All right, it’s tax time and citizens are restless. Rebellions from Cairo to Tripoli and  Madison to Indianapolis are spontaneously erupting. The people appear to be rising up against Dictators and Legislators alike. It’s beginning to feel like the original spirit of the first Boston Tea Party is stirring in the hearts and minds of the modern day obsequious minions.  It’s time to transform the slogan “No taxation without representation” to “No Tax Havens for Corporate Tax Evasions”!

Join the fun this Saturday and organize your own public display, rally or protest – find out what’s happening in a neighborhood near you!

Exercise your vocal chords with this little ditty:

Some chants for BofA actions

• Hey, hey, B of A, how many taxes did you pay? ZERO!
• I pay, you pay, why doesn’t B of A Pay?!
• Hey, hey, B of A, how many taxes off-shored today?!
• Move your money, switch your bank!
• B of A don’t want to pay, what they owe the USA.

We’re facing the ugly reality of budget shortfalls, cutting funding for nearly everyone’s preferred precious pet projects. At the same time corporate profits are skyrocketing and the stock market is booming. Something seems to be profoundly out of balance, as we see the vanishing act of the middle class. According to a grass roots movement called UnCut, which ironically began in the United Kingdom, 83 of the top 100 publicly traded corporations in the US are exploiting Tax havens. No surprise, you say? It’s business as usual, you say?

The question is, can we do anything about the Corporate cheapskates? Would it be enough to motivate us to take action if we learned that since 2009 Exxon/Mobil, General Electric, Bank of America and Citigroup paid $ 0 dollars to Uncle Sam? This inequity in our system of preferential treatment for powerful and profitable corporations leads directly to cuts in valuable public services. Does anyone else wonder why no one seems to be talking about how much of our national debt can be traced to the Pentagon over the last decade of our Wars in the Middle East? The amount is staggering, more than $ 1 Trillion per year, every year, since the mess began.

Questioning the power and authority of the State is never easy, challenging the influence and financial manipulation of our democracy by multinational corporations may prove even more difficult. However, the human desire for balance and equanimity is strong. In our day to day life circumstances we all juggle dichotomies – right vs. wrong, hope vs. despair, happiness vs. misery.

In a spiritual context one might suggest that the attainment of equanimity would be to transcend all duality. By practicing compassion one dissolves attachment to all emotions of pleasure and pain and all judgments of right or wrong.  In a practical sense, let’s consider what is harmonious and balanced, a middle path when considering equanimity and the state of our economy.

The ideal of fairness can play it’s part in this dramatic struggle for power and control of our financial future. The simple core value of fairness is deeply embedded in the American spirit and it’s time for all those in favor of equanimity to stand up and say “Aye”!

Onward with Courage!