Obama & The Treasury Go After "inversions"

[JoeB131]

... the big corporations you think are being SOOOOOO mistreated, even though they are making record profits.

Which ones?

All of them?

And do you know how "profits" are calculated, and why so much cash remains on the sidelines (that was a hint for the first part of the question, by the way)?

Just curious if you know any of this stuff, or if you even care.

.

No, I stopped caring about the lies of the Plutocrats and their bullshit economics in 2008. Nothing they had to say after 2008 even registers with me.

 

[Mac1958]

... the big corporations you think are being SOOOOOO mistreated, even though they are making record profits.

Which ones?

All of them?

And do you know how "profits" are calculated, and why so much cash remains on the sidelines (that was a hint for the first part of the question, by the way)?

Just curious if you know any of this stuff, or if you even care.

.

No, I stopped caring about the lies of the Plutocrats and their bullshit economics in 2008. Nothing they had to say after 2008 even registers with me.

Okay.

.

 

[zeke]

Better yet Mac, why don't you talk about Morris Trusts, Reverse Morris trusts, split offs and all the other ways and means that corporations have to reduce tax obligations.

Why is it that those aren't good enough for corporations?
You know who Allan Sloan is Mac? Financial editor to Fortune. He gave interesting testimony to Congress on inversions. Try using the Internet to learn something.

 

[Bfgrn]

I just wish Obama would stopping such a pussy and raise corporate tax rates to 50% or 70% or so.

Cuz then we'd have a lot more money 'n stuff.



.

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

 

[zeke]

Mac, you just are not very good (for all your supposed expertise) in convincing us disbelievers that tax inversions are good for our country. Why can't you convince us?

 

[Mac1958]

I just wish Obama would stopping such a pussy and raise corporate tax rates to 50% or 70% or so.

Cuz then we'd have a lot more money 'n stuff.



.

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

Um, obviously not. Nor did I say it was.

So the sarcasm there was lost on you a bit.

But that didn't stop your attempt at a little straw man.

That's okay, I know how the game is played.

.

 

[Mac1958]

I just wish Obama would stopping such a pussy and raise corporate tax rates to 50% or 70% or so.

Cuz then we'd have a lot more money 'n stuff.



.

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

Oh, and by the way, your own story says "it will also get rid of a lot of those loopholes".

28% is still too high in an intensely competitive global economy, and the closing of loopholes (financial incentives to invest) would take us back to Square One in many ways.

I know this isn't your area, nor Obama's, nor do you care, but that cut and paste isn't all that powerful.

.

 

[Silhouette]

What I do realize is that a US citizen has a duty and civic responsibility to contribute to and improve the country in which he lives and does business. And he may not conduct himself in a manner that degrades this country's cohesion and stability. That includes him taking steps to unravel the US economy via actions he knows or should have known would have this effect.

You're either a citizen, or you aren't. Which is it MaxGrit?

I agree with you that the best way is service to others and support community development.

Best way to go about it is encourage morality and self sufficiency.

I would say it goes a little further than encouraging moraltiy and self sufficiency. As citizens we have certain civic duties and expectations of us. Like jury duty for example. We also have a duty and a mandate to not do things that we know would be gravely seditious or undermining to our country. Like creating an economic sinkhole. Like shipping jobs overseas and profits in offshore accounts...damaging the American economy by doing so ...but still claiming citizenship rights.

You've heard of Citizen's United I assume? US citizens have a duty to allegiance to their country. It's not just a suggestion.

 

[Bfgrn]

I just wish Obama would stopping such a pussy and raise corporate tax rates to 50% or 70% or so.

Cuz then we'd have a lot more money 'n stuff.



.

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

Um, obviously not. Nor did I say it was.

So the sarcasm there was lost on you a bit.

But that didn't stop your attempt at a little straw man.

That's okay, I know how the game is played.

.

Game? Why are so insecure?

Where is the strawman Mac?

 

[Mac1958]

I just wish Obama would stopping such a pussy and raise corporate tax rates to 50% or 70% or so.

Cuz then we'd have a lot more money 'n stuff.



.

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

Um, obviously not. Nor did I say it was.

So the sarcasm there was lost on you a bit.

But that didn't stop your attempt at a little straw man.

That's okay, I know how the game is played.

.

Game? Why are so insecure?

Where is the strawman Mac?

Being obtuse is another game played by partisan ideologues like you. Again, I'm used to it.

If you want to discuss the issue, do so without games. And I would prefer you did it in your own words, not with cut-and-paste attempts that don't argue your point very well for you. I know that you don't understand this issue very well. I don't understand how to fix cars well, either; but if I took my car to a mechanic and told him how to fix it, he would probably just laugh, roll his eyes and shake his head, as I do when I read posts on this topic from people like you.

Be serious, or try this with someone else. Silly questions don't interest me.

