All posts by MicahScheindlin

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CEOs like J&J’s Weldon getting richer, defending tax breaks at our expense.

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(Time to repeal the tax giveaway to the big corporations. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

(Disclosure: I work for the Yes on 24 campaign)

You can’t blame a CEO like Johnson & Johnson’s William Weldon for enjoying the finer things in life, even in the midst of a recession. After all, the head of the pharmaceutical giant makes ten of millions of dollars annually, according to Forbes Magazine, and can expect to see $60 million added to his bank account over a 5 year period. So when Weldon decided to drop $8.45 million on a nice piece of lakefront property in Florida in late 2009, who could fault him?

Here’s a photo of Weldon’s new digs (as with the price info, courtesy of Bnet).

Well, about 8,100 of his former employees might take issue with him. In moves that J&J described as “global restructuring initiatives”, Johnson and Johnson laid off 6-7% of their workforce, according to their own estimates. These layoffs began in November 2009.

Interesting timing, right? Earlier that same year, a backroom deal to pass the state budget instituted massive corporate tax loopholes in California, giveaways that Weldon and his company are very eager to protect. The corporate interests in favor of these giveaways claimed they would create 144,000 jobs in California and increase state revenues at the same time.

We know now that this isn’t true. Non-partisan analyses show that California will lose billions in revenue each year as the result of the giveaways, and companies like Johnson & Johnson haven’t guaranteed a single job created or saved in California. If we give away more largesse to William Weldon, we know how he’ll spend it- on lakefront homes in Florida. And when we ask his company to pay their fair share by placing Proposition 24 on the November 2010 ballot, Johnson & Johnson responds by pouring $100,000 into the campaign to defeat it. They disingenuously claim that Prop 24 will affect small  businesses, when in reality its effect is on major corporations alone.

Who are they trying to protect? Not us. Not their laid-off employees.

Vote Yes on Proposition 24. Make sure they pay their fair share.

Uncategorized

CEOs like J&J’s Weldon getting richer, defending tax breaks at our expense.

(Disclosure: I work for the Yes on 24 campaign)

You can’t blame a CEO like Johnson & Johnson’s William Weldon for enjoying the finer things in life, even in the midst of a recession. After all, the head of the pharmaceutical giant makes ten of millions of dollars annually, according to Forbes Magazine, and can expect to see $60 million added to his bank account over a 5 year period. So when Weldon decided to drop $8.45 million on a nice piece of lakefront property in Florida in late 2009, who could fault him?

Jump over the fold for a photo of Weldon’s new digs, which along with price data is courtesy of Bnet.  

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Well, about 8,100 of his former employees might take issue with him. In moves that J&J described as “global restructuring initiatives”, Johnson and Johnson laid off 6-7% of their workforce, according to their own estimates. These layoffs began in November 2009.

Interesting timing, right? Earlier that same year, a backroom deal to pass the state budget instituted massive corporate tax loopholes in California, giveaways that Weldon and his company are very eager to protect. The corporate interests in favor of these giveaways claimed they would create 144,000 jobs in California and increase state revenues at the same time.

We know now that this isn’t true. Non-partisan analyses show that California will lose billions in revenue each year as the result of the giveaways, and companies like Johnson & Johnson haven’t guaranteed a single job created or saved in California. If we give away more largesse to William Weldon, we know how he’ll spend it- on lakefront homes in Florida. And when we ask his company to pay their fair share by placing Proposition 24 on the November 2010 ballot, Johnson & Johnson responds by pouring $100,000 into the campaign to defeat it. They disingenuously claim that Prop 24 will affect small  businesses, when in reality its effect is on major corporations alone.

Who are they trying to protect? Not us. Not their laid-off employees.

Vote Yes on Proposition 24. Make sure they pay their fair share.