Wealthy CEOs Want Tax Breaks, Cuts to Poor and Elderly

"The corporate CEOs who have made a high-profile foray into deficit negotiations have themselves been substantially responsible for the size of the deficit they now want closed.

The companies represented by executives working with the Campaign To Fix The Debt have received trillions in federal war contracts, subsidies and bailouts, as well as specialized tax breaks and loopholes that virtually eliminate the companies' tax bills.

The CEOs are part of a campaign run by the Peter Peterson-backed Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, which plans to spend at least $30 million pushing for a deficit reduction deal in the lame-duck session and beyond.

During the past few days, CEOs belonging to what the campaign calls its CEO Fiscal Leadership Council -- most visibly, Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein and Honeywell's David Cote -- have barnstormed the media, making the case that the only way to cut the deficit is to severely scale back social safety-net programs -- Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security -- which would disproportionately impact the poor and the elderly."*

Who actually runs the GOP, who is not paying taxes, and who is asking for big breaks and bailouts? In short, Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein, Honeywell's David Cote, and other very wealthy corporatists. Cenk Uygur explains the corporate ideologies, priorities, and demands.

*Read more from Christina Wilkie and Ryan Grim/ Huffington Post:

*Watch the CBS interview with Lloyd Blankfein:

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