.

 

[Bfgrn]

I just wish Obama would stopping such a pussy and raise corporate tax rates to 50% or 70% or so.

Cuz then we'd have a lot more money 'n stuff.



.

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

Um, obviously not. Nor did I say it was.

So the sarcasm there was lost on you a bit.

But that didn't stop your attempt at a little straw man.

That's okay, I know how the game is played.

.

Game? Why are so insecure?

Where is the strawman Mac?

Being obtuse is another game played by partisan ideologues like you. Again, I'm used to it.

If you want to discuss the issue, do so without games. And I would prefer you did it in your own words, not with cut-and-paste attempts that don't argue your point very well for you. I know that you don't understand this issue very well. I don't understand how to fix cars well, either; but if I took my car to a mechanic and told him how to fix it, he would probably just laugh, roll his eyes and shake his head, as I do when I read posts on this topic from people like you.

Be serious, or try this with someone else. Silly questions don't interest me.

.

I am being serious you narcissistic asshole. You really are a fucking moron.

What do YOU know Mac? You haven't enlightened us?

Do American corporations actually PAY the highest taxes? How does tax deferral effect what they PAY Mac?

 

[Silhouette]

A more important question is "Are corporations American citizens?".

Because if they are, they have not just the enjoyments of citizenship, but the duties, responsibilties and mandates of allegiance for what's best for our country to abide by; as we all do..

 

[Bfgrn]

A more important question is "Are corporations American citizens?".

Because if they are, they have not just the enjoyments of citizenship, but the duties, responsibilties and mandates of allegiance for what's best for our country to abide by; as we all do..

In the context of Mac's attack on Obama, the CEO of a corporation is only beholden to the shareholders to maximize profits. The President of the United States is in essence the CEO of America. But his job is to answer to the STAKEholders in our nation.

This is the attitude of corporate icons...

General Electric's former CEO Jack Welch is one of the great economic royalists of the modern day. He is the guy who said the businessman's dream is to "have every plant you own on a barge" -- so that the plant can move away anytime workers demand better wages, working conditions or environmental standards.

 

[Mac1958]

I just wish Obama would stopping such a pussy and raise corporate tax rates to 50% or 70% or so.

Cuz then we'd have a lot more money 'n stuff.



.

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

Um, obviously not. Nor did I say it was.

So the sarcasm there was lost on you a bit.

But that didn't stop your attempt at a little straw man.

That's okay, I know how the game is played.

.

Game? Why are so insecure?

Where is the strawman Mac?

Being obtuse is another game played by partisan ideologues like you. Again, I'm used to it.

If you want to discuss the issue, do so without games. And I would prefer you did it in your own words, not with cut-and-paste attempts that don't argue your point very well for you. I know that you don't understand this issue very well. I don't understand how to fix cars well, either; but if I took my car to a mechanic and told him how to fix it, he would probably just laugh, roll his eyes and shake his head, as I do when I read posts on this topic from people like you.

Be serious, or try this with someone else. Silly questions don't interest me.

.

I am being serious you narcissistic asshole. You really are a fucking moron.

What do YOU know Mac? You haven't enlightened us?

Do American corporations actually PAY the highest taxes? How does tax deferral effect what they PAY Mac?

Yet another straw man. You people literally can't help yourselves.

Who said they pay the highest taxes, Bfgrn? Did I say that, Bfgrn? Where, Bfgrn? Tell me where, Bfgrn? Huh, Bfgrn?

Now isn't that a silly, childish way to communicate? And the "fucking moron" is a nice touch, too, in a grade school playground.

Tax rates and effective tax rates tell only part of a much larger, more complicated story in a global economy.

If you want to punish corporations, do so. If you think that this administration is business-friendly, go ahead and think that. In post 81, I laid out a plan. If you want to pretend it is the plan of a hardcore right wing partisan ideologue (in other words, a counterpoint to you), you can think that too.

I am under no obligation to enable your behavior.

.

 

[Bfgrn]

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

Um, obviously not. Nor did I say it was.

So the sarcasm there was lost on you a bit.

But that didn't stop your attempt at a little straw man.

That's okay, I know how the game is played.

.

Game? Why are so insecure?

Where is the strawman Mac?

Being obtuse is another game played by partisan ideologues like you. Again, I'm used to it.

If you want to discuss the issue, do so without games. And I would prefer you did it in your own words, not with cut-and-paste attempts that don't argue your point very well for you. I know that you don't understand this issue very well. I don't understand how to fix cars well, either; but if I took my car to a mechanic and told him how to fix it, he would probably just laugh, roll his eyes and shake his head, as I do when I read posts on this topic from people like you.

Be serious, or try this with someone else. Silly questions don't interest me.

.

I am being serious you narcissistic asshole. You really are a fucking moron.

What do YOU know Mac? You haven't enlightened us?

