Its good to be friends with The One – from The New York Times:
General Electric, the nation’s largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010.
The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.
Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion…
How is this done? Because GE is such a gigantic corporation, they can afford the army of lawyers, tax experts and lobbyists which allow them to dodge America’s high corporate tax rate. By massaging the government with money and perks, GE has managed to screw the American people, rake in vast profits on overseas enterprises and not pay any taxes. Meanwhile, small and mid-sized firms – which make all or most of their profits in the United States – lack these resources and so are forced to bear the burden, thus limiting the ability of the domestic economy to grow and provide jobs. GE’s success is the product of the union of Big Corporation with Big Government…and GE’s boss – Immelt – becoming a top Obama economic adviser just demonstrates what has really been going on.
So it has been for about 100 years now – even back in the days of the trust-busting Theodore Roosevelt, laws, taxes and regulations were being written by Big Government types (and the “Progressives” of the early 20th century were in favor of Big Government, just as today’s progressives are) in order to favor Big Corporation. By increasing the regulatory and tax cost of doing business in the United States we have progressively (and that is a very apt word here) made it harder and harder for regular folks to engage in business. We’ve essentially frozen out the man with an idea and a dream and made the world safe for the guy with a business degree and solid, political connections.
In order to really fix what is wrong with America the “Bigs” have to go – both Big Government and Big Corporation. Though the emphasis must remain on curbing government – which will, in and of itself, lower the ability of Big Corporation to twist things around – we must give time and thought to how we ensure a level playing field in a genuinely free market. Tax rates must be reviewed to determine if they are really for revenue, or just for harming competitors; regulations must be reviewed to determine if they really meet a public need, or if they are just part of an inside deal to favor some group. All persons must be able to enter the market place in the time and manner of their choosing without having an onerous burden of taxes and regulations placed upon them. With all due heed to healthy, safety and reasonable environmental concerns, the path to a start-up should be wide and open.
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