Careers in forensics are diverse and starting to be a lot more in demand, in particular, those in computer forensics.

Computer forensic investigations consist of cyber forensics and computer security forensics and these specialties obviously have a certain level of cross over between them.

Computer technology has advanced drastically over the past decade and has led to the necessity for a specialist branch of forensic investigation to be created….

Most people tend to think of fingerprinting and crime scene analysis once they think of forensic science, but forensics has had to go with the times and utilize technology to help their challenging activity.  Computer Forensics is Not Just A Career

Even though a number of people do, it’s a reality that numerous criminals do not have a lot of understanding of the operating systems involved in using computers and as such, leave them self wide open to getting caught by the experts.

Pedophile networks are a excellent instance of the skill of computer forensics being used.  Even when information is believed to be deleted, it can remain for years on the hard drive unless it is over-written and it is feasible to retrieve it by the use of forensic data recovery software.

Computer hacking is really a well-known practice that requires computer security forensics specialists to track down the hacker in cyberspace.

hacking might involve using somebody else’s email account to spam a large number of individuals, to place a virus, to steal money or modify personal details or simply to crash servers for some objective. Every one of these practices are illegal and may cause a great deal of harm to business and people.

A computer forensics expert can also access mobile phone technologies to retrieve info and contact particulars of suspected criminals. Indeed, an entire network could be parsed together from the careless use of cellular devices used by one individual.

Nevertheless, importantly, a computer forensics expert should be in a position to prove in court that any material recovered was actually present on the phone or computer when a crime was committed as it would be all too easy to plant that material at a later time. Consequently, as with hard evidence, the sequence of custody must be kept ultra-clean and protected when using computer forensics.

Careers in forensics require a great deal of initial and on-going education and is definitely an ongoing career requiring a great deal of commitment. The pay might not be fantastic for a few years, but job satisfaction is, so if you are thinking about specialising in one area of forensics, then computer forensics is definitely a rewarding one to follow.

Above isn’t a complete list but is created only to provide you with an notion of computer forensics . If you are thinking about careers in forensics , you may find a lot more info at www.careersinforensics.com .

Business » Career Advice

Who Needs Computer Forensics?

Computer Forensics is akin to investigating DNA, controlled substances, and finger prints. Often pictures of fingerprints with computer code are used to advertise computer forensic education and forensic investigative companies.

Computer Forensics is the duplication of stored data and the analysis of this data for criminal and civil legal proceedings.

A ‘forensic image’ is a bit by bit duplication of a hard drive, cell phone, or other digital device. This image is used by judges, attorneys and law enforcement to prosecute criminals involved with crimes ranging from stock market fraud to embezzlement.

Article Written By P. Weese

On a computer’s hard drive, many pieces of evidence are left behind. This evidence, though thought to be deleted, can be brought back to the forefront and viewed.

As well, passwords and encrypted files will sometimes hamper the investigation, but with some software and large computer processors, these codes are overcome, revealing hidden files.

In our everyday worlds, domestic conflicts unfold and parents are moved to know what is on their children’s devices. Bullying and other harassment is more common than we usually want to admit.

In cases where adolescent problems are evident, examining personal devices and computers can reveal text message conversations, computer instant messaging talks, and deleted emails. These files are used to rectify problems at hand. This same type of investigation is used when a husband and wife are having problems and are moving towards marriage dissolution.

Finally, businesses use digital investigations for numerous issues. Employee problems are very common. Data from a company can be stolen, damaged, or used in fraud. Companies have problems that range from intellectual property theft and database damage to accident investigations.

Having a forensic investigation done on a computer is not difficult, but must be done with processes that will hold up when entered as evidence in court. For best results, have the investigation done immediately. Don’t run the device until the forensic expert has concluded their work.

evident, examining personal devices and computers can reveal text message conversations, computer instant messaging talks, and deleted emails. These files are used to rectify problems at hand. This same type of investigation is used when a husband and wife are having problems and are moving towards marriage dissolution.

