionable copy from a computer.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Bernie's Broadsides Against Kissinger Weren't Even Half of It

At the February 11 Democratic Debate, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton had a spirited exchange about an unlikely topic: the 92-year old former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

In particular, Sanders berated Clinton for saying that she appreciated the foreign policy mentoring she got from Henry Kissinger. "I happen to believe," said Sanders, "that Henry Kissinger was one of the most destructive secretaries of state in the modern history of this country."

In one of Sanders' rare outbursts of enmity, he added, "I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend. I will not take advice from Henry Kissinger. And in fact, Kissinger's actions in Cambodia, when the United States bombed that country, overthrew Prince Sihanouk, created the instability for Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge to come in, who then butchered some 3 million innocent people, was one of the worst genocides in the history of the world. So count me in as somebody who will not be listening to Henry Kissinger."

Clinton went on to defend Kissinger, using the example of China. "His opening up China and his ongoing relationships with the leaders of China is an incredibly useful relationship for the United States of America," she insisted.

[...]

In 2001 the French judge Roger Le Loire issued a warrant to have Kissinger appear before his court to account for his actions. When Kissinger received the summons at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, he fled the country. More indictments followed from Spain, Argentina, and Uruguay - and even a civil suit in Washington DC.

The late writer Christopher Hitchens, in his book The Trial of Henry Kissinger, skewers Kissinger for ordering or sanctioning the destruction of civilian populations, the assassination of "unfriendly" politicians, and the kidnapping and disappearance of soldiers, journalists, and clerics who got in his way. He holds Kissinger responsible for war crimes that range from the deliberate mass killings of civilian populations in Indochina to collusion in mass murder and assassination in Bangladesh, as well as the overthrow of the democratically elected government in Chile and the incitement and enabling of genocide in East Timor.

Hitchens was a lot harder on Kissinger than the civil Bernie Sanders. "Kissinger should have the door shut in his face by every decent person and should be shamed, ostracized, and excluded," Hitchens said. "No more dinners in his honor; no more respectful audiences for his absurdly overpriced public appearances; no more smirking photographs with hostesses and celebrities; no more soliciting of his worthless opinions by sycophantic editors and producers."

Hitchens could have added another category of people who shouldn't solicit Kissinger's dangerous opinions: presidential candidates.

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34911-bernie-s-broadsides-against-kissinger-weren-t-even-half-of-it


It was correct of Bernie Sanders to make Hillary Clinton reveal her true colors. It is unbelievable that there are people hiding behind the curtain and committing crimes. For too long, people have remained silent on this issue. Finally, someone dared to speak up.

They nearly got Kissinger in 2001. That was close. He managed to escape. They did arrest Pinochet in 1999 but he was released.

It is about time that we send people such as Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski to face trial for their crimes against humanity. They should be dressed up in orange jump suits and get a single ticket to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. There, they will get free housing and food for the rest of their lives. They will feel so embarassed. :embarassed:

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Blowing the Whistle on Monsanto Might Pay Off Big Time for Former Employee

Monsanto $79 million SEC fraud case due to an internal whistleblower who could earn 2nd largest award in history.

If you are an accountant for Monsanto, you could make a significant paycheck by helping to expose fraud. An unidentified, internal employee of Monsanto blew the lid off the company’s recent fraudulent earnings reporting, and divulged their practices to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Of the $79 million the SEC will collect from Monsanto as part of a settlement, the whistleblower stands to earn a handsome portion of that money for helping to expose the company’s deceit.

Stuart D. Meissner, whose Nyack, N.Y., firm Meissner Associates represented the unidentified whistleblower, states that the person stands to collect between 10 to 30 percent of the penalty.

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2016/02/13/blowing-whistle-on-monsanto-might-pay-off-big-time-for-former-employee/


Work for Monsanto, be observant, collect evidence for crimes that they have committed, report it to the government, strike gold ...

 

[Skarekrow]

Do you realize that this is essentially a different way of forcibly sterilizing the poor? Indebtedness is a legally binding, hence actionable status.

Or you could just poison their whole water system…tell them it safe for over a year and charge them the highest bills in the nation all at once.
Working pretty well so far…if only it hadn’t been for those meddling kids!

