Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (1040)	7/1/2002 3:18:41 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

ALL of Ken Lay's ASSets should have been seized months ago... Things should have been put in a trust while everything is sorted out legally. Instead he is allowed to freely move around and liquidate assests and mostly likely park more money offshore where it will be hard to find or access if a large penalty is ever levied against him. IMO, Mr. Lay needs to be treated like a shrewd and dangerous Mafia boss who may have committed fraud / racketeering and large-scale insider trading. Look how he betrayed all his stakeholders while he was busy flying around on private jets and buying extra homes in Aspen...He was SO WIRED into the decision makers in Washington that he and his cronies were practically writing the energy policy for Cheney & Co....this most likely will never be fully revealed...its too sensitive...Where's Bob Woodward's DEEP THROAT when we need him <VBG>...?? -Scott@itshardtonotbecynical.com

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (1040)	7/1/2002 7:09:48 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Corporations desert war on terrorism By MARK SHIELDS SYNDICATED COLUMNIST Monday, July 1, 2002 President Bush has been direct: The battle against terrorism will be long and costly in U.S. treasure and suffering. In response to Bush's blunt words, dozens of U.S. corporations have gone AWOL in their country's current war by buying a Bermuda corporate address -- while never moving so much as a filing cabinet -- just to avoid taxes on profits they earned here. Yes, U.S. troops will sleep tonight thousands of miles from their families and wake tomorrow, again, in harm's way. Yes, this nation will spend an additional $48 billion on national defense and appropriate $38 billion for homeland security, and much more to rebuild New York City. When the going got tough, these corporate citizens got going to the tax havens where, in a time of war, they chose not to pay the U.S. taxes they owed, but still to have their factories, families and fortunes defended by U.S. Marines. These corporate "ex-patriots" seeking welfare for the wealthy may have no shame. But they do have defenders in power in Washington. Rep. Richard Armey, R-Texas, the House majority leader, asserted on the public record that these companies were not deserters, but "quite rightly" taking advantage of a loophole in the tax law. He compared their fictitious moves offshore to an American family moving to Florida to cut their tax bill. Of course, no U.S. citizen has the option of keeping the priceless rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship while simultaneously claiming Bermudan citizenship to avoid paying his income taxes. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, for one, thinks Armey is dead wrong. Grassley has joined Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., in pushing a bill to close the loophole. The true patriot recognizes and honors the duty and the responsibility she owes to her country and to her countrymen. The IRS estimates that these corporate parasites annually rob the United States Treasury of $70 billion in taxes And who makes up the difference? The cops, and firefighters, and nurses, and teachers, and Mom and Pop small-business owners do. They don't have a corporate counsel to file the necessary legal papers for a "move" to tax-free Bermuda or Barbados, but they do have the sons and daughters who bravely answer their nation's call to serve. They play by the rules. They obey the law. They pay their taxes. They love their country. The fight to bring these AWOL-deserter companies against their will back to justice is led in the House by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., a formidable inside player on the Ways and Means Committee who has regularly worked with Republicans. Neal's district includes many Reagan Democrats. What does Neal say to them? "Paying your taxes is patriotic. ... These corporations want 'Made in the U.S.A.' on their products, but they don't want U.S.A. on their corporate address." Neal is confident that mounting pressure will force the Republican House to take up the issue, and an experienced vote-counter, he is sure his bill will win 300 votes on the House floor. If these corporate wartime deserters cannot be brought to justice, isn't it time to throw in the towel and -- out of our collective gratitude for all that they do for us -- take the rich off the tax rolls altogether? ------------------------------------------------------ Mark Shields is a commentator on PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" and on CNN's "Capital Gang." Copyright 2002 by Creators Syndicate. E-mail: cre8ors@aol.com