Finally, businesses use digital investigations for numerous issues. Employee problems are very common. Data from a company can be stolen, damaged, or used in fraud.   Companies have problems that range from intellectual property theft and database damage to accident investigations.

Having a forensic investigation done on a computer is not difficult, but must be done with processes that will hold up when entered as evidence in court. For best results, have the investigation done immediately. Don’t run the device until the forensic expert has concluded their work.

 

Who Needs Computer Forensics?? You Do

Computer Forensic Jobs

Requirements And Responsibilities

A computer forensic scientist is responsible for investigating computer crimes such as fraud, creating viruses, forging of software, illegal computer hacking, child pornography, and embezzlement.

Computer crimes cannot be confined in laptops and computers.   Anything that contains chips is coming under computer crimes investigation.  So it can be mobile phones, fax machines, cameras, video recorders, etc.

Cyber criminals mainly selecting home PCs for committing crime 

Computer forensic scientists are also responsible for tracking traceless criminals, internet child predators, identity theft, cyber terrorism, etc.   In order to work as a computer forensic scientist or computer forensic pathologist, you must have thorough theoretical and practical knowledge in networks, computers, computer surveillance, information security, data retrieval, hacking and criminal justice concepts such as confidentiality, evidence handling privacy laws, etc.

Recovering data from digital media, which is used in criminal proceedings, are also the responsibility of a computer forensic scientist and computer forensic pathologist.   Electronic data is stored and transferred by using devices such as laptops, computers, spreadsheets, images, PDAs, cell phones, etc and these devices are called digital media.

After retrieving necessary information, these scientists prepare detailed reports regarding the collected data, which will be presented in court.   They should also inform the court regarding the methods they used for recovering the information.

Requirements to Become a Computer Forensic Scientist or Computer Forensic Pathologist

Computer forensic science is a new field.   However, lots of universities and colleges, today, offer computer forensic degrees and related information systems such as cyber crime degrees, security degrees, etc to the students.   Formal education is inevitable to become a competitive scientist in this field.

Computer technology is a rapid changing field.   So, the scientists in computer forensics need to update with latest technologies.   The colleges and universities, which conduct degree programs in computer forensics and information systems security, offer associate’s bachelor’s and master’s degrees to the students.   You can work in police department as computer forensic scientist or computer forensic pathologist, if you have an associate’s degree together with law enforcement internship.   Bachelor’s degree usually takes two year to complete. Certifications such as CCSP, CISSP, CISM or CISA are required to get a job in some computer forensics field.

There are also lots of online accredited degree programs. Students who wish to enroll in bachelor’s degree in computer forensics must have strong knowledge in computer science, interest in legal studies, attention to detail, etc. The bachelor’s degree programs of various colleges include Bachelor of Science in Computer Forensics and Bachelor of Science in Digital Forensics.

The coursework covers topics such as computer forensics, computer network forensic technology, electronic communications law, computer forensic methodology, cyber investigation, etc. Students can also go for specialization in crime scene investigation, forensic accounting, electronic communications, file recovery, computer crime investigation, etc.

After completing bachelor’s degree program, you can seek computer forensic jobs as computer forensic investigator, computer forensic investigators (Finance), certified ethical hacker, consultant, crypographer, computer forensic pathologist, etc.

Vigorous training in computer forensics empowers students to acquire skills to manage computer forensic investigation. The objectives of certification include forensic analysis reports, e-discovery methodology, browser forensics, software analysis, proof acquisitions, etc. Through certification programs, students will also get training for collecting and analyzing data from various computers.

Career Opportunities

Computer forensics is relatively new field. However, it is a fast growing career field because of rapid increase of computer crimes. These crimes have become a fact of life very quickly and they also cause the loss of millions of dollars annually. This situation will become more aggressive in future.

