Your recent column demonstrates your naiveté regarding what fuels our economy.  “Tax loopholes,” so to speak, enhance profitability and efficiency.  They don’t undermine our economy; they enable businesses to bolster it.

You use sarcasm to imply that American companies should “always consider the best interest of the American people when they make business decisions.”  They do, by attempting to operate in the most cost effective manner possible.  This increases their productivity, profitability, and their capacity to provide jobs and the consumer goods we tend to take for granted.

You are correct; there is no “magic bullet” regarding budget deficits.  The key is to generate revenue. Corporate taxation is absolutely the worst possible way to attempt this. Corporations don’t pay taxes; their consumers and shareholders do (that’s you and me). You cite that the US has the highest corporate tax rate in the world, yet you don’t see this as the obvious problem it is. It should be zero.

You also appear to buy into the lie that higher tax rates result in greater revenue.  The opposite is true, as has been demonstrated consistently every time tax rates have been lowered; most notably during the Reagan era (I do understand that you weren’t around then, and that the “progressive” history textbooks you’ve read don’t likely provide a very accurate account).  Why are jobs not being created now?  It’s because those who create jobs are facing terrible uncertainty regarding their tax situations.  It’s high time we take this variable completely out of the equation.

As an economist, I realize that the obvious answer to all this is to switch entirely to a consumption-based tax system; but as long as an ignorant public and pandering liberal politicians won’t allow this, let’s at least adopt some transparency and officially shift taxes to those who actually pay them anyway.

Before you whine about getting kicked in the groin, perhaps you should consider the plight of the US corporation, who really does want to do good things and has a permanent target painted on theirs.