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

Telecom company abandoning Georgia after sweeping anti-gay bill passes:
‘We don’t tolerate that crap’


http://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/tel...i-gay-bill-passes-we-dont-tolerate-that-crap/​

 

[Skarekrow]

At a time when 35 million Americans cannot afford the medications they are prescribed, Pfizer’s merger with an Irish company will allow
them to dodge $35 billion in taxes.

If Pfizer wants to pretend to be an Irish corporation, it could at least have the decency to charge Americans the drastically lower prices it charges Irish consumers.

 

[Skarekrow]

In other words…if you are so poor that you don’t qualify to actually pay taxes you are therefore too poor to vote.
What a bitch.

What about all the huge corporations that pay no taxes?
Shouldn’t we terminate their ability to have lobbyists?​

 

[Skarekrow]

US Government Sells $680 Million In
"Bunker Buster" Bombs To ISIS-Supplier Turkey

For a long time there was still some skepticism whether Turkey was providing military and other support to members of the Islamic State.
As we reported last week, that skepticism was promptly eliminated following the release of transcripts of phone calls that took place between Turkish military officers and Mustafa Demir, the ISIS commander in charge of the Syria-Turkey border.

The transcripts are part of a court case on ISIS at the Ankara 3rd High Criminal Court. “The issues alleged in the case came to light because of an investigation launched following information given by six Turkish citizens whose relatives joined ISIL,”

Today’s Zaman reports. “Upon the application by the relatives, monitoring of the communications of 19 people started, and a prosecutor named Derda Gökmen reportedly filed a claim against 27 suspects."

The transcripts are as follows:

Date: Nov. 25, 2014; 8:26 p.m.
A.A.: Was that you, the ones with a torch?
Mustafa: Well, with a little torch, where are you big brother? At the place where I told you to be?
A.A.: Yeah. We also saw you, your men…
Mustafa: Is it possible for you to arrange that I talk with the commander here, regarding the business here? What if we could establish a contact here as we helped you...
A.A.: Okay. If there are any needs [as far as your request is concerned], [tell them] to inform me here.
Mustafa: If it will be enough to contact you [to settle the issue], no problem.
A.A.: I'll pass this now. I have two military posts [at the border] there. If worse comes to worst, I'll tell that to the commander of the station and have him take a look…

**** ****
Time: 7:12 p.m.
Communication made by the telephone registered in the name of A.B.
A.B.: We're where you gave [him] the vehicle, we are in the mine [field]. We've put on a light. We have stuff; come here from that side, the men are here...
Mustafa: Okay, big brother, [I'm] coming.
A.B.: Come urgently; I'm in the mine [field] with a torch. Come running.
Mustafa: Well, big brother, is it the place where I gave First Lieutenant Burak a car?
A.B.: Yeah, just a little further down from that place. Our two vehicles are on the Turkish side [of the border].
Mustafa: Okay.
A.B.: We are also in the mine.
Mustafa: I'll right be there, big brother.
​

And while there was at least some mystery whether Turkey was supplying ISIS with weapons, supplies and others goods and services in exchange for "ISIS oil" there has never been any doubt as to who provides Turkey with its own weapons.

The following disclosure by the US Department of Defense revealing a $683 million procurement order by Turkey for BLU-109 "bunker buster" bombs makes sure of that:

Contracts

Press Operations

Release No: CR-036-16
February 26, 2016

Ellwood National Forge Co., Irvine, Pennsylvania (W52P1J-16-D-0041); and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Garland, Texas (W52P1J-16-D-0042), were awarded a $682,900,000 firm-fixed-price, foreign military sales contract (Turkey) for BLU-109 penetrator bomb bodies and components.

Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2020.
Funding and work location will be determined with each order.

Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

​

Yes, the "war against ISIS" in which Turkey both drops US-made "bunker buster" bombs on the Kurdish opponents of Turkey's "president for life" Erdogan, and provides weapons to ISIS, sure is profitable... to US corporations.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

The average retail price among 622 prescription medicines widely used by seniors more than
doubled in just seven years.

It is an outrage that millions of Americans cannot afford medication they are prescribed because of the
greed of the pharmaceutical industry.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsr...hikes-doubled-average-drug-price-over-7-years
​

 

[Kgal]

Michael Tellinger's Ubuntu movement lines up with my idea of creating a Community Hub for my small town. He outlines the premise, what they've learned so far in their efforts, and solutions.
I can almost see it working...It all starts from within....