Though a certification or bachelors degree is essential for getting lucrative computer forensic jobs, you need to acquire more specialized degree programs, practical knowledge and skills in order to become highly competent in this field.

Thorough knowledge and skills in a wide range of subjects such as operating systems, computer storage devices, software applications, programming languages, etc are also essential. US Bureau of Labor Statistics observes that computer forensic jobs field is very flourishing.

The salary of a computer forensic scientist and computer forensic pathologist depends on the level of education, certification, skills, experience, organization, location of work, responsibilities to undertake, etc. However, an experienced and skilled computer forensic scientist and computer forensic pathologist can make around $83,970. You will get highest payment for computer forensic jobs in states like New York, Virginia, California, Connecticut and Kansas.

Paul Dangheart Here:     Computer Forensic is a very fascinating science for me, And you will need additional information to understand just what is being said……. Certifications such as CCSP, CISSP, CISM or CISA are required

Push to Understanding...

If you have ever considered a degree in computer forensics, or cyberforensics, you’re not alone. Please note, that for the 21th Century it is a fast growing industry and one that is needed in this day and age.

Computer forensics is defined by Wikipedia as: “a branch of digital forensic science pertaining to legal evidence found in computers and digital storage media”.

It is used to gather evidence relating to both computer crime as well as for use in civil matters. Computer forensics is a branch of forensic science, which encompasses all sciences that answer any questions relating to a legal issue.

Consider how much information passes through our computers or cell phones on a daily basis. No matter how good of a job you may do to try to cover your tracks, a computer forensics expert can recover it. 

By taking a forensics course for the computer, you will upon completion be equipped to recover data from any type of digital media be it a computer, laptop, cell phone, or PDA, for use in criminal proceedings. The data recovered may include images, documents, or any type of files.

In order to obtain a  Computer Forensics Degree, you will be required to complete a course. Consider an online computer course and set your own pace for learning.   The timeline to complete the course ranges from as little as 5 weeks to as long as 12 weeks, though some online training centers will allow you up to twelve months to complete.  

It is important to know that even once you receive your degree in computer forensics, you will need to continually update your education as the world of technology changes rapidly.

A forensics course for the computer may fit your lifestyle better than attending a college or university.   If you need to work at the same time as you learn, prefer to learn from home, or it isn’t financially feasible for you to attend school away from home, an online forensics degree will hit the mark with you.

With computer crime being the fastest growing crime in the nation, there needs to be a body in place to investigate and report the evidence of these crimes. By joining the world of computer forensics you are joining a world that is constantly evolving. Computer technology changes daily and criminals are always looking for new ways to turn that to their advantage. Computer forensics is here to stay.

The New Mobile Economy

200K Jobs for Internet Entrepreneurs

Thanks to advances in technology and the internet, it is now possible for the average person with a laptop and a cell phone to literally create a mobile office from anywhere in the world.

Mobility and freedom are the buzzwords for this new breed of internet entrepreneurs.

        When you begin to see what is possible when you leverage the internet with home-based business models like network marketing and direct sales   It will be very difficult for many to go back to the old business model of being chained to a desk and trading time for money.

As I write this article from my laptop in a local coffee shop my family is down on the beach having fun. I chose to take a couple of hours to get a little work done and write this article.

Whether I choose to write PPC ads, email my list, or follow up with prospects, with this New Mobile Economy, it can all be done from this laptop no matter where I am in the world.   I really like that feeling of freedom.  There are many people making 200k plus a year through multiple online income streams.   The goal of one of the company I work with is to create 100 new millionaires by 2012.

Mobility and freedom are the buzzwords for this new breed of internet entrepreneurs.

        In one direct sales business you can make $1,000 dollar commissions on almost complete autopilot using a cutting edge marketing system that educates and sorts prospects automatically before ever getting on the phone with them.    I teach and train others on my team how to do the same and leverage myself off of their efforts.    With this New Mobile Economy I unique business model.   I benefit by sharing my ‘secrets’ with my business partners, unlike other businesses where giving away your secrets would create competition.

