We refer to Senators and Congressional representatives as “lawmakers.” We democratically elect these people so that they can write and enact laws. But every so often the curtain parts, and we get a glimpse of who’s writing the laws, though these are usually laws that don’t make headlines. There was that time during the Bush years when corporate lobbyists were sitting right next to elected representatives — mostly Republican — at a committee hearing, telling them what to say. The GOP defenders got all huffy at those who had pointed out who was really running the legislation show.
Last week’s New York Times has an article (here) about efforts to close loopholes in corporate tax laws. Three-quarters of the way through the story, we get this paragraph (emphasis added):
Elaine C. Kamarck, the co-chairwoman of a bipartisan coalition of businesses and organizations that support a tax overhaul, says the only way a tax bill will pass is to use any savings derived from closing corporate loopholes solely to lower the overall corporate tax rate. The companies that have joined the coalition, which include Boeing, AT&T, Verizon, Walmart and Walt Disney, have agreed to put every loophole on the table, she said, because they believe “a low enough basic tax rate is worth giving up exemptions.”
The message is clear: our elected representatives can change the law only if a handful of corporations agree. Ms. Kamarck tells us that these corporations have selflessly allowed their tax dodges to be put “on the table.” Presumably, had they not been so magnanimous, these corporations would not allow Congress to change the law. She also implies that if the tradeoff — fewer exemptions but lower rates — doesn’t benefit the corporations, they’ll take their loopholes off the table and stop our elected representatives from changing the law.
Nice. I think that educators are so valuable to society that their income should not be taxed. But that table Ms. Kamarck mentions — the one where you tell Congress which tax rules you’ll accept — I can’t get anywhere near it. So I pay my taxes. In fact, last year, I paid more in taxes than did Verizon and Boeing combined. They, and several other huge corporations, paid zero.
I am, of course, naive to think that it was really Congress that wrote the laws that allow these corporations to pay nothing, and not the corporations themselves. How else?
Jay Livingston is the chair of the Sociology Department at Montclair State University. You can follow him at Montclair SocioBlog or on Twitter.
Comments 11
Larry Charles Wilson — August 11, 2014
It didn't get this way in my lifetime or yours. The United States has always been a plutocracy.
ViktorNN — August 11, 2014
Good post. I always find it amusing when libertarian types complain about government's role in the economy and insist that the only way things are going to get better is if "government gets out of the way of business."
As if we don't already have a government that is almost entirely bought and paid for by business, and run in the interests of business.
Music Monday: Same As It Ever Was – Bridget Magnus and the World as Seen from 4'11" — August 11, 2014
[…] mission creep; unintended consequences; on mostly not getting by in America these days; Amen; on American politics; the Middle East; Reality; on privacy, the Internet, and the hilarious new thing the NSA […]
ThatGuy82 — August 11, 2014
The corporations are people... greedy, corrupt, evil people.
Bill R — August 12, 2014
It is a shame that our overall system can't fix the problems of relatively high base tax for corporations and plug the loopholes at the same time. It would be a win win for almost everyone. But it doesn't look likely with this congress...
Josh — August 12, 2014
Funny you should take pot shots at Republicans but you quote Elaine Kamarck - a Democratic advisor to both Clinton and Gore.
Larry Charles Wilson — August 12, 2014
Corporations were first determined to be "persons" by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1886 in the Santa Clara case.
jd — August 12, 2014
Boeing paid 209 million in tax last year. I knew teachers were overpaid, but if you paid more than that in tax last year I guess I never knew the extent of it.
LeilaM12 — September 11, 2014
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I needed this post. It is crazy-making to constantly have media and individuals pretend that we live in a democracy rather than a corporate plutocracy.