2. In multiple years, he appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual taxpayer
The tax results for the years that followed trace an arc of continued empire building — and gathering loss.
3. He paid no federal income taxes for eight of the 10 years
4. He made millions posing as a corporate raider — until investors realized he never followed through
5. His interest income spiked in 1989 at $52.9 million, but the source is a mystery
". . . So Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made more than 1 million dollars, much thanks to his best-selling book. Rarely is turning such a profit in an industry as dicey as publishing better news for your enemies than you, but so it goes: Sanders’s critics are thrilled. . . there is something to say in defense of Sanders as a consistent politician and an honest broker, which is really what his detractors are out to dispute. . .Sanders’s complaint isn’t that millionaires exist per se. After all, if America’s household wealth were distributed evenly across the population, then every family of four would have a net worth of $1.2 million. Sanders’s critique is that the United States’ super-rich are symptomatic of a system that churns out a small class of extremely wealthy people who rule over the vast remainder. . . (whose) largesse allows them to wield disproportionate, anti-democratic political power by funding campaigns and lobbying politicians . . . (none of this) compromises the final integrity of Sanders’s politics nor implies he’s insufficiently serious about them, especially after so many decades pushing the same policies with no best-selling books or millions to show for it. . ."
Michael Bloomberg will use his personal fortune to fight, or at least counter, the efforts of the National Rifle Association. $50 million will be dedicated to his new group Everytown for Gun Safety, an umbrella for his two other gun control groups: Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
The new organization will battle the NRA on its own turf and with its very own tactics. Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Actions says Women, and more particularly mothers, will be the key demographic in the outreach to curb gun violence. "Moms are afraid that our children will be taken away. In the end, that's the emotion that's going to win."
Influencing those in charge of writing gun policy though, will be the ultimate goal beginning with creating a political action committee to elect gun safety candidates to office and a 501(c)(4), an IRS classification used to raise unlimited amounts of money to influence voters. It aims to motivate a million pro-gun safety voters to go to the polls in November. The group will also submit a gun safety questionnaire to candidates and keep a score card of how elected officials vote on gun-related issues, another NRA tactic.
By matching the NRA's financial heft, Bloomberg makes the challenge to the NRA a little less daunting. The NRA has spent more than $30 million lobbying elected officials since 1998. Its efforts have been very successful in Congress over the past decade, defeating attempts to ban assault weapons and expand background checks.
(Thanks to http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/15/us/bloomberg-gun-safety-initiative/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014', can be digitally downloaded at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
The radio is rambling on about Syria with mention of car bombs, Assad, opposition, terrorists, negotiators etc., very sad indeed. The umpteenth snowstorm is coating the complete pre-spring landscape and once again, complicating a morning commute. The president has spoken with high schoolers about going to college and how they're going to pay for it. Mere distractions to be sure.
But once again, prompted by the dinner conversation last night, distribution of wealth sneaked into the mix. The angle this time was not the greed of Wall Street or big business. This time we zeroed in on the entertainment industry. Not only the vast amounts of money required to make a major-release motion picture, but also the salaries commanded by professional sports players. See . . .
". . . For the first time since SI.com began publishing the Fortunate 50 in
2004, Tiger Woods is not No. 1. He's not even No. 2. That honor goes
once again to Phil Mickelson. The new No. 1 (for now) is Floyd
Mayweather, who was unranked a year ago but scored two huge pay-per-view
paydays to earn $85 million without a single endorsement.
This year's list is unique for a couple more reasons. NBA players,
who have historically claimed more spots in the Fortunate 50 than any
other group, had their salaries slashed by nearly 20 percent this season
because of the 66-game schedule brought on by the lockout of 2011.
Our findings consisted solely of salary, winnings, bonuses,
endorsements and appearance fees. We consulted players' associations,
tour records, agents and news reports. Our endorsement estimates for
2012 came from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, other
sports-marketing executives and analysts, and agents. Salary figures
were based on current or most recently completed seasons (July 1 for the
NFL, which is why Drew Brees, who just signed a $100 million deal last
Friday, isn't on the list). For winnings-based sports (auto racing,
golf, tennis), we used the 2011 calendar year. Boxing purses are from
June 2011 through May 2012. Candidates for the U.S. 50 had to be
American citizens and currently active in their sports.
