There is nothing more American or Patriotic than paying taxes. We The People (aka Taxpayers) should now have a say as to where a given % percentage of our individual tax dollars go. I propose a multiple choice tax election where a designated % of our tax dollars be spent according to our wishes: -If you're a fan of smart kids, chose education. -If you don't want a bunch of sick people around, chose healthcare. -If you can't get to work, chose public transportation or infrustructure. Etc... Etc... You get my drift. We should be able to elect a governement sector of our choice where a designated % of our very own tax dollars must be allocated to. For those of us who are sick and tired of helplessly paying substantial portions of earned wages without any accountability...TIME TO PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS! Forget the chickenhawk blowhards who ciphon our national wealth to private defense contractors and nation-building abroad or the corporations who hide overseas to shelter their profits or the largess of the rich who bemoan paying their due, it's our turn to tell policy makers where they must spend America's taxpayer fortune...or, where NOT to spend (for all you Tea Party Libertarians out there).

The representatives of our Fort Wayne City Council are not listening to the concerns of the local taxpayers and are trying to rush through passing an ordinance to strip public union workers of collective bargaining.

Yesterday, Speaker Michael Madigan announced that he could not organize enough Illinois House Democrats to vote to extend current income tax rates for corporations and individuals in Illinois. Instead, he directed House members to craft a new budget with $4 BILLION in CUTS! That’s what Republicans do…Republicans cut corporate taxes and gut funding for schools, roads, parks and other things that matter to real people. Speaker Madigan is the most powerful person in Springfield, and we can’t afford for him to govern like a Republican!

On May 15, 2014, Jessy West exercised his federally-protected right to go on strike from his workplace, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, a global fast-food chain. He was illegally retaliated against and was fired. Jessy went on strike because he works hard but still struggles paycheck to paycheck because he only makes $7.40 an hour. Nobody who works as hard as Jessy should live in poverty.

One of the many reasons I care about Internet freedom is because I worked as an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the oldest and most prestigious government consulting firms, to support implementation of the Obama administration's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. The program gave out $9.7 billion in grants to help bridge the technological divide, create jobs, and improve education, health care, and public safety in communities across the country. When I heard about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposal to allow the corporations who control the infrastructure of the Internet to create fast and slow lanes for websites based on how much they're able to pay, I couldn't help but feel that the Obama administration was undoing a lot of the important work we did together investing in communities to make sure they got the access to the Internet that they needed. I supported President Obama in 2008 and 2012 in part because of his commitment to Internet freedom, which he's publicly declared multiple times. In 2007, then-candidate Obama specifically stated that Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon should not be able to charge "different rates to different websites"—but that is exactly what the FCC Chairman President Obama appointed, Tom Wheeler, is proposing. Don't let Chairman Wheeler advance a proposal that breaks one of President Obama's campaign promises and brings an end to the Internet as we know it. Please tell President Obama to come out in support of reclassifying the Internet as public utility, like our water, electricity, and phone lines, so that all those communities we helped get Internet access can continue to enjoy a free and open Internet, along with everyone else in the world.

Due to the physical and mental health and well being of the artists in SM Entertainment Exo-M Leader and fellow Exo member Kris (aka Wu Yi Fan) filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment. The exact proposal of the lawsuit has not yet been revealed to the public, but public speculation is that due to Kris's physical health condition he has filed for better benefits and pay as compensation to his physical and mental health and well being. This includes not only his physical health, but that of his fellow Exo members. Recently members SeHun, ChanYeol, and Kai has been injured physically during practices and/or live performaces. If you feel that SM Entertainment can provide better care and pay for their artists please sign this online petition.

Corporations, like Google, continue to dodge taxes by shifting profits made here to offshore tax havens that have little to no taxes. It’s time for these giant corporations to start living by the same rules as the rest of us. Montana and Oregon have already passed laws to recoup money stashed in offshore tax havens. If we enacted the same policy here in California, it would generate $246 million dollars that we could use to fund our schools and invest in our economy. Let's show our legislators that it's time to close this loophole and make corporations pay their fair share!

This is a necessary step to alleviate disparity of personal income in the United States of America. Save America's middle class.

It's time to end the era where moms and dads work three jobs just to scrape their families by.

We are Communication Installers that care about our customers; we go the extra mile to meet their needs. Alcatel-Lucent is sub-contracting our jobs to third-party vendors that don't concern themselves with customer needs. Please help us prevent sub-contractors from hurting your company as much as they are hurting us.

My name is Ian Swanson. I'm in fourth grade. Once a month, I am allowed to eat at any fast food restaurant I want. My favorite fast food place is McDonald's. I love the Happy Meals! Although my mom disagrees, I think that McDonald's has the best burgers, chicken nuggets and french fries in the country. I really enjoy my monthly treat at McDonald's, but last week was my last Happy Meal. I learned that the people who make my Happy Meal don't earn enough to provide for their own kids because McDonald’s doesn’t pay them enough and sometimes does not even pay what they owe. I don't want to give my money to a company that steals from its workers. It made me very upset to hear that McDonald's and many other fast food companies steal from workers by not paying them for the work they do. That is not fair! My parents taught me to share and never take what does not belong to me. I want to help the McDonald’s workers, but I am just a kid and sometimes I need an adult to help me do things. I want to ask McDonald’s to give back the money that they stole from the workers and be fair. Will you join me? *Ian is the son of an Interfaith Worker Justice staff person. For more information about wage theft and the struggles of fast food workers, visit www.iwj.org*

I have worked for Pizza Hut/NPC for the last 4 years. When I started, I was making full minimum whether in store or out on deliveries. Last Year in May, there were several of us in my store that were still making full minimum wage. Pizza Hut had their major meeting retreat, and when our manager came back, she informed us that we "grandfathered" drivers were being put on split-pay effective May 29, 2013. I used to be able to pay all my bills on time, but now I am late on everything due to this pay scheme. I get food stamps, but they don't help with the bills.