Sorry folks, this post is a longer than usual. Yet so soon after celebrating our 4th of July Independence, enough is enough when it comes to US corporate actions that in no way help American. To be fair, those on this Corporate cheat list are not technically cheats rather tax avoiders, legally leveraging existing domestic & international laws to do so. In other words, they have some very smart finance & legal folks working for them ;-) Yet, just because its legally lawful, as our forefathers and the Boston Tea Party demonstrated; doesnt mean it right. My issue: Whether corporate or individual, if either choose to renounce their US citizenship for another country, they should also lose all rights as US citizens. Would you agree? Unfortunately, in todays reality, this isnt the case. IMHO, Heres why: Background: Thanks to the 13th Amendment and some very smart lawyers back then (keep in mind the original intent was to abolished slavery and involuntary servitude); combined with recent legal decisions, US corporations are now considered individuals with all the rights and, honesty more, than the US citizens who provide the blood, sweat and tears to make their businesses run and prosper. For example, when things go really wrong (i.e. WorldCom) they just declare bankruptcy and change their name (now theyre CenturyLink). If any flesh and blood Americans file for bankruptcy, try to change your identity after and start anew ;-) If a US company decides, for whatever reasons, to no longer be a US company, rather an Irish, Swiss, or other tax haven national company; than they should also lose all rights to lobby, influence their employees to vote for party or candidate, or act in any way detrimental to the interests of those of us who steadfastly remain US citizens, regardless of personal hardship!!!! A recent example, and one thats heart breaking to me, is Walgreens. If not already, their executive board is considering becoming a foreign national company. Its because of Walgreens considered actions Im even writing this post! Why? Personally, I think Walgreens is a great company. In fact, Walgreens is more than just a company. Its one of a handful of US corporations I would have previously supported for citizenship! When I think of a US born companies, representative and embodying the dreams & visions of our forefathers, Walgreens is one of the 1st that come to mind. Started at the turn of the 20th century, Walgreens is still Walgreens! It hasnt merged or morphed into something else. Besides being one of the American greatest success stories its also become one of American best brands. And if not already, theyre about to throw it all away for money :-(. Pressured, in big part by their largest institutional investors and ONLY for financial reasons,Walgreens may disavow its US citizenship for better tax breaks offered by another country. Keep in mind, these breaks will cost all US taxpayers BILLIONS over the next few years and Im only talking what Walgreens actions will cost us. While my professional recommendation, if asked, is this will result in long term disaster for Walgreens, unconscionable as it may be from a personal point of view; the biggest issue I have, using Walgreens as an example, and theyre many worse; during the last series of elections Walgreens corporate PAC spent almost $1M to promote their corporate interests. Why am I bothered by this moving forward? My point of this post ... If indeed Walgreens or any US corporation, chooses to become a foreign national, in the same way if a US citizen decides to renounce their citizenship for another county ... they also lose their rights as a US citizen, not the least of which, to vote or influence a US election. Wait, you say US companies already cant vote. Please ... these days PACs carry exponentially more influence, power and end results than our votes ;-) Enough said, If you got this far in my long winded post, thanks for reading. P.S. There is an easy solution. With Walgreens as the example again. Their board of directors could decide to stop this madness, god forbid do the right thing, remain a US corporation with their tax dollars supporting American and in the process become, perhaps, the greatest American brand ever know :-) alternet.org/top-corporate-tax-cheats-corporate-behavior-so-bad-even-fortune-magazine-cant-stomach-it?
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 05:44:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015