Last Gasps

A masked thief robs a convenient store after beating up the clerk with the butt of his gun in front of several witinesses. The police show up just as he is gunning his pickup truck out of the parking lot. The police give chase and after a 100 mile per hour race the "suspect" is aprehended. The official reports and media refer to the "suspect" having "allegedly" committing the afore described felony. The "alleged" thief is booked and provided with legal aid: a public defender; a lawyer to protect his rights.
A large and powerful United States corporation with far reaching global interests uses a loosely configured tax code with generous loop holes to deposit huge amounts of their gross profits in off shore banks, thus avoiding income and corporate taxes otherwise owed to the US Department of Internal Revenue. This is not illegal, but considered by many as unethical and inequitable to the spirit of the law and everyone's civic responsibility. The government decides to close those loopholes and subject those "tax havens" to considerable scrutiny in order to retrieve taxes at a rate commensurate with the law as it applies to onshore companies. The corporations balk at any suggestion that they are cheating or obfuscating on their tax obligations and that any attack on the existing system would seriously affect their bottom line and share holders. They employ very expensive lawyers to argue their case in court even though the U.S. Treasury and IRS have compiled substantial evidence of how these corporations manipulate their finances to avoid taxation of any kind even though they operate under the protection and profit as a United States company.
We live in a Constitutional democracy and that means that all those constitutional rights, privileges and protections apply to the bad guys as well as the good guys.
Law enforcement has the above mentioned thief dead to rights and in a few other countries would be punished on the spot and not even get a brief hearing. That would be too harsh for our sensibilities and there may be mitigating circumstances to be considered by the court. Nevertheless, there is no excuse for breaking the law. I will make civil disobedience the exception. Yet, we are so cautious about individual rights that we condemn no one until they are finally convicted of their misdeeds.
There is no excuse for shirking one's obligations in contributing to the common good in the form of taxation in order to enjoy the benefits of living in the world's most affluent and advanced democracy. Because of political indulgences provided by past administrations with self interest at the heart of decisions regarding the tax code, individuals and corporations have been allowed to accumulate enormous wealth beyond reason at the expense of other businesses and the public at large. No one suggests that companies curtail their global aspirations. They should be encouraged. But they must also realize that the United States provides them with a broad range of services at home and abroad. International relations and policies that allow them to operate in foreign countries, access to US embassies, trade agreements and protection provided by our military all at tax payer expense.
The Republican Party, desperately searching for a new direction cannot resist repeating their mantra of more than a century. Allow the free market to operate without interference and ease the tax burden on vested interests and all will be well. Alexander Hamilton might agree with them, but modern day economics to serve the greater good cannot. The Republicans claim they simply want to preserve the American Way. It is apparent to me that what they really want to do is protect the old American Capitalism and prevent its certain demise. There is nothing wrong with making a lot of money. A great idea, determination and hard work deserve the fruits of labor and taking risks. It is also incumbent on those who take advantage of their opportunities to realize just how and where those opportunities came to be.
American businesses resist any and all attacks on their profit margins. What they so often fail to recognize is that improving the common lot increases their potential customer base and increased profitability.
The United States is a great place to do business and should be. To keep it a great place, business and particularly large corporations who may mistake their size for an excuse to dismiss their citizenship, all have to adhere to a fair share of taxation. As mentioned in my very first blog entry, this is not going to be your father's capitalism.