Corporate Pickpockets

A new study recently surfaced focusing on the trickery and other shenanigans employed by corporations bamboozling the government.

A study conducted by research firm Capital IQ found that of the 500 companies that make up the S&P 500, 115 paid corporate tax rates of less than 20% of their cumulative profits over five years.  Thirty-nine of those companies paid a rate less than 10%.

Atop the list:  Carnival Corporation (cruise line), Boeing, Southwest Airlines, Yahoo!, Prudential Financial, and GE.

Over the last five years, [Carnival] has paid total corporate taxes — federal, state, local and foreign — equal to only 1.1 percent of its cumulative $11.3 billion in profits. Thanks to an obscure loophole in the tax code, Carnival can legally avoid most taxes.

. . .

Over the last five years, on the other hand, Boeing paid a total tax rate of just 4.5 percent, according to Capital IQ.Southwest Airlines paid 6.3 percent. And the list goes on:Yahoo paid 7 percent; Prudential Financial, 7.6 percent;General Electric, 14.3 percent.

. . .

G.E. is so good at avoiding taxes that some people consider its tax department to be the best in the world, even better than any law firm’s. One common strategy is maximizing the amount of profit that is officially earned in countries with low tax rates.

Carnival pays so little tax partly because of a provision that lets some shipping companies legally incorporated overseas (Panama, in Carnival’s case) avoid taxes. The fact that Carnival’s executives sit in Miami and or that many passengers board in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Seattle doesn’t matter. Nor does the fact that Carnival isn’t paying much tax in Panama.

Companies that pay relatively high rates tend to be those that are not expanding rapidly and that are not as ingenious as G.E., at least on taxes. The average total tax rate for the 500 companies over the last five years — again, including federal, state, local and foreign corporate taxes — was 32.8 percent. Among those paying more than the average wereExxon Mobil, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Walt Disney.

The problem with the current system is that it distorts incentives. Decisions that would otherwise be inefficient for a company — and that are indeed inefficient for the larger economy — can make sense when they bring a big tax break. “Companies should be making investments based on their commercial potential,” as Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at New York University, says, “not for tax reasons.”

Instead, airlines sometimes buy more planes than they really need. Energy companies drill more holes. Drug companies conduct research with only marginal prospects of success.

Inefficiencies like these slow economic growth, and they are the reason that both conservatives and liberals criticize the corporate tax code so harshly. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, says it hurts job creation. Mr. Obama, in his State of the Union address, said that the system “makes no sense, and it has to change.”

A lot of economists agree. Then again, any system that creates as many winners as this one won’t be changed easily.

At least we can all agree to something.

(NY Times)

50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration Logo

Being a Vet myself, things such as this are near and dear to my heart — museums and commemorations that honor the unselfish sacrifice and dedication of our Nation’s heroes.

On January 14, the Department of Defense announced its program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam war.

The program will:

• Thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action, for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans.
• Highlight the service of the armed forces during the Vietnam War and the contributions of federal agencies and governmental and non-governmental organizations that served with, or in support of, the armed forces.
• Pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front by the people of the United States during the Vietnam War.
• Highlight the advances in technology, science, and medicine related to the military research conducted during the Vietnam War.
• Recognize the contributions and sacrifices made by the allies of the United States during the Vietnam War.

Also . . .

The commemorative program will include activities and ceremonies to achieve the following objectives:

(1) To thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war (POW), or listed as missing in action (MIA), for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans.

(2) To highlight the service of the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and the contributions of Federal agencies and governmental and non-governmental organizations that served with, or in support of, the Armed Forces.

(3) To pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front by the people of the United States during the Vietnam War.

(4) To highlight the advances in technology, science, and medicine related to military research conducted during the Vietnam War.

(5) To recognize the contributions and sacrifices made by the allies of the United States during the Vietnam War.

It’s about time these men and women get the recognition they deserve for a job well-done.

Snowpocageddon 2011

Another good article by Dr. Kaku describing some of the madness behind the recent Snowpocageddons.  His article brings up good points about global warming and its resultant effects.

The z10 Galaxy

Dr. Awesome, Michio Kaku, explains:

It hasn’t quite been confirmed yet, but [Hubble] may have caught a glimpse of the most distant galaxy ever known. This new galaxy candidate is 13.2 billion light-years from Earth, which is roughly 7.75961975 × 10^22 miles. The confirmation of this new galaxy would edge it just above a previous discovery of a galaxy (UDFy-38135539) back in October that is just over 13 billion light-years away. Presently, Galaxy UDFy-38135539 currently holds the record for the farthest galaxy ever observed.

. . .

Rychard Bouwens, an astronomer from Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, led the team that made the awe-inspiring discovery of this new galaxy by scanning a very small sector of the Ultra Deep Field—about 1/2 inch, or the size of a fingernail—for approximately 87 hours. “The idea that you can detect something from the beginning of cosmic time by looking at a patch of sky for 87 hours is just wild,” said Bouwens.