Of course this kind of business isn’t for everyone. It requires an entrepreneurial spirit, a willingness to learn, and a burning desire for freedom and success.

Requires Discipline

It also requires discipline

With this New Mobile Economy there isn’t a boss to tell you what to do.   There is no cubicle to keep you confined.     As a mentor I am there to support my business partners and share my knowledge and give them the exact steps necessary for success, but ultimately it’s up to the individual to succeed.

Direct sales is the fastest and most lucrative home based business opportunity online today.

There are many good companies out there but there is also a lot of crap, so you need to do your homework before partnering with anyone.    A few things to look for in a good direct sales company are training, automated marketing systems, and community.    If all three aren’t there, keep looking.

Internet marketing is a serious business.  With this new mobile economy, if you are serious about creating wealth and freedom for yourself you have to get yourself together an align with others that have achieved that very same success. The fact is that, $200k jobs in the new ‘mobile’ economy is a reality and a real and lasting solution for many to the state of the outdated old way of doing business in the world.

What a Computer Forensic Degree Is

And Why You Should Earn One

If you are considering pursuing a computer forensics degree, then you have some planning and thinking to do.

As with any major endeavor some important questions will need to be looked into….   The first obvious step would be to find out what exactly are the courses needed to complete in order to be a qualified computer forensics scientist.

This degree will involve taking tests in math as well as science. Therefore if you are poor in these subjects, it is advisable to write the necessary prerequisite tests before trying for this degree.

Computer forensics degrees will require a lot of programming knowledge. In order to have a good grasp in programming, you will need to be highly proficient in mathematics. This is why potential candidates who are entering this field, in general come from a math and science background.

An undergraduate degree in one of these subjects will always help.    Once all of this has been cleared and you are ready to apply, the next step is to put together a resume.    If you do not know how to do this, there are plenty of online sites which will help you with this. Asking your school counselor is also a good idea.

If you have any background in computer related knowledge, be sure to highlight this in the resume.

For example, if you have taken part in any computer game or programming competition in school, show this in the resume. The point of all this is that the resume should not only show good grades in your chosen subjects, but should also show any extracurricular activities related to computers.

Showing you are good at computer games may sound silly, but the fact is that these sorts of games require good knowledge in computers and a good ability in making calculations.

There are basically two different types of people who look into computer forensics as a job option.

The first type is the ones who already work in the legal field, most probably as an investigator.   The second type is the one who has not worked in anything related to the legal field, but will have some background related to computer work, such as programming and web designing.

These could include high school students or people looking to change careers. Whatever your background is, at some point of time you will need to join a law enforcement agency down the line. This is where candidates will receive real hands on training. However, you will need to get a degree in computer forensic science to start a career in this field.

As far joining a college is concerned it does not matter whether you attend a brick and Mortar College or an online course, as long as you complete required courses with good grades. In both instances there are plenty of options available.Do your research and make sure to find an online college that is accredited and reputable.. More and more people are choosing the online route for its sheer convenience. This is especially true of people who hold down daytime jobs.

So what is the general outlook regarding job prospects for people who want to enter the computer forensics world? Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the number of positions in this field will grow approximately 30 percent in the next ten years. In fact, the need for qualified computer forensic scientists is so great that more and more colleges are offering free or low cost education programs for computer forensics degrees. Some of the online colleges offer free introduction courses for you to see if you want to pursue this degree.

The bottom line

The bottom line is that jobs related computer forensics is always rising. As long as there are computers and internet, there will always be computer related crime. Cyber crimes are on the rise and there will always be a need to catch these types of criminals. Salary for computer forensic scientist will depend entirely on their experience level and where they are located. However, it is not unusual for people working in this field to make high five figure salaries or even six figure incomes.

