(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) today released a new report “Subsidies of the Rich and Famous” illustrating how, under the current tax code, the federal government is giving billions of dollars to individuals with an Annual Gross Income (AGI) of at least $1 million, subsidizing their lavish lifestyles with the taxes of the less fortunate.

“All Americans are facing tough times, with many working two jobs just to make ends meet and more families turning to the government for financial assistance. From tax write-offs for gambling losses, vacation homes, and luxury yachts to subsidies for their ranches and estates, the government is subsidizing the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  Multi-millionaires are even receiving government checks for not working.  

“This welfare for the well-off – costing billions of dollars a year – is being paid for with the taxes of the less fortunate, many who are working two jobs just to make ends meet, and IOUs to be paid off by future generations. We should never demonize those who are successful.  Nor should we pamper them with unnecessary welfare to create an appearance everyone is benefiting from federal programs,” Dr. Coburn said.

These billions of dollars for millionaires include the following:
•    $74 million of unemployment checks;
•    $316 million in farm subsidies;
•    $89 million for preservation of ranches and estates;
•    $9 billion of retirement checks;
•    $75.6 million in residential energy tax credits; and
•    $7.5 million to compensate for damages caused by emergencies to property that should have been insured.

All and all, over $9.5 billion in government benefits have been paid to millionaires since 2003. 

Additionally, millionaires borrowed $16 million in government backed education loans to attend college. On average, each year, this report found that millionaires enjoy benefits from tax giveaways and federal grant programs totaling $30 billion.  As a result, almost 1,500 millionaires paid no federal income tax in 2009.

Read the full report: here

Supporting documents

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Department of Commerce; Department of Defense; Department of Education

Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation

Department of Agriculture

Department of Energy; EPA; Farm Credit Council; Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Housing and Urban Development; Department of the Interior; Internal Revenue Service

Department of Justice

Department of Labor; National Endowment for the Arts; Institute of Peace; Small Business Administration; Social Security Administration; State Department; Department of Transportation; Veterans Administration

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), last week acted as Ranking Member during a SASC hearing that received testimony from witnesses on whether the Chief of the National Guard Bureau (CNGB) should be made a statutory member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Currently, legislation is pending before the SASC that proposes the addition of the CNBG to the JCS. If added, current CNGB Gen. McKinley will join the JCS and advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters specific to the National Guard.

“I support legislation that will make the Chief of the National Guard Bureau a permanent member of the Joint Chiefs,” said Inhofe.

“The National Guard has proven to be an integral component of our military force. Since 9/11, our National Guard Troops have dramatically changed from a strategic reserve force to an operational reserve force, being repeatedly deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. All the while they have maintained responsibility for homeland security and disaster response. Adding the National Guard to the JCS will provide our Commander-in-Chief with additional military advice from a unique perspective," Senator Inhofe added.

The current members of the JCS include the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the JCS, and the heads of the four branches of service; the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. 

Members of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation today reacted to news that Tinker Air Force Base’s (AFB) Air Logistics Center (ALC) will become the new single head for Air Force sustainment and logistics.  The realignment, a move that is in line with the Defense Department’s requirement to make $450 billion in spending cuts over the next decade, will mean that Tinker will lose its current Two Star General slot, but will gain a Three Star General and a One Star General billet.

According to initial information provided by the Air Force, there will be no large movements of personnel from the centers but there will be a reduction of personnel positions at Tinker Air Force Base and across the state.  However, because Tinker was selected as the lead facility, the impact of losses on Oklahoma will be less than in other states.  One of the delegation’s concerns is the organization and reporting responsibilities of the Aerospace Sustainment Directorate (ASD), currently under the command of the ALC Commander.

While all personnel in the ASD will remain at the new Air Logistics Complexes, how that organization reports to the new Air Logistics Complex Commander to ensure continued seamless operations is still to be determined.  The ASD is critical to orchestrating and integrating the support at the Air Logistics Centers and ensuring weapon systems are delivered on time and on budget.  Under the new organization, the ASD will report to the new Life Cycle Management Center. The new reporting structure could undermine efficiencies and drive up long term costs at the ALCs, where decisions are quickly executed locally at the Air Logistics Center.

U.S. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), said, “Today’s Air Force announcement that Tinker AFB will become the Sustainment Center is great news for Oklahoma.  It speaks volumes of the teamwork, innovation, experience, and hard work of the Tinker team and the quality work they produce.  The expertise of the ALC’s leadership at Tinker, the support of the local community and its purchase of the old GM plant have all made Tinker Air Force Base the obvious choice for this increased role.

