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HISTORY
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Your Carpet
Best Cleaning
Choice
MONTH
February 8, 2017
O PINION
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$45.00
A small distance/travel
charge may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) :
$40.00 Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $109 - $139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
A Windfall for the Already Super-Wealthy
Taxes for the
privileged and
everyone else
c huck c ollinS
Donald Trump’s
voters have high
hopes that he’ll
boost the econo-
my and protect jobs
for those who’ve
been left behind af-
ter three decades
of flat or shrinking paychecks.
They didn’t vote to make the su-
per-wealthy even wealthier.
Even Steve Mnuchin, the Gold-
man Sachs banker Trump picked
to be his treasury secretary, seems
to understand this. He promised
“no absolute tax cuts for the upper
class.”
Yet one of the first priorities
of Republicans in Congress is
to give an exclusive tax break to
by
multi-millionaires and billion-
aires. They plan to abolish the
estate tax and allow tax loopholes
for billionaires to continue.
The estate tax, sometimes de-
rided as a “death tax,” is only paid
by households with assets
over $11 million. In 2013,
99.8 percent of the popula-
tion was exempt.
But the 0.2 percent who
are subject to the tax are
well represented in Donald
Trump’s cabinet.
Our first billionaire pres-
ident has nominated a cabinet that
includes two billionaires and at
least ten multi-millionaires, whose
combined net worth is estimated
at over $13 billion. As a group,
they’re part of the tiny segment of
U.S. society that will personally
benefit from such targeted tax cuts
for the wealthy.
Under the GOP plan, Mnuchin’s
taxes would be cut by $3.3 million
a year, according to an analysis by
Americans for Tax Fairness. And
his heirs would get an extra $160
million if the estate tax is abol-
ished.
Members of Donald Trump’s
family would also score big. If
Trump has the $10 billion he
claims, scrapping the estate tax
would net each of his four chil-
dren an additional $1 billion in
inherited wealth.
There’s no credible argument
that abolishing this tax on inher-
ited wealth will create jobs or
help the economy. It’ll simply be
a windfall for the already have-a-
lots.
At the root of our problems is a
two-tiered tax system in America:
one for the privileged and one for
everyone else.
The tax system for the bottom
99 percent is hard to play games
with: Most of us have taxes tak-
en out of our wages in every pay-
check.
The privileged people’s tax sys-
tem, for those with $10 million or
more, includes numerous opportu-
nities for the super-rich to get out
of paying their fair share. Wealthy
families like the Mnuchins and
Trumps hire teams of lawyers, ac-
countants, and estate planners to
help them to design escape routes
from their tax obligations.
Mnuchin has personally set up
several “dynasty trusts” to avoid
paying any taxes on his personal
estimated fortune of $620 mil-
lion. According to federal ethics
disclosures, he has $32 million in
one such trust, including corpo-
rate stock, artwork, and a private
jet. The primary purpose of these
vehicles is to dodge federal estate
taxes for generations to come.
When the wealthy dodge tax-
es, ordinary taxpayers who can’t
game the system must pick up
the tab for infrastructure, defense,
national parks, and servicing the
c ontinued on p age 18