Occupy Wall Street Protests on GE CEO’s Lawn
Email
(courtesy of the Connecticut Working Families Party)
A crowd of 100 protesters, some from New York City’s Occupy Wall Street movement and others from Occupy New Haven, came together in a show of solidarity on Saturday afternoon on General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt’s front lawn in New Canaan, Conn.
“[General Electric is] an enormously successful company that pays no income taxes. We felt it was important for someone like Jeff Immelt to hear from people who are struggling in this economy,” said Jon Green, director of the Connecticut Working Families Party.
Many of those who came from New York were responding to an invitation posted on Occupy Wall Street’s General Assembly web site that read: “In the land of the free they tax me but not G.E!” It continues, saying: “ General Electric made billions last year; they paid no taxes, outsourced thousands of jobs, and got over $3 billion in tax refunds!”
Immelt reportedly earned $20 million in 2010. Despite his compensation, General Electric continued to shed jobs. According to an ABCNews.com analysis, General Electric has let go more than 19,000 workers since 2008.
Aside from being the CEO of General Electric, Immelt was appointed by President Obama to chair the task force on jobs and competitiveness.
Green said he was unable to tell if Immelt was in his sprawling 10,000-square-foot home, which according to Trulia.com is worth an estimated $5.25 million, at the time of the protest.
“It’s not the kind of home where you can just look in the window and see if the TV is on,” he said.
It’s not the first time protesters have paid visits to those they call “the 1 percent” at home.
Earlier this month, an estimated 2,000 protesters embarked on a “Millionaire’s March” in New York City, visiting the homes of News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, real estate developer Howard Milstein and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
“I want the millionaires to know that we won’t stand for this,” said Elizabeth Owens, a New York resident who participated in the Oct. 11 march., told ABCNews.com. ”I pay more than they do in taxes!”
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Elizabeth Owens, a New York resident who participated in the Oct. 11 march., told ABCNews.com. ”I pay more than they do in taxes!”
Uhm, no you don’t.
Posted by: Stephen | October 22, 2011, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm
Hey…whaddya know. That bunch is finally focusing their wasted life in the right direction.
Posted by: allen | October 22, 2011, 8:16 pm 8:16 pm
Well, Elizabeth, you could always start your own company and risk your own capital. I suspect you would quickly turn to a CPA to figure out how to minimize your taxes, as any good business owner does. By the way, GE and their employees pays a whopping amount in taxes. Are you not aware of payroll taxes, and FICA, and utility taxes, and real estate taxes.
Posted by: Bruce Small | October 22, 2011, 8:27 pm 8:27 pm
Yeah keep protesting so we are all unemployed.
Just another highly ignorant mob.
Wall Street is Main Street and without it Millions more would be unemployed.
Posted by: Zed | October 22, 2011, 8:56 pm 8:56 pm
Bruce, are you talking about the same taxes that are constantly overlooked & ignored by those who say half of Americans don’t pay taxes? Maybe you can explain how that works.
Posted by: Swillabrew | October 22, 2011, 8:57 pm 8:57 pm
They should not be allowed on private property. I really don’t like these protests. It is only a matter of time before some loony protester kills someone. Can you imagine being a child and having your house protested. I don’t know this guy has kids at home, but I’m going to hope he doesn’t.
Posted by: Seriously | October 22, 2011, 9:09 pm 9:09 pm
I just did some research after SeaRambler got me thinking. I found out that 75% of taxes are paid by those making over something like $350,000/year. 47% of people because of credits and exemptions, including a family of four earning less than $50,000 pay none at all. Obama’s last tax bill actually expanded the low income groups that get out of paying no taxes. Now he’s declared war on the “rich”. See what’s going on here?
Posted by: newcountryman | October 22, 2011, 9:39 pm 9:39 pm
Of course, I’m talking strictly about “income taxes”.
Posted by: newcountryman | October 22, 2011, 9:40 pm 9:40 pm
HaHaHaHaHa!!! Obama supports them and they’re on his buddy’s lawn……..that’s too funny!!