“The mission and work being done at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center is a source of pride for our entire state. Today’s announcement puts Tinker at the heart of the Air Force’s drive to increase efficiency and cost effectiveness while focusing on the number one goal – supporting the warfighter. However, I wish Congress would have been included more in this decision-making process. After a decade of decay in the 1990s, our ALCs are once again setting the benchmark for maintenance, repair and overhaul operations – both military and civilian. Maintaining our organic ALC capability is essential to projecting airpower across the globe. This includes enhancing key partnerships that have formed between the Air Force and industry, fostering improvements across the maintenance and repair enterprise.  Tinker will now be the premiere facility.

“The key measurement of the ALCs is how fast they can get aircraft and engines out the door.  The realignment of the ASD under the new Life Cycle Management Center at Wright Patterson AFB could jeopardize that, and is unacceptable.  Secretary Donley has assured the delegations that the Air Force would work with Members of Congress on the future structure and reporting chain of the ASD.  I will continue working with the Air Force and the delegations of Oklahoma, Georgia and Utah on the specific details of the ASD located at each of the three ALCs.”

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Okla.) said, “The decision to designate Tinker Air Force Base to the superior rank of the Sustainment Center reinforces the great source of pride the base has been, and continues to be, for the state of Oklahoma.  At a time when we have thousands of troops on the ground risking their lives fighting conflicts overseas, the ability of the Air Force to increase its efficiency to be able to provide a greater amount of support to these brave men and women, is crucial.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK-4), a member of the Appropriations Committee and subcommittee on Defense, said, “It’s a testament to the importance of Tinker’s work and the quality of its workforce that the base has been selected for these vital new tasks.  Strong support from the community and the longstanding commitment of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation have helped make Tinker a crucial defense asset and a magnet for private contractors.

"Tinker has emerged from this process stronger than many other facilities and has great potential to gain additional new missions and jobs in the future  As a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I will continue to do everything I can to ensure Tinker remains the nation’s premier air logistics facility.

"The assignment of a sustainment center and 3-star general highlights Tinker’s pre-eminent role among air logistics facilities.  This is a big gain for Oklahoma and an honor for Tinker."

U.S. Rep. James Lankford (R-OK-5) said, “The Air Force’s decision today to combine sustainment and support functions at Tinker Air Force Base is a step forward for Tinker and the state of Oklahoma.  I commend the vision and foresight of local leaders and the community to make Tinker a more valuable partner in the mission of our national defense structure.  Tinker has routinely demonstrated its ability to provide quality results to the warfighter in a timely manner, and I am pleased the Air Force agrees.  Increasing leadership at the base is a testament to their successful ability to complete the mission at hand.    

“In these times of budget constraints, we are all aware of the decisions that need to be made to find efficiencies and streamline operations.  I look forward to continue working with Air Force leadership and the entire Oklahoma community to implement the details of this decision.”  

In an October 12, 2011 press release, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz Air Force said, "Air Force organizations and installations of the future may not operate the same tomorrow as they do today.  In fact, we are considering a restructure of AFMC – our largest employer of civilians – to standardize processes, streamline decision making and align missions for more effective operations. The new structure will focus on reducing overhead costs and redundant layers of management while largely protecting the command’s rank and file workforce."

Currently, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Command repairs and maintains bomber, refueling and reconnaissance aircraft, among others.  Many crucial airborne accessories also are maintained at the center, including life-support systems. The center provides cradle-to-grave support for a variety of aircraft, including the E-3 AWACS, C/KC-135, B-52 and B-1. It is responsible for depot-level repair, modifications, overhaul and functional check flight of the B-1, B-52, C/KC-135, E-3 and the Navy’s E-6 aircraft. Engines managed include a substantial inventory, from the older Pratt & Whitney TF33 to the state-of-the-art F119. Units: 72nd Air Base Wing, 76th Maintenance Wing and Aerospace Sustainment Directorate.

The restructuring will be fully implemented by Oct. 1, 2012.

Britain’s first Muslim female Cabinet member has encouraged Christians in the U.K. to stand up more for their religion in a move that appears aimed at creating interfaith dialogue and promoting the protection of Christian minorities abroad.