Mobile Workers Travel the Country

for a PayCheck

Camping season is long over in Campbellsville, Ky., but motorhomes and camper vans still fill its parking lots and motel rooms are booked for months.

When Amazon.com announced last month it was hiring for thousands of temporary positions at its Kentucky fulfillment centers for the holiday season, people from across the country converged upon the town of 10,000 in a rush to fill them.

“It’s like quick money for Christmas,” Rita DeMichiel of Florida, one of the temporary workers, said. “We get in, we get out.”

DeMichiel is part of a growing number of mobile job hunters who travel to Campbelsville during the holiday season with their entire families to work for $10 an hour, packing and shipping Amazon orders during 8-12 hour shifts.

“The pay is really good, it’s above minimum wage,” DeMichiel said. “They pay overtime, so financially for us it was a way to make quick money and then be on our way to the next destination.”

The camper vans filled with families, retirees or hard-up job seekers are becoming a holiday season staple in Campbelsville.

Ron McMahan, executive director of the Campbelsville-Taylor County Economic Development Authority, says these seasonal workers are adding dollars to local businesses.

“It’s like a three- to four-month convention,” McMahan said. “These people are here eating in restaurants, they need medical services, they are shopping in retail stores, they need camper repair.”

For most of the workers, hopscotching around the country for a paycheck is a lifestyle. When their work is done in Kentucky, they’ll drive their vans to the next job. Texas, Wyoming, Michigan are a few of the popular destinations for itinerant workers. Most of them hear about available jobs online or by word of mouth from other workers.

Debra and Mark Pinson traded in a three-bedroom house and a mortgage for life on the road. Their first time living in a work camp was this spring in Michigan. They now travel from job to job across the country in their RV, staying in work campgrounds rent-free.

“Well, the mortgage was $1,800 and we pay zero here,” Debra Pinson said. “There are jobs out there. You just have to go out and look for them.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

By Becky Bratu
msnbc.com 9 Dec 2011

You Have to Ask Yourself WHY?… Would I Travel Across The County for a Paycheck??

The Science Of Crime Detection…

Computer Forensics Training

Forensic classes can teach you a great deal about this relatively young and still expanding science, whether you want to follow a career in the discipline or not.

There is much opportunity for you to do so, as forensics has now become a vital part of police work. Many routine convictions are obtained every year due to forensic evidence left at the scene of the crime, and even celebrated high profile cases can be solved in this way.

Forensics has become greatly expanded in recent years, thanks to both advancing technology, and continuing research.

The classes you take will need to give you a good basic grounding in forensics, and to that end they will need to concentrate on the routine aspects of the job first.

One of the most important developments during the last century was the ability to take fingerprints and use them as evidence that someone was in a certain place. If this technology had been available in the last decades of the nineteenth century, many notorious crimes would have been solved.

Allied to this development is the ability to identify vehicles from tire tracks and marks made in the earth near to a crime scene. Even in cases where criminals deliberately use an untypical tire for the vehicle and then change them immediately following the incident, some identifying marks may be left. Often, a vehicle can be identified by a combination of the weight and angle of the tire tracks. In one celebrated case, a murder was solved due to a deposit of rare oil found near the scene, which was used in the murderer’s motorcycle.

Many people will find the classes far more interesting when they move into the new developments of forensics. These include the high technology aspects which, although they do not involve any human body parts or remains, are still considered part of forensics. Digital technology is often used to hold information relating to crimes, or even to associates, and people often think they have erased this data for good when it is erased. In reality, it remains on the hard drive until it is overwritten, allowing an expert to access it and find important information.

The forensic classes you take should begin in a general way, outlining the basic principles of forensics and making sure you have an understanding of the concepts and how the science is used. From there, you will get an in-depth look at fingerprinting and vehicle identification, along with other significant techniques such as dental identification. These alone would qualify you to work in most forensic jobs, or to write about the subject in detective novels. If your interest is keen enough, you can then expand upon what you have learned by taking more specialized forensic classes.