Posted by: Kathy in Pa. | October 22, 2011, 10:05 pm 10:05 pm
You know, what many of these right wing nutjobs don’t realize is that a large percentage of these protesters ARE CONSERVATIVE!!! Seriously… many of us hate Obama’s guts (we’d be just be going to the polls and voting for him if we didn’t) and we are infuriated by reckless spending, unnecessary bailouts, handouts to failed businessmen who don’t want to work for their money and we champion the hardworking american. What do you think that is??? Left-wing liberal??? You right wingers are morons. WE DON’T LIKE RECKLESS SPENDING, DON’T YOU GET THAT!!!!
The difference between us OWS moderate conservatives and you right wing radical conservatives is that we support logic in our economic decisions and don’t support just handing off all our economic decisions over to our business leaders. This is dangerous, this is not what our founding fathers would have wanted and this is supposed to be a nation by and for THE PEOPLE, not business leaders. All that a lot of us want is for power to be returned to the voters (public financing of elections) and for businesses and politicians to be accountable for their behavior.
Posted by: Brian | October 22, 2011, 10:05 pm 10:05 pm
Why shouldn’t the 5% owning 85% of the wealth and 50% of the income pay all the taxes? The disparity of wealth is worse in the US than in several third world countries. When you factor the payroll, sales and property taxes, the bottom 50% pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the top 53% of Americans paying all the federal income taxes.
Posted by: Ray | October 22, 2011, 10:08 pm 10:08 pm
Many decades ago I read, I think in a Rotary publication, a poem about capitalism. I can remember just a few words, but the gist is: When capitalism has been shattered and cut to the roots, when the rich have been blah blah blah…now who’ll give us a job?
Posted by: Bruce Small | October 22, 2011, 10:15 pm 10:15 pm
Tell me again why these folks aren’t picketing the homes of the UNION BOSSES? They’re the ones that drove the jobs overseas by blackmailing the company into backruptcy.
Posted by: Steve_1042 | October 22, 2011, 10:57 pm 10:57 pm
Did SIEU bus them?
Posted by: uisignorant | October 22, 2011, 10:59 pm 10:59 pm
Do not fear any retributions for protesting. As stated in our Constitution Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
We are fundamentally protected when anyone starts to (petition the Government for a redress of grievances.) This is essentially the “American thing to do!”
Keep supporting OWS if you want a better world to live in.
Posted by: Juan Torres | October 22, 2011, 11:01 pm 11:01 pm
In our country we don’t put up with these rabble types any longer than their permit to protest allows. A small few layabouts have copied your Wall Street idiots, stinking our public areas and making a nuisance of themselves. They DO NOT represent 99% here and I don’t know who gave them permission to represent 99% of your country. If you denigrate the majority of your innocent Wall Street workers my friends, you are economically DEAD MEAT.
You will have nothing left, no-one to supply the capital to grow the businesses that provide the jobs. You have no manufacturing (gone to China). Shanghai will welcome Wall Street businesses. You will have a NYC mirror image of Detroit. Get over it. Recover, rebuild and get your country back to work. If you hate the rich you are suffering from envy illness.
Posted by: Down Under Observer | October 22, 2011, 11:05 pm 11:05 pm
Sounds like we need to get a handle on this problem then Bruce, before it gets out of control. If they wished to help out anyone it should be the small businesses and farmers.
Small Business comprises 99.7% of all employers and provides 50.4% of jobs in the United States.
Rural areas: Small business provides 66% of jobs
Inner cities: Small business provides 80% of jobs
A 5% increase in small-business births leads to a .456% increase in Gross State Product
Posted by: Corey | October 22, 2011, 11:09 pm 11:09 pm
It is written everywhere that the movement has sometimes blaring contradictions in opinions, but they acknowlege these inconsistencies and move on. I think that makes this movement alot more real world and realistic. The press dont like the fact that their grievances don’t fit on a nice neat bumper sticker. people who champion simple slogans to fix real world issues are usually simplETONS themselves. the answers that fix these issues leave scholars and experts kind of mumbling. The fact that a wall street exec can walk into the middle of the camp and just start talking to people without getting covered with rotten egg and vegetable matter is indicative of an american peoples’ movement. I think this image of them is awesome. But when people start hacking police websites and literally showing up on somebody’s front lawn, stepping on his property, that makes me feel uneasy.
