Under one provision of a tax bill in Congress, businesses would no longer be able to take one-time tax deductions for all of the billions and billions they spend on marketing. A top advertising industry lobbyist said it was "a dreadful idea." So we know it would be effective. With advertising spending expected to increase, just in the U.S., to $160.8 billion in 2014 -- much of it targeting children, promoting unhealthy foods and products, or encouraging over-consumption -- closing this loophole that incentivizes excessive marketing would be a much-needed reform. Business expenses such as rent and utilities are immediately and fully deductible because at any moment in time they are essential to being in business. But because money spent on advertising can pay off over many years, this reform would require tax write-offs for advertising to be spread out over time as well. The reform is projected to increase federal tax revenue by $169 billion over the next ten years. That's revenue that could help fund important education, health care and other government programs.

This is so self evidently correct that despite numerous communications I am puzzled at why this is not being addressed. It is the law in other states, notably Louisiana! The current law requires that individuals like the head of the Roslyn, NY school district who was convicted of using his position to funnel money to a company in which he or a close friend had the entire financial beneficial interest was being paid $150,000 per year WHILE IN PRISON! The money, of course, is provided by the public who were "robbed" by him!

Many young Americans are coming out of college and cannot find adequate paying jobs to pay their loans at the PSL set payment levels. These harsh loans accrue interest daily and have variable interest rates ready to rise higher once our economy fully recovers, leaving our children permanently in debt with no future.

Because we owe everything to our veterans who have given us everything.

We see enormous amounts of money pouring into fundamentally unproductive but increasingly expensive political campaigns at the same time that we worry constantly about the national debt. If the contributors of large sums to campaigns are truly concerned about the economic health of our nation, they should be doing at least as much to address the national debt SUBSTANTIVELY as they are doing to help elect their favored candidates.

We the people have had enough corrupt politicians who listen to corporate donors rather than their own constituents. We aim to prevent corruption by amending the Constitution so money isn't considered a form of speech, but a form of bribery in the political process, and by establishing a fund to pay for election campaigns, with every candidate for each respective office getting the same amount of money for their campaigns, and only that money to pay for their election campaign, no exceptions. This fund would be paid for with taxes, which can come from 1% of our nations ridiculously high defense budget, being roughly $48 Billion or from taxes on cannabis, etc. With this fund, it ensures that everyone has a fair shot at being elected, not just the wealthy, or those with corporate backing. This is an incredibly important issue, especially when you consider the fact that during the 2012 election cycle, more money was spent on elections than ever before, and several individuals gave over $1,000,000 directly to candidates election funds. The Koch Brothers included. Other contributors include Altria Group and Blackstone Group giving $25,000 and $60,500, respectively, to Eric Cantor, Wells Fargo and Occidental Petroleum, giving $10,250 and $35,000, respectively to Nancy Pelosi, etc. http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2012&type=I&cid=N00007360&newMem=N&recs=20 http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00013131 http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00003675

What ever you care about probably will not happen as long as giant corporations and the extremely wealthy control our government through election spending. I want my $25 donation to mean something. I want elected officials to care about and listen to their constituents rather than just the big donors. I want voters to have their desires upheld over corporate moves without being thwarted by corporate claims of Constitutional rights.

SB 2681, "Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act," an Arizona-style law was recently approved 48-0 by the Mississippi Senate. Like similar bills in Kansas and Arizona, this bill would write segregation and discrimination into our laws. It could give doctors, nurses, and other trusted professionals a license to discriminate against any LGBTQ people and any other person based on religious grounds. SB 2681, Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, could allow any person or business in our state to challenge a “burden” on religion. This means that someone could use their religious beliefs to challenge virtually any law, including criminal and other laws that protect our health and safety. SB 2681, passed the state Senate with 48 yes-votes, zero no-votes, and will now go up for a vote in the House. If passed, it would go into effect July 1, 2014. But we have a chance to stop this terrible bill – the Mississippi House has not yet voted on the bill and we need your help to prevent them from passing this law! SIGN this petition and tell Mississippi legislators to STOP this license to discriminate!

As a long-time voter in RI I have often spent hours standing in lines at polling places. Now a retiree, it's not that hard on me but for working people who must take time off a job or spend a lot of time at night, this bill would prompt many more to vote. It's time for our state to join the increasing number of states allowing early voting.

This will discourage too many peopl from voting. We do not want the long, long lines experienced in 2012.

Right now, the childhood hunger problem in America is inexcusably big – affecting more than 1 in 5 children. We know that adequate food and good nutrition, particularly in a young child’s life, has a very important impact on a child’s capacity for future learning and on their lifelong economic productivity. But our leaders are not giving this problem the attention it warrants. In the name of deficit reduction, members of Congress are considering deep spending cuts to anti-hunger programs as part of this fall and winter’s budget debate. (In reality, cutting funding for programs like SNAP that alleviate hunger and poverty for children won’t make much of a dent in reducing our deficit: right now children receive less than 8% of federal funding. ) That debate provides and important opportunity for us to demonstrate public support for our vision of a country where everyone gets a fair shot in life. Hunger in America is big and is getting worse as income inequality becomes more extreme. This is a trend that we need to reverse now. Sign this petition to urge our state legislators to work together to end childhood hunger in Arizona. Thanks for your help!

Right now, the childhood hunger problem in America is inexcusably big – affecting more than 1 in 5 children. We know that adequate food and good nutrition, particularly in a young child’s life, has a very important impact on a child’s capacity for future learning and on their lifelong economic productivity. But our leaders are not giving this problem the attention it warrants. In the name of deficit reduction, members of Congress are considering deep spending cuts to anti-hunger programs as part of this fall and winter’s budget debate. (In reality, cutting funding for programs like SNAP that alleviate hunger and poverty for children won’t make much of a dent in reducing our deficit: right now children receive less than 8% of federal funding. ) That debate provides and important opportunity for us to demonstrate public support for our vision of a country where everyone gets a fair shot in life. Hunger in America is big and is getting worse as income inequality becomes more extreme. This is a trend that we need to reverse now.