Who Is Minding the Store?

FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, Ireland and Apple Computer have been experiencing a financial renaissance, with each other's help. Ireland lured Apple to Ireland with promises of huge tax breaks, Steve Jobs accepted the offer not long before he died, and since Apple avoids paying taxes everywhere, most notably in America, why not? Low Irish taxes, lower than normal as a special privilege, cheap labor, great profit. Years of mutual prosperity and thousands of new jobs later, the European Union, which Ireland supposedly wants to remain part of, announced that Apple owes the EU fourteen billion, with a "B', in back taxes. Apple is quite naturally appealing, Ireland is saying it does not want the money, and is formally on Apple's side, though you damned good and well know they want the money, secretly (who wouldn't?) The United States is on Apple's side, strange, since the U.S. also thinks Apple owes tax money in the U.S., and should keep its jobs in America. If all this sounds complicated, it is, a are all situations involving corporate intrigue, greed, and foolishness, particularly when the U.S. government is involved, even more so when Europe is. it is enough to make reasonable people to wonder: why don't governments simply establish reasonable tax laws, and apply them equally, fairly, consistently, transparently? The answer, of course, is that doing so would just make too damned much sense. From the government perspective, If you do that, then you lose the ability to lure business and influence corporate behavior with "creative" tax policy. No government on Earth is going to enact legislation which prevents it own corrupt activities. Free market Americans complain about the high cost of corporate taxes in America, supposedly in the world, but how many of America's hugest corporations actually pay taxes, after all the discounts, write offs, and government subsidies are taken into account? None, most likely. General Electric is famous for consistently having no federal ax liability, year after multi billion dollar year. Corporations must be regulated at last somewhat for the good of society, and the same thing applies to government, it must be kept under control. So who is guarding the guard? No one, if not we the people.------OUR GOAL IS TO INCLUDE AS MANY CREATIVE PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE IN THE CONVERSATION. PLEASE LOG ON OFTEN, AND SHARE THIS WEBSITE WITH OTHERS. THANKS!