Posted by: mr. mann | October 22, 2011, 11:19 pm 11:19 pm
You need to picket Washington. They make the rules and GE follows the rules. For example, Here is a quote from the CTJ. (Citizens for Tax Justice
2. Repeal the Tax Break for Corporations Sending Jobs and Profits Overseas
Our tax system encourages U.S. corporations to shift jobs and profits overseas. U.S. corporations
are allowed to “defer” paying U.S. taxes on their foreign profits until those profits are brought to
the U.S. (until those profits are “repatriated”). As a result, U.S. corporations have an incentive to
move operations and jobs offshore or just disguise their U.S. profits as “foreign” profits by
shifting them to offshore tax havens. Congress should address this by repealing “deferral.”5
Unfortunately, lawmakers of both parties are considering expanding this tax break into a full tax
exemption for offshore corporate profits (often called a “territorial” tax system) or a temporary
tax amnesty for repatriated offshore corporate profits. Either of these would simply encourage
U.S. corporations to shift even more jobs and profits overseas.
Posted by: Bruce Laube | October 22, 2011, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm
Thank you Brian!! 10/22;10:05pm. Beautifully stated!! That is exactly what OWS is all about! To OWS: Stand on and stand up! Don’t be infiltrated by those who wish to divide us and destroy the movement. Be open-minded but true to our mission to end corporate domination/exploitation of the American people through their govt and complicity by legislators and politicians. — of both political parties. This is the central message that unites us around the country and gives worldwide support to the movement. We’re on the right track. Stay focused and resonate this message over and over and over again. Change is already occuring. Just stay on task with vocalizing and protesting with the message. Simple as that.
Posted by: Janice | October 23, 2011, 12:22 am 12:22 am
@@@@@@@@ POSTED BY: BRIAN | OCTOBER 22, 2011, 10:05 PM 10:05 PM
Why shouldn’t the 5% owning 85% of the wealth and 50% of the income pay all the taxes?
BECAUSE THEY WILL LEAVE AND TAKE THEIR BUSINESSES, JOBS, AND MONEY WITH THEM. D’oh!
Posted by: Faith | October 23, 2011, 12:24 am 12:24 am
“BECAUSE THEY WILL LEAVE AND TAKE THEIR BUSINESSES, JOBS, AND MONEY WITH THEM. D’oh!”
Ridiculous, Yes all the “job creators” will go live in China, where the REAL workers are. Don’t be ignorant. They have already taken their jobs, they have increased the bottom line and made more money than ever, how is GE going to sell the American people energy if they leave America? D’OH!!!
Let us all seek the ACTUAL truth in all these matters, and not the convoluted fear mongering of the narrow minded.
Posted by: Realeyes_Realize_Realies | October 23, 2011, 1:28 am 1:28 am
The Wall St corporations & banks are completely top-down: I am the BOSS. Their structures & practices are antithetical to democracy: they are dictatorships. And Americans are finally waking up to the economic & political realities of their lives. The unprecedented growth of this movement means that Occupy Wall St. is turning into DEFY Wall St . And Humpty-Dumpty is now starting to wobble. Remember the scorn of the super smug French aristocracy, in 1789 towards the rabble “Oh those dirty, ragged mobs” – & then the ragged ones stormed the Bastille, & demolished it, down to the last stone. — Matthew in New York City
Posted by: Matthew Borenstein | October 23, 2011, 1:33 am 1:33 am
Furthermore, if these poor poor companies can’t hack the taxes, :( LET THEM GO. The FREE MARKET will REPLACE them in due time. Example: A company (any company) would be more than willing to sell the American people energy take 25 billion in revenue to replace the company that used to make 45 billion in revenue. “D’OH!!!!”