Do American corporations actually PAY the highest taxes? How does tax deferral effect what they PAY Mac?

Yet another straw man. You people literally can't help yourselves.

Who said they pay the highest taxes, Bfgrn? Did I say that, Bfgrn? Where, Bfgrn? Tell me where, Bfgrn? Huh, Bfgrn?

Now isn't that a silly, childish way to communicate? And the "fucking moron" is a nice touch, too, in a grade school playground.

Tax rates and effective tax rates tell only part of a much larger, more complicated story in a global economy.

If you want to punish corporations, do so. If you think that this administration is business-friendly, go ahead and think that. In post 81, I laid out a plan. If you want to pretend it is the plan of a hardcore right wing partisan ideologue (in other words, a counterpoint to you), you can think that too.

I am under no obligation to enable your behavior.

.

Is that President Obama's position Mac? Raise corporate tax rates?

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's corporate tax system would sharply cut the taxes that U.S. companies pay. But it would also eliminate many of the loopholes that help them pare down what they owe.

A Tax Code Loaded With Exemptions

But the U.S. tax code is also loaded with exemptions, deductions and credits of all kinds. And, says Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, most big companies know how to take advantage of them. "Right now we have about a 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate," he says. "But our big corporations, on average, pay about half that — about 18 percent."

The Obama administration's plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but it would also get rid of a lot of those loopholes. The plan would also impose a minimum tax on money that companies make overseas, something proponents say would cut down on the use of offshore tax havens. ref

A funny thing happened on the way to lower tax rates. BIG corporations reject reform, because lowering their tax rate would in reality increase what they REALLY pay...

Um, obviously not. Nor did I say it was.

So the sarcasm there was lost on you a bit.

But that didn't stop your attempt at a little straw man.

That's okay, I know how the game is played.

.

Game? Why are so insecure?

Where is the strawman Mac?

Being obtuse is another game played by partisan ideologues like you. Again, I'm used to it.

If you want to discuss the issue, do so without games. And I would prefer you did it in your own words, not with cut-and-paste attempts that don't argue your point very well for you. I know that you don't understand this issue very well. I don't understand how to fix cars well, either; but if I took my car to a mechanic and told him how to fix it, he would probably just laugh, roll his eyes and shake his head, as I do when I read posts on this topic from people like you.

Be serious, or try this with someone else. Silly questions don't interest me.

.

I am being serious you narcissistic asshole. You really are a fucking moron.

What do YOU know Mac? You haven't enlightened us?

Do American corporations actually PAY the highest taxes? How does tax deferral effect what they PAY Mac?

Yet another straw man. You people literally can't help yourselves.

Who said they pay the highest taxes, Bfgrn? Did I say that, Bfgrn? Where, Bfgrn? Tell me where, Bfgrn? Huh, Bfgrn?

Now isn't that a silly, childish way to communicate? And the "fucking moron" is a nice touch, too, in a grade school playground.

Tax rates and effective tax rates tell only part of a much larger, more complicated story in a global economy.

If you want to punish corporations, do so. If you think that this administration is business-friendly, go ahead and think that. In post 81, I laid out a plan. If you want to pretend it is the plan of a hardcore right wing partisan ideologue (in other words, a counterpoint to you), you can think that too.

I am under no obligation to enable your behavior.

.

You are too obtuse (a word YOU applied to me) to know what you are and aren't saying. Did you literally say these words: "American corporations pay the highest taxes"...no. BUT, you DID say 28% is still too high.

SO, the effective tax rate US corporations pay is 13.4%, and you want to RAISE it to 15%.

 

[Iceweasel]

Do American corporations actually PAY the highest taxes? How does tax deferral effect what they PAY Mac?

The U.S. Corporate Effective Tax Rate Myth and the Fact Tax Foundation
Key Points

• The marginal effective tax rate (METR) on corporate investment (i.e., the tax impact on capital investment as a portion of the cost of capital) is 35.3 percent in the U.S.—higher than in any other developed country.
• The U.S. has maintained the highest METR in the OECD since 2007, when Canada’s multiyear program of corporate tax reform brought its METR below the G-7 average.
• Nonetheless, the White House and Treasury Department continue to assert that the U.S. has a lower METR than Canada by failing to properly account for sales and property taxes.
• The U.S. METR varies by industry, from 26.7 percent for transportation to 39.3 percent for communications.
• The U.S. average effective tax rate on corporations (AETR) is irregular from year to year due to the complexity and instability of the corporate tax code.
• Excessively high U.S. corporate tax rates have shrunk the U.S. corporate sector and reduced corporate tax revenues.

The statutory corporate income tax rate of the United States is infamously one of the highest in the world, while effective tax rates on capital investments appear to be high and dispersed.

