Ugh
Published by Jeff, April 8th, 2004 in Domestic Policy, EconomyFrom TMW: Many Firms Avoided Taxes in Boom
WASHINGTON - More than 60% of U.S. corporations didn’t pay any federal taxes for 1996 through 2000, years when the economy boomed and corporate profits soared, Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal reported, citing the investigative arm of Congress.
The disclosures from the General Accounting Office are certain to fuel the debate over corporate tax payments in the presidential campaign. Corporate tax receipts have shrunk markedly as a share of overall federal revenue in recent years, and were particularly depressed when the economy soured. By 2003, they had fallen to just 7.4% of overall federal receipts, the lowest rate since 1983, and the second-lowest rate since 1934, federal budget officials say.
The GAO analysis of Internal Revenue Service data comes as tax avoidance by both U.S. and foreign companies also is drawing increased scrutiny from the IRS and Congress. But more so than similar previous reports, the analysis suggests that dodging taxes, both legally and otherwise, has become deeply rooted in U.S. corporate culture. The analysis found that even more foreign-owned companies doing business in the U.S. — about 70% of them — reported that they didn’t owe any U.S. federal taxes during the late 1990s.
Ugh. From a forum I post at:
Capitalism sucks. It conditions us to consider eachother, not as persons, but as means to our own selfish desires. We are all instruments to eachother, to be ‘used and thrown away’ as seen fit, in this insatiable materialistic appetite. A perpetual yearning for ‘more’ that results from a deep spiritual/emotional void in our lives; an expensive car, a six figure salary, a luxurious mansion - all failed attempts at fulfillment. We’ve been handed the magnet, and yet we continue to plow through the haystack with our hands looking for the needle. Our wonderful economic system has infiltrated every aspect of our society and deteriorated our values and social bonds; And that, I think, has led to the crime, the corruption, the greed.. this sick society we live in today. Well, that’s what I think at least.. I could be wrong.
(By bashing Capitalism I am not supporting Communism, so please, no unnecessary comments like - “Yeah!? Well Communism ain’t any better, y’damn Commie!”)
Not that I have any solutions, or really against capitalism, I’m just in a bad mood.
Communism failed because it put the system above the individual, same reason capitalism failed.. I lean towards being a pinko commie bastard though (I’ll upload a pic of me with a statue of Stalin in Seattle when I’m back on my computer).
It seems to me that communism failed because the Soviet Union basically enslaved it’s population. Not that that really conflicts with what you said. Though, I’d be sick to my stomach if I got my picture taken in front of a statue of Stalin. The same thing if I was in front of statue of Hitler.
Anyway, I thought you were an anarchist?
anarcho-syndicalist… anarchy for most social issues, socialism for most economic issues.. and sorry, it was late.. I meant Lenin, Stalin was essentially a dictator, Lenin wasn’t quite so bad.. the problem was that it wasn’t in the best interest of the people, it was in the best interest of the government.. just like actions here are done in the best interest of the corporation, not in the best interest of the workers of that corporation.. pride in ones country and nationalism aren’t necessarily bad things, even Hitler’s actions weren’t so bad in the beginning… he unified the people and created a strong sense of nationalism.. it was what his intent was and what he did with the power once he had the power of the people that made him truely evil (unifying the US after 9/11 good thing.. using it as an excuse for other things.. not that I’m pointing fingers at anyone in particular *ahem*.. is a very bad thing).. If I’m not making any sense again I’m sorry.. I really need to stop posting late at night
Lenin next to Taco Del Mar, Freemont, Seattle, WA, US.
Not really related, but Freemont is one of the coolest communities in the US. It is mostly artists, but also the home of Adobe. When I was walking to take pictures of the Freemont Troll (giant concrete troll under a bridge there) some guy walked a whole block wiping oil up off the street while we stood there. When he got close he apologized and said that he had changed the oil in his car but hadn’t got the filter on all the way. Nowhere other than maybe Missoula or somewhere in San Francisco, could I have imagined someone walking several blocks wiping up oil from their car, but also apologizing to strangers about it.
Actually capitalism is a rather nice economic system and I think we should try it for a while. Of course, first we would have to eliminate corporations because they violate one of the basic principle of capitalism: risk. By limiting risk you eliminate one of the most effective market controls - total ruin and poverty.
Imagine the effect on corporate management if they were individually responsible for the failure of the company, that everything they ever owned would be taken and they would be looking for a cardboard box to sleep in.
Communism, like true democracy, only works for small groups like the Israeli Kibbutzes or the utopian communities of 19th century America. They don’t scale which is why socialism in some form is the norm.
The main difference between the US system and the European form is who benefits from the socialism. Europe benefits the workers, while the US aids the corporations.