I joined the movement. http://www.ubuntuparty.org.za/p/home.html

[FONT=&quot]This document presents the very basic foundation of a new social structure to take us into a new era of real freedom from financial tyranny, real prosperity and real control of our own destiny as the people of South Africa. No more feelings of despair and helplessness.
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]To achieve this will require a complete change of thinking and a paradigm shift by the ordinary citizens of the land. It will require taking back the power from the politicians and the governments they have created, with their complex legal systems, to protect their own interests and the agendas of the large multinational corporations that support them.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The UBUNTU PARTY is the result of six years of research and planning by numerous participants who can no longer tolerate the absolute abuse of the good, honest citizens of South Africa and the raping of our land by a group of political elite who have unlawfully assumed ownership of it all.Our philosophy is based on the principles of absolute equality, abundance for all and Unity Consciousness. [/FONT]






Gaia TV show:


http://www.gaia.com/video/ubuntu-and-blue-avians-message-part-2

 

[Skarekrow]

I feel the need to drop a little truth on y'all.
So buckle up...I'm about to be politically incorrect.

We don't need to take America back.
No one stole it.

It's right here...you're sitting in it.
Chillax.

Mexico isn't going to pay for the wall and we're not going to deport millions of people and break up families.
If you think either one is a good idea, you're not smart and probably not a person I want to hang out with.

We don't live in a democracy.
Technically we are a Federal Republic.

But in reality we are ruled by an oligarchy.
If you don't know what that is, look it up.

Reading will do you good.
You probably need to do more of it.

FoxNews, CNN, and MSNBC have an agenda and are not "fair and balanced" or in any way unbiased.
I'll reiterate...read more.

Read newspapers (even online ones).
Read lots of opinions and sources and then (stay with me here), THINK!

Form your own opinion based on as many facts as your can brain can tolerate.
Speaking of facts...there actually is a difference between facts, opinions, and propaganda.

You should learn the difference. (Another opportunity to show off your mad reading skills.)
Science is real.

We know things because of science.
Don't be afraid of it.

You have an iPhone and Facebook because of science.
It's your friend.

Global warming or "climate change" as the cool kids call it IS REAL.
Anyone who tells you it's not real is not a smart person and probably should not be dressing themselves or caring for children.

Racism exists.
And you are probably a little racist and should work on that.

Seriously.

American Christians are not under attack.

We are not being persecuted.
We wield so much power in this country that politicians pretend to be Christian just so we will vote for them.

No one is trying to take your bible away from you.
The gay people are not destroying our families–we don't need any help from them, thank you.

We do a fine job of that by ourselves.
So stop saying we are persecuted.

You sound stupid.

Poor people need help.
If you're not helping them but complaining about how the government helps them with your money you are not a nice person.

Be nice to the people who teach your children.
Don't send them nasty emails or yell at them.

Their job is 10,000 times harder than your stupid job.
You are not a professional educator so just shut your mouth and be thankful someone is willing to teach your offspring.

You don't know what Common Core is.
You think you do, but you don't unless you're a teacher.

So stop complaining about math problem memes on Facebook.
You can't do the math anyway.

ISIS is not an existential threat to the United States.
We do not need to rebuild our military.

Our military is the strongest, scariest, most badass killing machine the world has ever seen.
So stop being afraid and stop letting politicians and pundits scare you.

Guns do in fact kill people.
That's what they are designed to do.

If you feel you need a gun to protect yourself in America, you are probably living in the wrong neighborhood and should move before you go out and buy a gun. There are like a billion places to live where you won't need a gun, or even need to lock your front door.

If you do own a gun, then make sure you know how to use it really, really, really well.
Seriously...get some training because you still don't know how to record stuff with your DVR.

Go to the gun range and shoot the thing a lot.
Learn how to clean it properly and be able to disassemble it and reassemble it with your eyes closed.

It's a freaking gun and it deserves that level of care, proficiency and respect.
And for God's sake, keep it locked up and away from your kids.

If you are even a little bit crazy, sad, or pissed off...you shouldn't have a gun.
And the Founding Fathers would totally agree with me.

Stop being suspicious of American Muslims.
I guarantee the guy sitting next to you in the cubicle at work is probably more of a threat to you than any Muslim.

He has to listen to your uninformed ranting day after day and has probably already imagined very colorful and creative ways to end you.

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and all the rest are ENTERTAINERS!
Stop getting your opinions from them. (Here's where that reading thing can really be an advantage.)

