Corruption in Washington? Say it ain’t so!

It’s the 4th of July weekend!  A time where we, as Americans, celebrate our countries independence from Britain in 1776 and the signing of YOUR Constitution and Declaration of Independence.  This 4th of July we should reflect on what’s going on in our country and do our part as citizens to make sure that our government realizes that “For the People, By The People” means you and me and not the large multi-national companies that squander our resources for their profit margins.  Below is a a Top 10 Corruptions in Washington.

Shakedown News thanks our friend Tim Heugele for passing this along.  It’s time to question the actions of our leaders.  Do they really have our best interest in mind when making decisions?

From Tim:

You might have heard this: BP is so well connected in Washington that even after being cited for 760 different safety and environmental violations, the company still got environmental waivers for the Deepwater Horizon rig that’s now destroying the Gulf.1

But BP’s not alone in using its DC influence. Check out the list below of other companies’ outrages—then pass it along. And be sure to sign our new Fight Washington Corruption Pledge to support 3 key measures that will protect our democracy from corporate lobbyists!

http://fightwashingtoncorruption.org/?id=21534-8635144-48akz7x

1. Exxon Mobil made billions in profits, and yet paid not one dime in federal income taxes in 2009.2

2. The 2005 energy bill had a little known provision, commonly called the Halliburton Loophole, which exempted natural gas drilling from the Clean Water Act. The result? Water so contaminated that you can light it on fire.3

3. Massey Energy was cited more than 2400 times for safety violations in its mines, but chose not to fix potentially lethal problems because low penalties meant it was cheaper to simply keep paying the fines. This spring, 29 miners were killed in an underground explosion at a Massey mine in West Virginia.4

4. Michael Taylor was the FDA official who approved the use of Monsanto’s Bovine Growth Hormone in dairy cows (even though it’s banned in most countries and linked to cancer). After approving it, he left the FDA—to work for Monsanto. Until last year, when he moved back to the government—as President Obama’s “Food Safety Czar.” No joke.5

5. Internal Toyota documents outline how the company was successful in limiting regulators actions in the recalls last year—saving hundreds of millions while the death toll continued to climb.6

6. GE and its lobbyists—including 33 former government employees—have successfully lobbied Congress to override Defense Department requests to cancel a GE contract to work on a new engine for the Joint Strike Fighter jet. GE will need $2.9 billion to finish the project.7

7. Top executives at 9 top banks including Citibank, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley paid themselves over $20 billion dollars in bonuses just weeks after taxpayers bailed them out to the tune of 700 billion dollars.8

8. During the waning days of the Bush administration, officials responded to a long-term lobbying campain by pre-empting product liability lawsuits for dozens of whole industries. They bypassed Congress entirely and rewrote rules ranging from seatbelt manufacturing regulations to prescription drug safety.9

9. Sunscreen manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson and Schering-Plough, in the interest of profits, are opposing an FDA proposal requiring full reporting on sunscreen labels. The New York Times just confirmed that current SPF ratings don’t even measure sun rays that cause cancer.10

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10. BP—a company with a record of 760 drilling safety and environmental violations—was granted safety waivers in order to operate the deepwater drilling rig that ultimately created the worst environmental disaster in US history.1