Posted by: Realeyes_Realize_Realies | October 23, 2011, 1:33 am 1:33 am
We need to lower our corporate tax rates. Our top rate of 35% is higher than most of the rest of the world. It’s no wonder companies prefer to keep their profits overseas when they can. Canada’s top rate is only 16.5%. Most European countries are in the 20-25% range. Lowering our corporate rates and simplifying the tax code by eliminating a lot of exemptions and loopholes would make America a more attractive place to do business and create more jobs, which will increase tax revenues.
Posted by: Steve | October 23, 2011, 2:21 am 2:21 am
Occupy Oprah! She has billions!!!
Posted by: Lee | October 23, 2011, 3:30 am 3:30 am
well obama like usual made a big mistake hiring this guy to head as job boss. Inexperience is showing yet again. Maybe we can fund some more companies to take their jobs out of here. Time for some real change.
Posted by: specialty57 | October 23, 2011, 4:39 am 4:39 am
Oh come on. Companies will always try to maximize profit. If it is slightly cheaper to produce in China, they will go there. As soon as it is cheaper to produce in America they will gladly bring the jobs back. Good luck surviving on 50 Dollar a month though. They will always try to pick the cherries. Cheap to manufacture in China? Go there to produce. Better engineers in America? Develop there. Lower taxes in Ireland? Bring the money there. Tax the rich more, even some of them demand that. And most of all, close those loopholes! Put people who won’t pay their taxes (by a large sum) into jail (and not a high class jail… where all the regular “scum” is), force them to pay twice the money they owe (and get their property if necessary). Even if it is the President of the USA. The money can be used to improve the infrastructure in America, to support people and businesses who need it to get going. To companies that actually need subsidies (for a while). Small companies, not those with big lobbies behind them.
Posted by: kada | October 23, 2011, 5:49 am 5:49 am
@Bruce: That is not true. The corporations make the rules, and Washington signs them. Of course that will not work.
And yes, while some things like electricity have to be produced in the US, there are many, like iPhones, that don’t have to. At least those can be outsourced. China is also working hard to not only produce but to develop, they are investing in education in order to have legions of engineers etc., for example they want to skip the petrol engine and go electric, and area where other countries don’t have a lot experience either (I don’t think there is a country with more EVs than China, you see them everywhere, for many years now, even if they are only mopeds).
So yes, by fighting green tech Republicans are also trying to kill the US. Who wants to buy non green products? The latest 3 series BMW is available in a non-hybrid version that does 57 mpg while producing 163 bhp, so it should be fun to drive too. What do you think why GM developed the Volt? Because they know where the market is heading. Why can’t the rest of America do so too?
Posted by: kada | October 23, 2011, 6:05 am 6:05 am
Get your facts right folks!
GE did pay almost $2.7 billion in cash income taxes in 2010 on a consolidated basis globally, including significant U.S. federal income tax payments. GE also paid in excess of $1 billion in payroll, state and local sales and use and property taxes.
GE received no rebate or refund or payment from the government on its 2010 taxes.
GE’s US employment has increased from 2001 to 2010, excluding dispositions. Those jobs weren’t cut; they moved to other companies.
Posted by: NoTimeForFishing | October 23, 2011, 6:43 am 6:43 am
Fox news and talk radio: Rich people, paying rich people, to tell the niddle-class to blame the poor and the immigrants. Case closed. Rich.
Posted by: rich frascone | October 23, 2011, 7:41 am 7:41 am
The First Amendment IS my permit!!!!
Posted by: Steven Matherly | October 23, 2011, 8:38 am 8:38 am
Maybe now we know why the occupy people are jobless. They are freaking idiots!!! They are probably the same people who took out 800k mortgages while only making 30k a year. Just saying…
Best part of story is when Elizabeth Owens says she pays more in taxes than Immelt. How could we can take them seriously when such an ignorant statement is made.