Understand Panic Attacks

Understanding Panic

Panic is an intense feeling of fear or apprehension that happens quite suddenly, with or without cause. It can be a very frightening upsetting and uncomfortable feeling of disorder, like one is going to die, even.

The fear that is experienced is so strong that it is almost palpable and may even prevail over reason or logical thinking.

 Symptoms of Panic

It is often accompanied by heavy breathing, rapid heartbeat, sweating, light-headedness, blurred vision etc. Panic c

So...What Is Next

an happen to an individual person or may affect a whole group of people like a sudden widespread fear the way a whole herd of animals can bolt up and rush down a cliff to their deaths.

In humans, a panic attack can start to happen to a young adult because their mental state is still unstable and they tend to be quite emotional. When not properly addresses panic attacks may progressively get serious as time passes. The feeling of fear is often irrational and unexplainable.

“It just comes!” It can affect many people all at once and turn them into an uncontrolled hysterical mob. Spectators at sports events where emotions may run very high can easily become mob scenes.

Feeling of Panic can Trigger an Attack

Feeling agitated that something bad might happen and being overly worried about it may become a self-fulfilling prophecy with disastrous results. The fear of having a panic attack can, by itself, bring about one.

Panic attacks can be hereditary. Some families are more prone to having panic attacks than others. The children who grow up in a panic-prone environment can themselves grow up to be more prone to having panic disorders than those who come from backgrounds that are more placid.

Panic attacks can be brought about as a direct result of confrontations with phobias or just being in the same situation where a panic attack happened in the past can again trigger the same overwhelming feelings.

Loss of Strong Emotional Attachments Can Bring on Attacks

Panic attacks can be triggered by significant personal loss, like the death of a loved one, the breakup of a romantic relationship, the so-called life transitions. Moving into a new neighborhood or a new school can be quite traumatic for a young person and cause him to have irrational fears about the new situation and thus have a panic attack.

Adults taking certain kinds of medication may also be prone to having panic attacks as a side effect of the medicines they are taking. The fear that one will be unable to cope can also bring about the disorder.

Women tend to be more prone to having a panic disorder than men. This can be due to the fact that women tend to be more emotional than men are. The disorder can likewise be a manifestation of the swings in the hormonal levels of teen-agers and women.

 Panic Attacks can have a long Lasting Affect

After having one incident of a panic attack, the individual may continue to feel highly agitated for several hours. In certain cases, the panic episode can cause the person to become excessively worried about having another attack. He may be so consumed with worry and fear, that it no longer becomes possible where one panic attacks end and another one begin. The condition may then deteriorate into a full-blown panic disorder, which may be more difficult to address.

I Pay Almost 1/3 of My Measly income, Bank Of America Pays Nothing...

REPORT: You Have More Money In Your Wallet Than Bank Of America Pays In Federal Taxes

Today, hundreds of thousands of people comprising a Main Street Movement — a coalition of students, the retired, union workers, public employees, and other middle class Americans — are in the streets, demonstrating against brutal cuts to public services and crackdowns on organized labor being pushed by conservative politicians. These lawmakers that are attacking collective bargaining and cutting necessary services like college tuition aid and health benefits for public workers claim that they have no choice but than to take these actions because both state and federal governments are in debt.

She Pays 1/3 of her income for U.S. Taxes, But none paid by BANK OF AMERICA,  And We are Worried by the Federal Debt…   American Corporations Give New Meaning to “White Collar Crimes”

But it wasn’t teachers, fire fighters, policemen, and college students that caused the economic recession that has devastated government budgets — it was Wall Street. And as middle class workers are being asked to sacrifice, the rich continue to rig the system, dodging taxes and avoiding paying their fair share.