For the 20 highest earning international athletes, go here
. . ."(Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2012/#ixzz2wDNJ0k1u)
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
(from http://www.priweb.org/ed/finger_lakes/nystate_geo3.html)
The Finger Lakes consist of 11 long, narrow, roughly parallel lakes, oriented north-south as fingers of a pair of outstretched hands. The southern ends have high walls, cut by steep gorges. Two of the lakes (Seneca and Cayuga) are among the deepest in North America and have bottoms below sea level. These lakes all formed over the last two million years by glacial carving of old stream valleys. Ithaca is located at the south end of Cayuga Lake, the longest and the second deepest of the Finger Lakes. Cayuga is 38.1 miles long and 435 feet deep (53 feet below sea level) at its deepest spot. The actual depth of carved rock is well over twice as deep, but it has been filled with sediments; there may be as much as 1000 feet of glacial sediment in the deep rock trough below the lakebed.
The Finger Lakes originated as a series of northward-flowing rivers that existed in what is now central New York State. Around two million years ago the first of numerous continental glaciers moved southward from the Hudson Bay area, initiating the Pleistocene glaciation, commonly known as the "Ice age."
The most obvious evidence left by the glaciers are the gravel deposits at the south ends of the Finger Lakes called moraines and streamlined elongated hills of glacial sediment called drumlins. Moraines are visible south of Ithaca at North Spencer, along Route 13 west of Newfield, and near Willseyville. Drumlins are visible northeast of Ithaca at the northern end of Cayuga and Seneca lakes in a broad band from Rochester to Syracuse.
Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens, under his new contract, will get over $20 million per year for the next six years. Does that evoke any kind of reaction from you?
First, we surely can't blame Joe Flacco for this state of affairs nor probably even the Baltimore Ravens, although the latter is in a better position to initiate any semblance of a change to the system than the former.
A professor at one of Maryland's top public research universities recently wrote to the Baltimore Sun broaching the subject from the perspective of one who could utilize such sums in some very productive ways for the ultimate betterment of society but has no way of obtaining such.
He goes on to say that, with that kind of money, his institution could hire about 200 new assistant professors, start up 20 new science and engineering labs, offer full scholarships to large numbers of students, build new academic buildings for classrooms and labs every few years, support the education of students that would further ensure the best learning possible and that they are as well equipped to succeed as possible.
The blame, he goes on, belongs to folks who send their kids to the public schools but rather than adequately funding education, buy expensive tickets to professional sporting events, equip their homes with the best audio and video hardware available and buy all the goods and services offered by the advertisers and sponsors of those events whenever possible.
I think the gentleman makes a very valid point. But alas, he admits, he doesn't quite know how to change it.
(from http://www.businessinsider.com/9-ridiculous-ideas-that-made-people-ridiculously-rich-2011-3?op=1#ixzz2QPKciWK7)
". . . Pet Rock, Ridiculously Rich Person Behind It: Gary Dahl
Estimated Profit: $15M in just the first six months
Yellow Smiley Faces, Ridiculously Rich People Behind It: Bernard and Murray Spain
Estimated Profit: $500MM
iFart App, Ridiculously Rich Person Behind It: Joel Comm
Estimated Profit: $400K
Wacky Wall Walker, Ridiculously Rich Person Behind It: Ken Hakuta
Estimated Profit: $80MM
Icanhascheezburger.com, Ridiculously Wealthy People Behind It: Eric Nakagawa (aka Cheezburger) and Kari Unebasami (aka Tofu burger)
Estimated Profit: $2MM
Slinky, Ridiculously Rich Person Behind It: Richard James
Estimated Profit: $250MM
Snuggie, Ridiculously Rich Person Behind It: Scott Boilen, President of Allstar Products
Estimated Profit: $200MM
Million-Dollar Home Page, Ridiculously Rich Person Behind The Idea: Alex Tew
Estimated Profit: $1MM
Beanie Babies, Ridiculously Rich Person Behind It: H Ty Warner
Estimated Profit: $3-6 Billion. . . "
(from http://news.yahoo.com/l-archdiocese-cardinal-mahony-settle-sex-abuse-cases-225218104.html by by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Andre Grenon)
". . . The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony and a former priest have agreed to pay a total of nearly $10 million to settle four child sex abuse cases brought against them, lawyers for the victims said on Tuesday.
Mahony, who retired in 2011 as head of the largest U.S. archdiocese and is now in Rome taking part in choosing a new pope, was accused of helping a confessed pedophile priest evade law enforcement by sending him out of state to a church-run treatment center, then placing the priest back in the Los Angeles ministry.
As part of the agreement approved by a Los Angeles judge earlier this month, none of the parties admitted wrongdoing, according to a plaintiff's attorney in the case, Vince Finaldi. . . "
And who will take this religious organization seriously in the future???
What
do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html
You can NOW download
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AMBIENCE & WINE