Posted by: George | October 23, 2011, 10:40 am 10:40 am
The concept of protesting on a CEO’s lawn is patently stupid. Immelt didn’t create the tax laws. GE gas acted lawfully. The company has tax loss carryforwards and has paid more in taxes over the past 10 years than the vast majority of corporations. What do you expect immelt to do? Write a check to the IRS himself? Have him intentionally make irrational decisions that are not in shareholders best interests? When are you morons going to acknowledge your beef is with is with the president and congress?
Posted by: Menlo | October 23, 2011, 11:27 am 11:27 am
Gee NOT one word about GE’s CEO Jeff Immelt being the appointed head of President Barack Obama’s highly touted Jobs Council. As Obama’s jobs Czar Immelt has moved a record numbers of GE jobs over to China while Obama cheers him on!!! GE pays no taxes due to crony capitalism deals made while Obama looked on!!!! Why aren’t the OWS protesters camping on the White House Lawn???
Posted by: RadioMan77 | October 23, 2011, 2:27 pm 2:27 pm
Apparently these idiots are unaware that corporations just pass tax cost along to their consumers which is the protestors themselves
Posted by: joe i | October 23, 2011, 3:30 pm 3:30 pm
I do not think capitalism failed us, we failed it. We failed to keep an eye on things, we failed to speak out against abuses of power and corruption, of government by the banks and corporations. We allowed corporatism to replace capitalism. We allowed people to say “politics are boring and not worth paying attention to” to be the norm instead of saying “no, it affects us all, not just those in Washington or the rich, it effects us, the 99%.” We make this country work and we let it fail. Either get up off your ass and pitch in to fix the failings we caused, or continue to huddle in your jobs and say ‘I made it why can’t you’ without realizing that your job might be the next to go away. I don’t care if your a conservative, liberal or moderate, get up and let your voice be heard.
In closing, we are all on the same sinking ship, just cause your cabin is still above water doesn’t mean your not being effected by this, lets all work together to save the ship.
Posted by: Tink | October 23, 2011, 3:57 pm 3:57 pm
Stop bashing GE: While our government gave 500million to Solyndra and lost every penny, GE is planning to build a solar cell manufacturing facility here in the USA. Why is GE able to do something no one else has been able to do? In case you do not know because of pure ignorance to the facts: Operate a profitable solar business here, one that is not bankrupt) One simple reason, they are one of the most efficient companies on the planet. GE is able to manufacture Solar cells in the USA while paying decent wages, medical benefits, retirement plans, disability insurance etc while its low cost Chinese counterparts employ slave labor to produce a lower priced (and quality) product.. We should be thankful for GE and the fact that they can compete with China’s low cost manufacturing..
That GE efficiency is also why they pay lower taxes.. Has any Liberal been listening to Obama? Tax credits to business for highering soldiers, terminally unemployed etc! That means if GE highers someone, they can deduct those wages up to a limit (I believe $70,000). So STOP blaming GE for the taxes it pays and blame those that provide the special incentives for lowering them!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Stephen | October 23, 2011, 7:22 pm 7:22 pm
So lets see, I payed a couple thousand dollars in taxes last year, then got 250 in refunds. That equals +1750.
GE payed 0, then got 3 million in refunds. That equals -3,000,000
I think they got the better end of that deal. Remember these companies operate in our communities. They use our roads. They drive across our bridges. They pollute our air. Etc… They should have to pay for those services, that WE THE PEOPLE, are providing to them.
Posted by: CyanideSoda | October 23, 2011, 7:47 pm 7:47 pm
As Obama’s appointed Jobs Czar, Jeff Immelt has moved thousands of GE jobs over to China while Obama cheers him on!!! GE pays no taxes due to crony capitalism deals made while Obama looked on!!!! Why aren’t the OWS protesters camping on the White House Lawn???
Posted by: RadioMan77 | October 23, 2011, 8:06 pm 8:06 pm
you go protesters! I would go myself if I wasn’t stuck at school. Stay strong don’t let the cold stop you
Posted by: Student44 | October 24, 2011, 10:17 am 10:17 am
When will they “occupy” the White House??? Thats where the “change” needs to take place.
Posted by: CataClysmic | October 25, 2011, 2:18 pm 2:18 pm