From: ian glendinning (psybertron@gmail.com)
Date: Thu Jul 21 2005 - 04:14:13 BST
Erin, .... just like the current Keynes tag-line on MSH most recent mail ...
(And the three one-liners in my own earlier mail)
Says it all, (tongue in cheek) better than yards of debate.
Ian
On 7/21/05, Mark Steven Heyman <markheyman@infoproconsulting.com> wrote:> Hi all,> > Someone said:> > As for the Enron debacle, I wouldn't take that case or cases like it and> condemn the entire "corporate power structure" which provides goods,> services and jobs for millions, not to mention most of the tax base.> > msh 7-20-05:> This is the "few bad apples" fallacy. See my previous post regarding> the top 100 corporate criminals of the 90s.> > As for the question of taxes, according to data available at the Tax> Policy Center, there were a couple of years during the New Deal 30's,> and a few more years during WWII, when corporate income taxes paid> were just slightly higher than the amount paid by individuals. After> that, the gap between taxes paid by corporations and individuals> steadily increased in favor of the corporations, with slight> slowdowns (but still increasing) in the Johnson 60's and Clinton> 90's.> > http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/TaxFacts/TFDB/TFTemplate.cfm?Docid=203> > In 1965 the spli
t was 66% individual, 34% corporations. In 2004, the> split was 82% individual, 18% corporations.> > "A recent Congressional study reported that 63% of US corporations> paid no income taxes at all in 2000. Six in ten American corporations> reported no tax liability for the five years from 1996 through 2000,> even though corporate profits were growing at record-breaking levels> during that period. "> > Who Really Pays Taxes in America?> By Cheryl Woodard, Executive Director of AskQuestions.org> http://www.askquestions.org/articles/taxes/#10> > Here are the first three paragraphs of Woodward's report:> > Fifteen years ago, socialite Leona Helmsley bragged, "only the little> people pay taxes," but then she went to jail for tax fraud.> Unfortunately, Helmsley's statement is even more accurate today than> it was at the time.> > Tax fraud is estimated at $311 billion this year, more than the> entire budget for Medicare, and more than last year's revenues at> Walmart or General Electric. Most cheaters go un!
punished
. What's> worse, the legal tax system is rigged to favor rich people and large> corporations at the expense of ordinary citizens and small> businesses. Even when everybody abides by the law, middle-income> households pay more taxes than rich ones. And politicians keep> handing out tax favors to their campaign contributors – at our> expense.> > A chorus of academics, journalists, and private citizens are warning> that a tax system favoring the rich fuels the growing concentration> of wealth in America – and therefore threatens our economic growth> and even our democracy.> > msh 7-20-05:> Please note the last para, apropos of the subject of this post, and> of my suggesting that huge disparities in wealth can lead to the> destabilization of a society. Thus, my belief that, in a sustainable> moral society, limits will be placed on the accumulation of> individual wealth.> > Thanks to all,> Mark Steven Heyman (msh)> --> InfoPro Consulting - The Professional Information Processors> Custom Software Solutions for Wi
ndows, PDAs, and the Web Since 1983> Web Site: http://www.infoproconsulting.com> > "Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for> the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."> --John Maynard Keynes> > > > MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org> Mail Archives:> Aug '98 - Oct '02 - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/> Nov '02 Onward - http://www.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/summary.html> MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net> > To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:> http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html> >
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