I am an 8 year veteran of the U.S. Air Force. I currently hold an MBA compliments of the Veterans Administration. Many Corporations hire and train their personell, even sponsoring visas to make this happen. Once educated, they don't typically let those people walk out the door to work elsewhere. I wonder why our government is doing just that? Government dollars are spent on educating veterans but where's the Return on Investment for the investors? From an MBA standpoint, I could never pass this investment through any board of directors in any Corporation. If we're so interested in running our government like a corporation, we must first secure our Return on Investment. I mean hiring veterans after we've trained them. I currently work in the public sector and I must compete for jobs against applicants who had the luxury of remaining at home and improving their job skills while I was stationed overseas, going without many basic necessities and suffering without my family; this includes a 10 month old daughter who I didn't get the pleasure of seeing until she was 5 years old. As working-aged Veterans are becoming a smaller portion of our population, we can offer them more preference in selection for public jobs. We earned it; many of us are disabled and don't have the advantage of accepting high paying, laborous jobs. Therefore, we should have greater preference in those jobs we can do. Please help us! Thanks, Andrew Grijalva, MBA

Over the last two decades there’s been a steady shift in the tax burden in Philly from the rich to the poor. Business taxes have been cut for giant corporations, including many that aren’t even located in Philadelphia. The wage tax has been cut in a way that makes benefits bigger the richer you are. Meanwhile City Council has repealed a wage tax cut for the working poor. Also the sales tax has increased to 8%, badly hurting ordinary working people. And property taxes have increased 3 times since 2010. Those hikes have hurt poor homeowners and have been passed on to tenants throughout the City. Next year homeowners and tenants may get hit by another big tax increase while many of the biggest commercial property owners like Franklin Mills and Liberty Place actually get tax cuts. The large non-profit universities and hospitals –- like Penn, Temple, Drexel and the big hospitals—get the biggest breaks of all. They own many of the 10.3% of tax-exempt properties in Philly, a proportion larger than in any other US city, and they will continue paying nothing, not even for commercial activities and properties that they rent out for profit. The Mayor and Council must shift the burden of taxes away from poor and working people to make big business, and big “nonprofits” pay for the services that all the city residents need.

North Carolina is enjoying unprecedented growth in feature film, television series and commercial productions as a direct result of our balanced, sustainable Film Incentive Program. With annual in-state spend approaching $500M in 2013, North Carolina was home to Iron Man, The Hunger Games and hosts ongoing series like Banshee and Homeland. While our 25% incentive attracts Hollywood productions looking to save money through tax-rebates, the vast majority of the money spent in-state is driven to "below-the-line" tradespeople like carpenters, production assistants, electricians, grips, make-up artists, catering and craft services freelance employees. Local hotels, restaurants, retail stores and industries that support the filmed-entertainment industry reap millions of dollars from visiting productions due to the Film Incentive Program. In the long-term, NC needs new tax legislation / tax reform to lure long-term investment from companies looking for a new, permanent home. However, the NC Film Incentive Program should not be altered or dismantled, as doing so will simply drive productions to other states (LA, GA, OH, NY, NM among others), who have chosen to maintain their Film Incentive Programs as freestanding legislation that is unencumbered by reforms and designed to deliver rapid growth. North Carolina Film Incentives Put North Carolina To Work! Now you can like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KeepNCFilmIncentives

I have tried to make my student loan payments affordable, sent in tons of paperwork and information. When I had a decent job, I paid my loans. When the economy took a turn, I have not been able to live and send a big enough payment for them. For a year I have been in a battle with the Michigan Guaranty Agency, trying to set a payment that would be reasonable. They took my entire tax refund, now I may not be able to pay any of my bills; to ever get into a good enough position to repay! I barely make over minimum wage & have one child - so I'm not eligible for aid because again to the govt. I'm not poor "enough".

Students and graduates in the US now owe more than $1 TRILLION in student loans. These loans are almost impossible to discharge and make it difficult for young graduates to buy a home and start a family. Currently, the student loan interest tax deduction is capped at $2,500 of student loan interest paid in a given year. This deduction begins to phase out when a graduate’s income hits $60,000 and is completely phased out at an income of $75,000 ($150,000 for a married couple filling jointly).

Whether someone has previously worked for the Government, whatever they have earned in the private sector should qualify them for that much social security.

Wages have been flat--static--no growth--since the 1970s. MNCs and TNCs are recording record profits in the billions. CEOs make 400 times what line workers earn. It is time to correct these economic injustices.

2500 People live on or about the streets of Portland. They receive enough S.S.I/S.S.D. / Oregon Trail Cash to pay for a Salem Approved Shelter System Investment. Start Here: STATE ADVANCE / S.S.I. / $5K NANO NONPROFITS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Our own S.S.I. money paid forward to invest in Portland modular shelter system ideas! ~~~~~Love, www.nickelnonprofits.org

Taking away health insurance and benfits.

For 20 years, I have worked in public service, teaching underprivileged youth in low income districts. I received my B.A. in Secondary Education, then my graduate degree in addition to an Elementary Education certification. My total borrowed was $17,000 in federal student loans during my undergraduate years. The rest I paid out of pocket. When I married, my then-husband and I consolidated my $17,000 undergraduate loans and his $117,000 loans. As a couple, consolidating our loans gave us a lower interest rate and lower monthly payments. But, in 2005, we divorced, splitting everything between us -- everything except these consolidated loans, which are illegal to split. For years since my divorce, I have contacted the company owning the loan and finally ASA (once they acquired the loans) about deferments and forbearances, only to be given the run-around. Continually, ASA habitually “lost” or “never received” my paperwork. Later, ASA informed me that both my ex-husband and I had to defer for the exact same reason or the deferment would be denied. Since I had very limited contact with my ex, coordinating to file paperwork for us to defer for the same reason was impossible. Later when I contacted ASA, I was informed that since my ex-husband was listed as the primary holder on the account, no information could be divulged to me personally without his permission, even though I'm equally responsible. My ex-husband stopped payment on this consolidated loan years ago and ASA was not sending any mail to me, which caused the loan to default in both our names - a loan that had grown, with added interest and penalties, to almost $300,000. Since the default, my once-perfect credit score is now destroyed and over $1,000 a month is garnished from ONLY my paycheck; yet, ASA refuses to even discuss the loans with me. To date, I have paid over $13,000 toward our joint student loans. Additionally, despite the fact that it’s MY wage being garnished, ASA sent my ex-husband the 2012 1098-E, as if HE were the one paying on the loan. ASA continually refuses to give me information for an account that I pay for and, even though there have been multiple efforts on my part, I cannot get any information to allow me to fix the situation. I am a single mother raising two teen daughters. I have tried desperately to work with my lender to separate this student debt, to negotiate, or to offer any sort of relief. Now I am asking for your help. Please help me reach 50,000 signatures to be delivered to ASA demanding they separate my consolidated loan. I was granted a divorce eight years ago. Shouldn't our loans be separate, too? I am asking that these loans separate so I can move on and help support my two daughters with their college careers now and in the future.

Ex-felons are having an extremely difficult time finding work in this country, supporting themselves and their families, and many are in danger of rescinding without gainful employment

The Hollywood studio, Dreamworks, SKG, has formed a partnership with Chinese investors and plans to move all animated production to China, beginning with Kung Fu Panda 3, due for release in 2016. This move will lead to an unprecedented number of layoffs in the film industry and sets the stage for other studios to follow suit, resulting in even more lost jobs.