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A remarkable story appeared in Newsweek recently, a celebration by author Daniel Gross of America's re-emergence as the strongest economy and best darn nation in the world. An underlying theme in the article, implicit in the grandiose descriptions of our post-recession growth, is that all American lives must be improving because of the magic of our "resilient and nimble private sector." The Newsweek reader might have been reminded of the wisdom of Goldman Sachs chairman Lloyd Blankfein: "Everybody should be, frankly, happy...the financial system led us into the crisis and it will lead us out."
-- Apple, which has made tax avoidance an art form worthy of an iPad despite its reliance on the U.S. for research, design, marketing, infrastructure, etc.
-- Google, which winds its way through Ireland, the Netherlands, and Bermuda to compete with Apple for the lowest tech company tax rate.
-- General Motors, which got bailed out with taxpayer money that hasn't been fully repaid, and which now is making record profits.
-- Boeing, which is so busy profiting from government contracts that it barely has time to cash its tax refund check.
As if to taunt us while we're down, the author notes with a hint of admiration that corporations are adept at shucking their responsibilities through bankruptcy, a redemptive technique unavailable to the millions of homeowners with unmanageable loans. That allows resourceful companies to look beyond the damage done to employees and customers and creditors while establishing "new, profitable business models."
In conclusion we are offered this lofty insight: "When the definitive history of this period is written, it is possible - no, likely - that this post-bust era will go down not as a time of economic decline, but as one of regeneration."
Regeneration? More likely we'll be remembered for "divergence," as our country's wealth gap threatens to become the largest in the industrialized world.
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A remarkable story appeared in Newsweek recently, a celebration by author Daniel Gross of America's re-emergence as the strongest economy and best darn nation in the world. An underlying theme in the article, implicit in the grandiose descriptions of our post-recession growth, is that all American lives must be improving because of the magic of our "resilient and nimble private sector." The Newsweek reader might have been reminded of the wisdom of Goldman Sachs chairman Lloyd Blankfein: "Everybody should be, frankly, happy...the financial system led us into the crisis and it will lead us out."
-- Apple, which has made tax avoidance an art form worthy of an iPad despite its reliance on the U.S. for research, design, marketing, infrastructure, etc.
-- Google, which winds its way through Ireland, the Netherlands, and Bermuda to compete with Apple for the lowest tech company tax rate.
-- General Motors, which got bailed out with taxpayer money that hasn't been fully repaid, and which now is making record profits.
-- Boeing, which is so busy profiting from government contracts that it barely has time to cash its tax refund check.
As if to taunt us while we're down, the author notes with a hint of admiration that corporations are adept at shucking their responsibilities through bankruptcy, a redemptive technique unavailable to the millions of homeowners with unmanageable loans. That allows resourceful companies to look beyond the damage done to employees and customers and creditors while establishing "new, profitable business models."
In conclusion we are offered this lofty insight: "When the definitive history of this period is written, it is possible - no, likely - that this post-bust era will go down not as a time of economic decline, but as one of regeneration."
Regeneration? More likely we'll be remembered for "divergence," as our country's wealth gap threatens to become the largest in the industrialized world.
A remarkable story appeared in Newsweek recently, a celebration by author Daniel Gross of America's re-emergence as the strongest economy and best darn nation in the world. An underlying theme in the article, implicit in the grandiose descriptions of our post-recession growth, is that all American lives must be improving because of the magic of our "resilient and nimble private sector." The Newsweek reader might have been reminded of the wisdom of Goldman Sachs chairman Lloyd Blankfein: "Everybody should be, frankly, happy...the financial system led us into the crisis and it will lead us out."
-- Apple, which has made tax avoidance an art form worthy of an iPad despite its reliance on the U.S. for research, design, marketing, infrastructure, etc.
-- Google, which winds its way through Ireland, the Netherlands, and Bermuda to compete with Apple for the lowest tech company tax rate.
-- General Motors, which got bailed out with taxpayer money that hasn't been fully repaid, and which now is making record profits.
-- Boeing, which is so busy profiting from government contracts that it barely has time to cash its tax refund check.
As if to taunt us while we're down, the author notes with a hint of admiration that corporations are adept at shucking their responsibilities through bankruptcy, a redemptive technique unavailable to the millions of homeowners with unmanageable loans. That allows resourceful companies to look beyond the damage done to employees and customers and creditors while establishing "new, profitable business models."
In conclusion we are offered this lofty insight: "When the definitive history of this period is written, it is possible - no, likely - that this post-bust era will go down not as a time of economic decline, but as one of regeneration."
Regeneration? More likely we'll be remembered for "divergence," as our country's wealth gap threatens to become the largest in the industrialized world.