In an interview with In These Times, Carl Gibson, the founder of US Uncut, which is organizing some of today’s UK-inspired massive demonstrations against tax dodgers, explains that while ordinary Americans are being asked to sacrifice, major corporations continue to use the rigged tax code to avoid paying any federal taxes at all. As he says, if you have “one dollar” in your wallet, you’re paying more than the “combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the Bank of America“:

[Gibson] explains, “I have one dollar in my wallet. That’s more than the combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the Bank of America. That means somebody is gaming the system.”

Indeed, as politicians are asking ordinary Americans to sacrifice their education, their health, their labor rights, and their wellbeing to tackle budget deficits, some of the world’s richest multinational corporations are getting away with shirking their responsibility and paying nothing. ThinkProgress has assembled a short but far from comprehensive list of these tax dodgers — corporations which have rigged the tax system to their advantage so they can reap huge profits and avoid paying taxes:

- BANKOF AMERICA: In 2009, Bank of America didn’t pay a single penny in federal income taxes, exploiting the tax code so as to avoid paying its fair share. “Oh, yeah, this happens all the time,” said Robert Willens, a tax accounting expert interviewed by McClatchy. “If you go out and try to make money and you don’t do it, why should the government pay you for your losses?” asked Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice. The same year, the mega-bank’s top executives received pay “ranging from $6 million to nearly $30 million.”

- BOEING: Despite receiving billions of dollars from the federal government every single year in taxpayer subsidies from the U.S. government, Boeing didn’t “pay a dime of U.S. federal corporate income taxes” between 2008 and 2010.

- CITIGROUP: Citigroup’s deferred income taxes for the third quarter of 2010 amounted to a grand total of $0.00. At the same time, Citigroup has continued to pay its staff lavishly. “John Havens, the head of Citigroup’s investment bank, is expected to be the bank’s highest paid executive for the second year in a row, with a compensation package worth $9.5 million.”

- EXXON-MOBIL: The oil giant uses offshore subsidiaries in the Caribbean to avoid paying taxes in the United States. Although Exxon-Mobil paid $15 billion in taxes in 2009, not a penny of those taxes went to the American Treasury. This was the same year that the companyovertook Wal-Mart in the Fortune 500. Meanwhile the total compensation of Exxon-Mobil’s CEO the same year was over $29,000,000.

- GENERAL ELECTRIC: In 2009, General Electric — the world’s largest corporation — filed more than 7,000 tax returns and still paid nothing to U.S. government. They managed to do this by a tax code that essentially subsidizes companies for losing profits and allows them to set up tax havens overseas. That same year GE CEO Jeffery Immelt — who recentlyscored a spot on a White House economic advisory board — “earned total compensation of $9.89 million.” In 2002, Immelt displayed his lack of economic patriotism, saying, “When I am talking to GE managers, I talkChina, China, China, China, China….I am a nut on China. Outsourcing from China is going to grow to 5 billion.”

- WELLS FARGO: Despite being the fourth largest bank in the country, Wells Fargo was able to escape paying federal taxes by writing all of its losses off after its acquisition of Wachovia. Yet in 2009 the chief executive of Wells Fargo also saw his compensation “more than double” as he earned “a salary of $5.6 million paid in cash and stock and stock awards of more than $13 million.”

In the coming months, politicians across the country are going to tell Americans that the only way to stave off huge deficit and balance the budgets is by gutting programs for the poor, eviscerating support for the middle class, eliminating labor rights, and decimating the government’s ability to serve the public interest. This is a lie. The United States is the richest country in the history of the world, and income inequality is higher now than it has been at any time since the 1920?s, with the top “top 1 percentile of households [taking] home 23.5 percent of income in 2007.”

It is simply unfair for Main Street Americans who’ve already been battered by one of the worst economic crises in our history to have to continue to sacrifice while the rich and well-connected continue to rip off taxpayers and avoid paying their fair share. That’s why a Main Street Movement consisting of Americans who are fed up with the status quo is rocking the nation, and one of its first targets should be tax dodgers like Bank of America and Boeing.

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/26/main-street-tax-cheats/