This is quite a big deal for those who study the nature and birth of our Universe. If this galaxy is really over 13 billion years old, then it existed just 480 million years after the Big Bang. The team is currently working on producing more detailed results of their findings, hoping to ultimately confirm these observations through further examination, which should be published soon.

(Dr. Kaku’s Universe)

So it appears as though the three executions conducted in Mississippi last year completely drained the State’s supply of sodium thiopental, one of the three drugs used during the lethal injection process.

Just weeks before Mississippi had back-to-back executions in May, officials were scrambling to find sodium thiopental to carry out the sentences.

The executions were carried out without a problem, but Mississippi officials want a more reliable supply of drugs.

Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said Thursday the state is looking for a replacement for sodium thiopental, one of three drugs used in Mississippi’s executions.

There’s a nationwide shortage because the only U.S. supplier stopped making it.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood asked Hospira Inc. for the drug weeks before May’s executions. The company said it couldn’t help.

Corrections officials say they got the drug from a pharmacist. The supply it has now expires March 1.

I guess pharmaceutical companies are now boycotting the death penalty.  Hmmm. . .

(WMCTV.com)

Zuydcoote, France

Koudekerke, Netherlands

Hemiksem, Belgium

Zuydcoote, France

(GQ.com)

Seasoned Beef?

Super, mega, mucho grande plaintiff’s law firm Beasley Allen, out of Montgomery, Alabama, has filed a class-action lawsuit against everyone’s favorite late night destination — Taco Bell — alleging the “seasoned beef” used in its meals isn’t beef at all.

In the Complaint (replete with pictures of various Taco Bell advertisements), filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Beasley Allen alleges the “seasoned beef” used in Taco Bell’s tacos doesn’t satisfy USDA standards, which define “beef” as “flesh of cattle.”

Further, the USDA policy book requires food labeled as “taco filling” to contain “at least 40 percent fresh meat,” and the label must show the true product name.  Beasley Allen claims Taco Bell’s “seasoned beef” only contains 36% fresh meat, the other 64% being comprised of various fillers or “extenders.”

The lawsuit seeks to require Taco Bell to properly advertise and label its food items, and to engage in a corrective advertising campaign to educate the public about the true content of its food products.  Instead of seeking money, the lawsuit seeks to require Taco Bell to label and advertise the “beef?” as “taco meat filling” in order to comply with USDA standards.

Not to be outdone, Taco Bell, through its President/Chief Concept Officer, has come out firing, alleging they use only the best ingredients and that Beasley Allen has the facts wrong.

At Taco Bell, we buy our beef from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods.  We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef,” said Taco Bell President and Chief Concept Officer Greg Creed.

Creed said his company is proud of the quality of its product and says Taco Bell identifies all its seasonings and spices on its website.

In response, Taco Bell says it is contemplating its own legal action in response to the false allegations being made about its food.

No wonder they want us to “think outside the bun.”

The Illinois Supreme Court has ordered the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners to put Rahm Emanuel’s name back on the mayoral ballot, attorneys for Emanuel said Tuesday.

The court has not decided whether to hear Emanuel’s appeal of Monday’s Illinois Appellate Court ruling that tossed him out of the race to replace Mayor Daley. The Supreme Court granted Emanuel’s motion for a stay of the ruling, Emanuel attorney Mike Kasper said Tuesday.

Good for you StRhamboli!  Any guesses on the Over/Under for how many f-bombs Rham threw out yesterday?

. . . They love him.  They love him not.  THEY LOVE HIM!

(Chicago Sun-Times)

But before getting the maximum possible sentence, Paige tried to get one last dig in at the judge, Vincent Del Giudice, telling him, “With all due respect and from the bottom of my heart, suck my d—.”

To which the quick-witted judge replied:

I respectfully decline your offer.  You are a danger to all civilized members of society.

And then he was sentenced to 107 years of hard time.  Lesson learned — maybe, hopefully, for his sake.  Prison awaits you, sir.

(New York Daily News)

Col. Reb Can't Get No Work

So, as some of you may have seen, the fine Representative from District 19, Mark DuVall, has proposed an amendment to Section 37-115-1 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 that would read as follows:

The University of Mississippi shall bear the nickname “Ole Miss Rebels” and its mascot shall be “Colonel Rebel.” The University of Mississippi’s marching band, known as the “Pride of the South,” shall play the song “Dixie” before, during and after home and away football games and basketball games at which the band, or a portion of the band, is present. The marching band shall play the song “From Dixie With Love” before, during halftime, and after home football games; after away football games; and after home and away basketball games at which the band, or some portion of the band, is present.

Understandable, you say, coming from a die hard Ole Miss alum concerned with preserving the Rebels’ colorful history, right?  But you would be wrong.  Rep. DuVall is a Mississippi State man.

So what interest does he have in reviving the Colonel and/or “Dixie?”  And that’s not rhetorical.  Was it to gain a few votes?  Or was it the Bulldog coming out of him by attempting to stir up more mischief concerning said colorful history?

Either way, you can find the proposed bill, with amendment, in its entirety here.

(Cartoon by Marshall Ramsey)