Jeffrey Immelt, the jobs czar from hell
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 4/5/11 | Debra J. Saunders
The New York Times reported last month that General Electric earned $14.2 billion in international profits, including, $5.1 billion in the United States. Yet GE did not pay a dime in federal income taxes last year. Oddly, President Obama chose GE Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt to head his President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.
According to the Associated Press, Immelt's compensation package doubled to $15.2 million last year, while this year GE is seeking major concessions from the unions that represent its shrinking American workforce. That makes Immelt the wrong guy for the job of jobs czar.
Or as former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold wrote, "Someone like Immelt, who has helped his company evade taxes on its huge profits - and is now looking to workers to take major pay cuts after his compensation was doubled - should not lead the administration's effort to create jobs."
No lie.
After all, what kind of economic advice can Immelt give?
Probably advice like this:
Don't push for lower corporate tax rates. Reformers want Washington to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate of 35 percent, so that America can compete with low-tax countries like Ireland and Singapore, where GE offshored significant profits. Immelt says corporate tax reform "deserves a healthy debate," but he knows the big money is in loopholes.
Hire an army of tax lawyers. GE's tax department has 975 employees - and make no mistake, they contribute to the economy.
Never stint on lobbyists. In the past decade, GE spent more than $200 million on lobbyists, many of them tax-law specialists. Remember, the best way to play by the rules is to ghostwrite them.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