In a weekend editorial of the Daily Telegraph, Baroness Sayeed Warsi, co-chair of the ruling Conservative Party in the U.K, wrote that the British people need to foster an environment in their home country where they can be:

“…unashamedly proud of their faith – where they don’t feel that they have to leave religion at the door. That means being proud of Christianity, not downgrading it.

To read more from The Blaze, click here.

Now that is good news.

An analysis published Sunday by the Washington Times reports that first lady Machelle Obama has a "mad on" and a growing range of fire.  On the same theme a few days earlier, Forbes questioned if President Barack Obama is straining to recapture the excitement of  campaigning in the style of 1936.

For the Washington Times Joseph Curl writes:

Michelle’s back, and she’s madder than ever. She was already pretty angry, seemingly unhappy with just about everything. As her husband wrapped up the Democratic nomination in 2008, she let fly her real feelings: “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.” A few months into her job as first lady, her French counterpart asked how she liked the gig: “Don’t ask!” she reportedly spat. “It’s hell. I can’t stand it!”

She even seems to be mad at her silver-tongued husband. When the two were to set off on a luxurious 10-day vacation to Martha’s Vineyard, she left early – four hours early – and flew up alone. And those private vacations. She’s traveled to some of the world’s most plush resorts, taking 42 days off in the past year – that’d be eight weeks of vacay time if she held down a normal job.

Now, she is ready to spew her bilious disgust with America on the campaign trail. A dignified, transcendent first lady? No chance. Michelle is going to break with a hundred years of tradition and play the role of attack dog, heaping derision on her husband’s political opponents like no other first lady before her.

And it’s already begun. Mad Michelle this week popped down to Davis Island, Fla., to hobnob with the very people her husband despises – the 1 percent. At a massive mansion on the bay, filled with the wealthiest of the wealthy, America’s first lady launched into a tirade about “them” – the Republicans.

“Let’s not forget about what it meant when my husband appointed two brilliant Supreme Court justices, and for the first time in history, our daughters – and our sons – watched three women take their seats on our nation’s highest court. But more importantly, let’s not forget the impact their decisions will have on our lives for decades to come – on our privacy and our security, on whether we can speak freely, worship openly and love whomever we choose. That is what’s at stake here,” she said to applause.

Yes, Republicans hope to regain the White House so they can install Supreme Court justices who will trample Americans’ privacy, ignore the nation’s security, crush free speech and persecute the religious.

Oh, and they’re rich and racist to boot. “Will we be a country where opportunity is limited to just the few at the top? Who are we? Or will we give every child a chance to succeed no matter where they’re from, or what they look like or how much money their parents have. Who are we?”

That’s right, rich people (white, of course) certainly don’t want black people to succeed. They want to squelch success based on what people look like, how much money they have. “Are we going to let them succeed?” the first lady yelled. “Nooo!” the rich white people screamed.

Click here to read the story from the Washington Times.

In a related story, a Forbes headline of a Merrill Matthews contribution suggests the President’s election push: "Obama: Campaigning like it’s 1936."

While Republican presidential candidates are looking forward by proposing variations of a flat income tax, President Barack Obama’s tax-the-rich campaign strategy is looking backward—to Franklin Roosevelt’s 1936 reelection campaign.  FDR won his reelection, but the American people lost: Roosevelt’s new taxes on business and the “economic royalists” gave us the “Roosevelt recession” of 1937-38.

By August of 1935, Roosevelt had achieved some of his signature pieces of legislation: a new entitlement program known as Social Security, banking reform, pro-union reform, infrastructure expansion and massive transfers of wealth to the poor and middle classes.  Sound familiar?

FDR also ran up federal spending significantly: from 6 percent to 9 percent of the economy.

However, FDR needed more revenue to support his big-government schemes.  More importantly, he needed a villain to explain why, given the passage of his New Deal legislation, government spending and regulations, the economy was still struggling.

So he proposed raising taxes on the rich, which he dubbed a “Wealth Tax.”  As he explained to Congress in June 1935, “Our revenue laws have operated in many ways to the unfair advantage of the few, and they have done little to prevent the unjust concentration of wealth and economic power. … Social unrest and a deepening sense of unfairness are dangers to our national life which we must minimize by rigorous methods.”  President Obama couldn’t have said it better himself.

Click here for the Forbes story.

If only they had served on the Tulsa City Council or ever held a real job, they would be so much better at this public communication thing with the bosses that employ them.