Due to completely messed up U.S. tax policies, some even got a rebate check. Only small businesses pay taxes. Big companies often pay nothing at all.
Look at a new report from Citizens for Tax Justice ( http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2015/04/fifteen_of_many_reasons_why_we_need_corporate_tax_reform.php#.VSbihhPF8QY ), a Washington, D.C. group. It finds that some of nation's most famous brands have paid remarkably little to the government over the last five years. In fact, many actually enjoyed a negative tax rate: They received a nice rebate check from the U.S. Treasury.
The 15 giants highlighted by CTJ were chosen to represent a wide range of industries among Fortune 500 companies. They include CBS, Mattel, Prudential, and the California utility PG&E. Together, they paid no federal income tax in 2014, despite profits totaling $23 billion. CTJ's point is that these companies are not anomalies, they are examples.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by Mr Big in the Pants on Wednesday April 15 2015, @06:29AM
You are very confused.
It is a captured democracy. It has a functioning democratic process but that process has been thwarted by legal means. You are confusing the system of government with the practical reality.
You are also confusing personal responsibility with that of the country as a whole. In any society you will find opponents to any issue or state of affairs. That is irrelevant.
The fact remains that the US could vote for a different party or candidates and put into power a different set of people who could begin to fix things...in theory. It would not even require a revolution.
But they don't.