<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
We already pay dearly for energy, medicine, banking, and telecommunications services. But a little research reveals that we’re paying more — much more — in a variety of ways that our business-friendly mainstream media won’t talk about.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Drug Companies: The Body Snatchers<\/strong><\/p>\n A report by <\/span>Battelle Memorial Institute<\/a> determined that the $4 billion government-funded <\/span>Human Genome Project<\/a> (HGP) will generate economic activity of about $140 for every dollar spent. Although that estimate is<\/span>controversial<\/a>, drug industry executives <\/span>say<\/a> it’s just a matter of time before the profits roll in.<\/span><\/p>\n Big business is quickly making its move. Celera Genomics was first, as the company initiated a private version of the genome project, <\/span>incorporating<\/a> the public data into their work, but forbidding the public effort to use Celera data. Abbott Labs is developing <\/span>products<\/a> based on the HGP. <\/span>Merck’s<\/a> automated biotechnology facility was made possible by the HGP. Two-thirds of the products at <\/span>Bristol-Myers Squibb<\/a> have been impacted by the HGP. <\/span>Pfizer<\/a> is starting to make big profits from its genome-based cancer treatments.<\/span><\/p>\n But the industry is going beyond profits, to the actual privatization of our bodies. One-fifth of the <\/span>human genome<\/a> is privately owned through patents. Strains of influenza and hepatitis have been <\/span>claimed<\/a> by corporate and university labs, preventing researchers from using the patented life forms to perform cancer research.<\/span><\/p>\n As if to mock us while taking over our public research, some of the largest drug companies haven’t been paying much in taxes. <\/span>Pfizer<\/a> had 40% of its 2011-12 revenues in the U.S., but declared almost $7 billion in U.S. <\/span>losses<\/em><\/strong> to go along with $31 billion in foreign profits. <\/span>Abbott Labs<\/a> had 42% of its sales in the U.S., but declared a <\/span>loss<\/em><\/strong> in the U.S. along with $12 billion in foreign profits.<\/span><\/p>\n 2. Oil Companies: Ripping Up the Country, Ripping Off the Taxpayers<\/strong><\/p>\n In the past year the U.S. has become a <\/span>net exporter<\/a> of oil, putting us in a position, according to the International Energy Agency, to be almost energy self-sufficient by 2035. Just five years ago we were spending $341 billion on crude oil imports. In 2012 we exported $117 billion worth of processed oil products.<\/span><\/p>\n How have the big oil companies reimbursed America for our oil and natural gas supplies, and for their<\/span>pollution<\/a> and the environmental degradation of mining and fracking? <\/span>Exxon<\/a>, with 70-90% of its productive oil and gas wells in the U.S., declares only 15% of its income as earned here, and pays only <\/span>2.2%<\/a> of its total income in U.S. taxes. <\/span>Chevron<\/a> has about 75% of its oil and gas wells and 90% of its pipeline mileage are in the United States, yet the company claims only 20% of its income in the U.S., and pays only <\/span>3.8%<\/a> of its total income in U.S. taxes.<\/span><\/p>\n 3. Telecommunications: We’re Paying Them to Spy on Us<\/strong><\/p>\n The CIA and NSA have been using our tax money to pay AT&T and Google and other companies to access its data – our data – for surveillance purposes. With almost no transparency or oversight, the <\/span>CIA<\/a> has been paying AT&T to monitor our overseas phone calls. Hundreds of dollars per customer per month goes to<\/span>Verizon<\/a> for similar snooping. The NSA <\/span>compensated<\/a> Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook for penalties accrued in the secretive Prism surveillance program.<\/span><\/p>\n As with the oil companies, tax avoidance by the telecommunications firms further insults middle-class Americans. AT&T paid almost no federal income taxes in <\/span>2011-12<\/a>; Verizon paid about 2 percent; <\/span>Google<\/a> is notorious for its tax avoidance schemes.<\/span><\/p>\n 4. Banks: Almost 40% of Our 401(k)s Lost in Fees<\/strong><\/p>\n Based on the 6% <\/span>historical<\/a> stock market return, an individual investing <\/span>$1,000 a year<\/a> for 30 years in a non-fee fund and then holding the <\/span>accumulated sum<\/a> for another 20 years would end up with $269,000. Imposing the<\/span>industry average 1.3% fee<\/a> would reduce the final total to $165,000, a <\/span>39% reduction<\/em><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n In other words, almost $2 of every $5 in potential 401(k) earnings is lost because of bank fees.<\/span><\/p>\n The importance of preserving Social Security becomes even more apparent in light of this 401(k) exploitation. Since 1983, the number of private sector workers depending on a 401(k) instead of a company pension has<\/span>increased<\/a> from 12 percent to 68 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n 5. Banks II: Revenue Here, Profits Overseas<\/strong><\/p>\n Bank of America<\/a> CEO Brian Moynihan once lamented that nobody understood “how much good” his employees do. But his company, despite making a whopping 82% of its 2011-12 revenue in the U.S., declared a $10 billion profit in foreign countries — and $7 billion in <\/span>U.S. losses<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Citigroup<\/a> isn’t much better. The company had 42% of its 2011-12 revenue in North America (almost all U.S.) but declared a $28 billion profit in foreign countries, and a $5 billion <\/span>U.S. loss<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Congress’ response to all this? They would like SNAP and Social Security recipients to go find a job. Even though all the industries above, with the exception of oil and gas, have been among the leaders in <\/span>cutting jobs<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nRelated Stories<\/h3>\n