For businesses, it is not unusual to see their effective tax rates, regardless of how these are defined, being lower than their statutory tax rates. This results from tax preferences (“loopholes,” if using a pejorative term) that are more generous than the economic costs of generating taxable income.

 

[Mac1958]

You are too obtuse (a word YOU applied to me) to know what you are and aren't saying. Did you literally say these words: "American corporations pay the highest taxes"...no. BUT, you DID say 28% is still too high.

SO, the effective tax rate US corporations pay is 13.4%, and you want to RAISE it to 15%.

Uh, no.

And again, I realize this isn't your field, so I'll try to be clear.

The 13.4% figure is "effective tax rate", which is the declared tax rate minus the various deductions and credits, etc. The 15% tax rate is the declared tax rate. So after the deductions and credits it would end up lower than that.

So a 15% declared tax rate might end up as a 7% effective tax rate.

Just like your personal income taxes. Maybe you're in the 25% tax bracket. You'll probably pay a lower effective tax, maybe 17%, because of your write-offs, such as mortgage interest.

Does that help at all?

.

 

[Bfgrn]

If you dislike President Obama, you would HATE President Kennedy.




News Conference 30 (April 11, 1962)

President John F. Kennedy
State Department Auditorium, Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, April 11, 1962, 3:30 p.m.

Official White House Transcript

THE PRESIDENT: "Good afternoon. I have several announcements to make.

The simultaneous and identical actions of United States Steel and other leading steel corporations, increasing steel prices by some 6 dollars a ton, constitute a wholly unjustifiable and irresponsible defiance of the public interest.

In this serious hour in our nation's history, when we are confronted with grave crises in Berlin and Southeast Asia, when we are devoting our energies to economic recovery and stability, when we are asking Reservists to leave their homes and families for months on end, and servicemen to risk their lives -- and four were killed in the last two days in Viet Nam -- and asking union members to hold down their wage requests, at a time when restraint and sacrifice are being asked of every citizen, the American people will find it hard, as I do, to accept a situation in which a tiny handful of steel executives whose pursuit of private power and profit exceeds their sense of public responsibility can show such utter contempt for the interests of 185 million Americans.

...a few gigantic corporations have decided to increase prices in ruthless disregard of their public responsibilities.

Some time ago I asked each American to consider what he would do for his country and I asked the steel companies. In the last 24 hours we had their answer."

 

[Ernie S.]

[
Tell you what... YOU pay an extra buck for your burger if you like and tell the manager to distribute is amongst his staff. Mick D's burgers OR their employees aren't worth any more of my money.

Look Joe. Mc Donalds and Wendy's are on food stamps, not because of the company they work for. They are poor because they work only 20 hours a week. If these people need more money, they should get off their lazy asses and learn a skill that pays better than flipping burgers or fill up their dance card with maybe another job.

Guy, I've seen ENGINEERS working side jobs at the Home Depot. The problem is not that the folks at McDonald's aren't working hard enough, it's that the 1%ers will rip off the working man at every opportunity.

And dumb-asses like you will defend them doing so.

I get it. You got hurt and lost your job. Corporations suck.

They do what they need to do to remain in business, you fool.

 

[Silhouette]

A more important question is "Are corporations American citizens?".

Because if they are, they have not just the enjoyments of citizenship, but the duties, responsibilties and mandates of allegiance for what's best for our country to abide by; as we all do..

In the context of Mac's attack on Obama, the CEO of a corporation is only beholden to the shareholders to maximize profits. The President of the United States is in essence the CEO of America. But his job is to answer to the STAKEholders in our nation.

This is the attitude of corporate icons...

General Electric's former CEO Jack Welch is one of the great economic royalists of the modern day. He is the guy who said the businessman's dream is to "have every plant you own on a barge" -- so that the plant can move away anytime workers demand better wages, working conditions or environmental standards.

GE is also responsible for convincing Japan that "a way better form of steam for them to use" to run their electric industrial turbines, instead of the third largest reserve of geothermal steam of any country on earth just below their feet, was to install nuclear reactors to use deadly radiation to boil water. Because that way profits could be better corraled and monopolized [not everyone can get a permit to install a nuclear plant after all..]. So one could say that GE was not being a good Japanese citizen by manipulating such "good advice" into practical application there. A loyal citizen to Japan would not knowingly harm his country in such a fashion.

My point about corporate citizenship though is an important one. If you locate all your money and physical presence [jobs and manufacturing facilities] in another country to the detriment of the American economy, how is it you are an American citizen?

The simple legal question may just be, "Are corporations citizens or not"? And what defines 'US citizen'? Is it someone that only reaps the goodies from this country while acting in ways that actively undermines it? Or do they have a civic duty and duties of allegiance to this great land that otherwise lends them the greatest freedoms of any nation?

I'm beginning to think they should just replace the sign at Ellis Island to say "Come Rape Us".