Rand Paul Says Government Owes Tax-Dodging Apple An Apology (Video) (Demo)

By Gary Reber Uncategorized May 23, 2013

On May 22, 2013, Americans Against The Tea Party write on www.aattp.org:

Rand Paul says the government should “just apologize” to the tax-dodgers at Apple who are reportedly holding billions in overseas tax-havens as part of a crafty legal scheme to dodge Uncle Sam.

Paul said: I’m offended by a government that convenes a hearing to bully one of America’s greatest success stories. I’m offended by the spectacle of dragging in executives from an American company that is not doing anything illegal. If anyone should be on trial here, it should be Congress. I frankly think the committee should apologize to Apple.

Don’t blame Paul though. He’s deeply concerned about the federal deficit and all of this outrageous spending (for superfluous things like social safety nets for our children and elderly citizens, roads and disaster relief!), just not concerned enough to ask those who can afford it to pay their fair share. Also, don’t blame him for citing Apple as “an American company” even though we all know they outsource much of their production to Chinese worker s who routinely attempt, and sometimes succeed, in committing suicide while on the job. Randall is just doing what his corporate handlers tell him to–like a good little would-be presidential candidate should.

If you look objectively at the operations of Apple Inc. and other large tech companies, one will realize that the number one capital asset their stockowners own is intangible intellectual property––namely patents. As well, an analysis of the ownership of Apple Inc. and others would reveal that a relative few own the bulk of the company, with the exception that those in the highest employed positions receive stock portfolios as part of the compensation package. Then too there are millions of Americans who have invested their savings to purchase second hand Apple stock on the stock exchanges. But the reality is that the majority of this non-inner circle ownership class’ holdings are relatively small in comparison. Also significant, is the fact that the company retains the bulk of the profits and does not pay near the dividend income owed the stockowners.

CEO Tim Cook tries to portray Apple Inc. as a company “bound by lofty ideals, a strong moral compass and a recognition of its impact on the world,” yet the company uses slave-labor workers employed by FoxConn in China to build their products, and the vast employed majority outside manufacturing to sell and service their products, all at relatively low-pay compared to the executive class and the scientists and engineers who are encouraged to work to destroy employment by making the capital owners of the company more productive by increasing the stock value of their holdings. How much employment can be destroyed by substituting machines for people is a measure of their success––always focused on producing at the lowest cost. Only the people who already own productive capital are the beneficiaries of their work, as they systematically concentrate more and more capital ownership in their stationary 1 percent ranks.

If Cook wanted to really have a positive impact on the world he would lead his Board of Directors to finance future growth of Apple Inc. using an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and enable ALL the employees of Apple to become future stock owners and pay for their acquisition out of the tax-free future corporate earnings of the growth investments. Instead the company uses retained earnings financing or debt financing to further concentrate the stock holdings and profits of the existing ownership class, and other measures to “legally” escape paying taxes on the profits generated.

If the United States Congress wanted to shine a spotlight on Apple Inc. as an exemplar of a system that is producing nonsensical results, then there needs to be pressure put on the Senate Finance Committee to write more sensible legislation that avoids the negative tax consequences of encouraging more concentrated ownership of the FUTURE productive capital assets as the purpose of economic growth, and connect EVERY American as an owner so that they can participate in the production of products and services beyond that of declining job opportunities and welfare substance.

Such goals and policies are the subject of my article “The Path To Sustainable Economic Growth” at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-reber/sustainable-economic-growth_b_3141721.html and the article entitled “The Solution To America’s Economic Decline” at http://www.nationofchange.org/solution-america-s-economic-decline-1367588690

http://aattp.org/rand-paul-says-gov-owes-tax-dodging-apple-an-apology-video/

Rand Paul Says Government Owes Tax-Dodging Apple An Apology (Video) (Demo)

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