Stop sharing Facebook memes that tell me to share or else Jesus won't bless me with a laundry basket full of cash.
That's not how prayer works.

And I don't want money delivered (even from God) in a laundry basket.
Nobody ever washes those things out and they just keep putting nasty dirty clothes in them.

Yuck!

We are the United States of America and we can afford to house every homeless veteran, feed every child, and take in every refugee and still have money left over for Starbucks and a bucket of KFC.

Unless you can trace your family line back to someone who made deerskin pants look stylish and could field dress a buffalo, you are a descendent of an immigrant.

Please stop saying that immigrants are ruining our country.
Such comments are like a giant verbal burrito stuffed with historical ignorance, latent racism, and xenophobia all wrapped in a fascist tortilla.

That's all for now.
I feel better.

LaMonte M. Fowler

 

[Skarekrow]

[video=youtube;79TRDRPGx34]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=79TRDRPGx34[/video]​

 

[Skarekrow]

Here's More Evidence That Capitalism Is Killing the US

PAUL BUCHHEIT FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

​

A recent Gallup poll found that less people would vote for a socialist than for an atheist, a Muslim, or an evangelical Christian.
Media-numbed Americans still believe that "government is the problem." Yet evidence keeps pouring in that free-market capitalism treats public safety as a profit-killer, dismisses environmental issues as irrelevant to business, and eliminates jobs to please investors.

Reports from the past six months show that the ongoing record of capitalist greed and irresponsibility has plunged to new lows.

1. Mocking Public Health and Safety

It's disturbing enough that Volkswagen and Ford and General Motors and otherauto companies rigged emissions tests and took safety shortcuts to save money; and that the Southern California Gas Co. lied about its poisonous sulfur levels; and that Exxon was found to be hiding its own climate change research for four decades; and that tens of thousands of government-subsidized abandoned mines have been left to pollute our waterways.

But Monsanto, which proclaims "We are committed to long-term environmental protection," sued the State of California for trying to protect its citizens from the company's toxic materials.

2. Showing Contempt for Workers

The sharing economy has created companies that promote worker 'independence' while denying them health and retirement benefits, sick pay, overtime pay, and vacation pay. It's not a new capitalist idea. Merck and Out Magazine are among the companies that have "outsourced" employee positions to independent contractor positions, either by a mass layoff or by selling part of the company, after which former employees could be hired back at lower pay and without benefits.

Companies like American Express and AT&T have gone a step further with "individual arbitration" clauses, which effectively prohibit class-action lawsuits, the only economically feasible way for defrauded employees and customers to fight back against corporate malfeasance. Legal expert Brian T. Fitzpatrick explained, "Without a class action, if someone loses $500, they will not be able to do anything about it."
3. Discarding the Poor

An "emergency financial manager" (EFM) privatizes the democratic process, stripping citizens and elected officials of power, granting unlimited power to a CEO-like figure who can sell off public assets to save money, even when it threatens the welfare of the community. This is what happened in Flint, Michigan. The EFM was the disaster capitalist's solution, and as a result the city's children have been poisoned.

To mount insult upon inhumanity, Flint residents were paying the highest water rates in the country, and, incredibly, they were threatened with a shutdown of water (still needed for toilets and cleaning) if they didn't keep paying for the toxic product.

The EFM concept is not limited to local governments. In Ohio, where the already privatized charter schools are so bad that they've become a national joke, Republican candidate John Kasich signed a bill to allow CEOs to take over 'failing' school districts.

4. Catering to the Rich (While Discarding the Poor)

This has been evident most recently in the housing market, especially in the big cities, where developers are seeing dollar signs on affordable housing, and driving rental prices up twice as fast as incomes. The median rent in San Francisco is over $3,000. A New York City parking spot can cost a million dollars.

A half-million homeless Americans walk the streets while 17 million housing units remain vacant.

In New Orleans, tens of thousands of African Americans have been forced to leave the city as starry-eyed developers have more than doubled the rents to attract the wealthy. Louisiana Republican Richard H. Bakerthanked God for the change: "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it. But God did."

5. Health Care: The Worst Legacy of Capitalism?

According to the Milliman Medical Index, the cost of healthcare in 2015 for a typical American family of four covered by a PPO was $24,671 -- nearly half the median household income. Over $10,000 of this was paid directly by the family, through payroll deductions and out-of-pocket expenses.

Insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors all take advantage of the American people, but the main culprits are pharmaceutical companies, who think nothing of 10,000% markups, even while they and the banks enjoy the world's highest profit margins. A Roche executive explained, "We are not in the business to save lives, but to make money. Saving lives is not our business."

Americans who can't afford their life-sustaining medications are the victims. They're being killed by the profit incentive of capitalism.
---
Paul Buchheit is an advocate for social and economic justice. His essays, videos, and poems can be found at YouDeserveFacts.org.

 

[Skarekrow]

How do we keep letting these fuckers get away with bullshit like this all the time?
This is why the establishment needs to go…fucking disgusting making as much profit from the sick and dying as you can.
And now you can’t even pay your share of taxes that you earned by gouging ill Americans?
Fuck you.
(and fuck Ireland for selling themselves as a tax haven)

Pfizer Prepares to Deprive US Treasury of Taxes
Through Overseas Incorporation Scheme

The CEO of Pfizer Inc., Ian Read, received a "pay package [that] was valued at $18 million in 2015," according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal notes that one of Read's top recent accomplishments is the planned "$155 billion combination with Allergan PLC" :

The Allergan transaction would form the world’s biggest drugmaker by sales and move Pfizer’s headquarters from New York to Ireland.
Pfizer expects to cut its tax rate to 17% or 18%,from its approximate 25% rate currently, because corporate taxes in Ireland are lower than in the U.S.

In short, Read gets a 1-percenter salary for, in part, determining how Pfizer can stick it to the US taxpayer by sharply cutting tax liability to the US treasury.
The process of a larger US corporation becoming a subsidiary of a smaller foreign corporation in a nation with lower tax rates is called legal "tax inversion."

Pfizer's proposed action will proceed unless halted by the executive branch or congressional action (which is unlikely to occur in the near future).
The Nation comments:

If the merger goes through, Pfizer will still remain based in New York and continue to benefit from all that America offers–legal protections for its lucrative drug patents, $1 billion a year in government purchases from Medicare and Medicaid, and much more.

The hugely profitable corporation will simply stop paying its fair share of U.S. taxes.
How much will this betrayal of US corporate "citizenship" cost the US taxpayer?

The Washington Post recently reported that Pfizer may increase its profits by as much as $35 billion through avoiding US tax levies on overseas profits:

When Pfizer announced its plan last year to merge with Botox-maker Allergan and move its headquarters to Ireland the company said the deal would lower its tax rate to about 17 percent to 18 percent, saving it about $2 billion over three years.

But in a report published Thursday, Americans for Tax Fairness say the New York-based pharma giant will actually save much more by giving up its U.S. citizenship: $35 billion.

In addition to lowering its effective tax rate from about 25 percent, Americans for Tax Fairness notes that Pfizer will gain access to $148 billion in profits it earned overseas and currently can’t bring back to the United States without taking a tax hit.

Bringing the cash would have cost the firm $35 billion, according to the left-leaning advocacy group.
Pfizer's move is all the rage:

A number of US corporations are becoming global when it comes to taxes, but remaining US-based when it comes to operations and lobbying for corporate favors in Congress.

In 2014, I wrote a commentary deploring how Walgreen Company -- the nation's largest drugstore chain -- was planning to become a technical "subsidiary" of a company in Switzerland to slash its US taxes.

Due to a groundswell of adverse publicity, the consumer-dependent retailer retreated from its tax-inversion strategy.
However, Walgreen Company is proving the exception to the rule, when it comes to tax avoidance.

As The Post noted:
Pfizer’s announcement was followed by one from Johnson Controls, which said last month that it would merge with Tyco and move its headquarters to Cork, Ireland.

Johnson Controls said the strategy would save the new company –with a market cap of about $36 billion– about $150 million a year in taxes
According to Forbes, Pfizer was the second-largest global pharmaceutical firm in 2015.

Such a statistic bolsters politicians who mouth platitudes about how "we are living in a global economy" to justify trade agreements written to favor corporations. However, the Pfizer tax-inversion move is a reminder that many US corporations now consider not just moving US jobs overseas, but also legally moving their incorporations to other countries.

It's a shell game that threatens to leave the US abandoned by its largest companies, on the heels of the loss of so many factories and jobs to nations with lower-cost labor.

It's ironic that while many refugees from other nations seek an economic boost in the United States, many of our businesses are migrating overseas to enlarge their profits and pay far lower taxes to the US treasury.