Let’s see, Enron, GE, and thousands of others since deregulation took effect, so before everyone gets hung up on “Congress”, might see who paid to get them to deregulate through law, or kick start “Reaganomics”.
Not quite…. Wendy Gramm, wife of Phil, wrote the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000 that contained the “Enron Loophole”, then quit her government job and went to work for Enron.…….“Gramm held several positions in the Reagan Administration, including heading the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1988 to 1993. After a lobbying campaign from Enron, the CFTC exempted it from regulation in trading of energy derivatives. Subsequently, Gramm resigned from the CFTC and took a seat on the Enron Board of Directors.”…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Lee_Gramm
As for Enron and Bush…..“Texans were by far the biggest Enron recipients, and Republicans got more than Democrats. President Bush, being both a Texan and a Republican, and a friend of Enron chairman Kenneth Lay, did very well.
Enron was Mr. Bush’s biggest political patron as he headed into the 2000 presidential election. In all it has made $623,000 in contributions to his campaigns since 1993, when he was raising money for his first Texas gubernatorial race, according to the Center for Public Integrity, another watchdog group.
But the giving did not stop after election day. Enron officials contributed $10,500 to his Florida recount committee, and when the recount was ended, they donated $300,000 for the inaugural celebrations, said Holley Bailey, researcher for the Center for Responsive Politics.
“I think what is interesting about their giving over the last year, is that they used any method possible to support President Bush’s campaign run,” she said."……….http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/12/politics/main324142.shtml
As for GE… here is an excerpt from an article on how they have optimized their tax benefit…. "Strategy No. 2: Hire the IRS
When it comes to interpreting the intricacies of tax accounting, few companies can match the depth of personnel GE hires for its tax department. What makes GE unusual, according to tax lawyers and accountants, is its practice of recruiting dozens of former tax officials from Washington’s official tax world.
“An important rule to live by,” a senior GE tax lawyer, Rick D’Avino, told a conference in 2007, “is to ensure that the tax team has as many former government tax experts as possible” to “help see both sides of an issue more effectively.” D’Avino, a GE vice president, mentioned the IRS, Capitol Hill and Treasury as places to look when building a team and talked about how a former IRS lawyer working for GE helped the company build a “cooperative relationship” with the service.
The next year, GE hired the senior IRS official who was overseeing the service’s transfer pricing program, under which large multinational companies like GE negotiate with the IRS about how to price products and services among subsidiaries. The subject is controversial because it can allow companies to shift profits to lower-tax countries."………………
halfabug over 12 years ago
Happy Thanks giving to those who give.
pirate227 over 12 years ago
Despicable.
Dtroutma over 12 years ago
Let’s see, Enron, GE, and thousands of others since deregulation took effect, so before everyone gets hung up on “Congress”, might see who paid to get them to deregulate through law, or kick start “Reaganomics”.
wolfhoundblues1 over 12 years ago
These congress members (both sides) should be tried for SEC violations and insider trading. If found guilty, same punishment as anyone else.
perceptor3 over 12 years ago
They’re all at the trough, regardless of party!
cjr53 over 12 years ago
How can this change if everyone that votes views their elected official in congress the only one that is doing the right thing?
The Tea Party is obviously a huge failure, they have not helped, but in fact have created more problems.
feverjr Premium Member over 12 years ago
Not quite…. Wendy Gramm, wife of Phil, wrote the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000 that contained the “Enron Loophole”, then quit her government job and went to work for Enron.…….“Gramm held several positions in the Reagan Administration, including heading the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1988 to 1993. After a lobbying campaign from Enron, the CFTC exempted it from regulation in trading of energy derivatives. Subsequently, Gramm resigned from the CFTC and took a seat on the Enron Board of Directors.”…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Lee_Gramm
As for Enron and Bush…..“Texans were by far the biggest Enron recipients, and Republicans got more than Democrats. President Bush, being both a Texan and a Republican, and a friend of Enron chairman Kenneth Lay, did very well.
Enron was Mr. Bush’s biggest political patron as he headed into the 2000 presidential election. In all it has made $623,000 in contributions to his campaigns since 1993, when he was raising money for his first Texas gubernatorial race, according to the Center for Public Integrity, another watchdog group.
But the giving did not stop after election day. Enron officials contributed $10,500 to his Florida recount committee, and when the recount was ended, they donated $300,000 for the inaugural celebrations, said Holley Bailey, researcher for the Center for Responsive Politics.
“I think what is interesting about their giving over the last year, is that they used any method possible to support President Bush’s campaign run,” she said."……….http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/12/politics/main324142.shtml
As for GE… here is an excerpt from an article on how they have optimized their tax benefit…. "Strategy No. 2: Hire the IRS
When it comes to interpreting the intricacies of tax accounting, few companies can match the depth of personnel GE hires for its tax department. What makes GE unusual, according to tax lawyers and accountants, is its practice of recruiting dozens of former tax officials from Washington’s official tax world.
“An important rule to live by,” a senior GE tax lawyer, Rick D’Avino, told a conference in 2007, “is to ensure that the tax team has as many former government tax experts as possible” to “help see both sides of an issue more effectively.” D’Avino, a GE vice president, mentioned the IRS, Capitol Hill and Treasury as places to look when building a team and talked about how a former IRS lawyer working for GE helped the company build a “cooperative relationship” with the service.
The next year, GE hired the senior IRS official who was overseeing the service’s transfer pricing program, under which large multinational companies like GE negotiate with the IRS about how to price products and services among subsidiaries. The subject is controversial because it can allow companies to shift profits to lower-tax countries."………………
http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2011/04/04/5-ways-general-electric-plays-the-tax-game/