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@rekh127 – good post. Don’t lose sight of the fact that the officers of Apple have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder value. If they fail to take advantage of existing tax code ‘loopholes’ that maximize earnings, they could be fired and sued. This is America – corporations exist to make money, not to look out for the interests of the citizens of one of the countries they operate in. That doesn’t mean that companies have no moral obligation to support their employees and the communities they operate in, but Apple’s job is not to drive tax revenue for America. The issue is the tax code, which Congress is accountable for, and I appreciate that Rand Paul made that point.

about 11 hours ago on Senators blast Apple in hearing for keeping most profits overseas 2 recommends

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For the first time – EVER – I am aligned with Rand Paul’s position and I love the way he stated it. I’m not feeling well, I better go lie down…

about 11 hours ago on Senators blast Apple in hearing for keeping most profits overseas 1 reply

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If Apple is breaking laws, then Apple is the problem and they should be held accountable.

If Apple is not breaking any laws, then the tax code is broken and Congress – yes, YOU John McCain – are the problem and should be held accountable.

Remember, the Officers of Apple have a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder value. If they don’t maximize earnings by taking advantage of tax loopholes, they can be fired and sued.

1 day ago on Senate probe accuses Apple of avoiding billions of dollars in taxes with offshore havens 2 recommends

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No, most won’t be going to Harvard, but their children may be. That’s the thing about these immigrants, they come here knowing that they’ll have to work hard in dirty jobs to establish a foothold for their families, and they risk everything to do it.

Too many American’s think that they are somehow ‘better’ than these immigrants (who are fighting to better their situation) simply because they were born here. That is exactly the kind of class discrimination that the founders of this country were escaping when they left Europe. Listen people – you aren’t in any way ‘better’, you are just luckier, and it would be nice if you would recognize that. You might also want to educate yourselves and take a look at how many of the F100 US companies were founded by or are being led by children of immigrants.

2 days ago on Why Laurene Powell Jobs broke her silence to support immigration reform 1 reply 1 recommend

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I scratch my head and try to think of the downside of a 10-year amnesty plan for people who are here illegally.

- It will turn them into taxpayers.

- It will make them eligible for health care plans.

- It will make them eligible to serve in the military.

- It will turn them into voters which will help get the obsolete thinkers out of office. Oh wait… I think I might be getting the anti-immigration mindset now…

On a side editorial note, the people who are here illegally have risked everything to get here, either to survive or better their lives. They didn’t ‘line up’. They did what it takes, just like our ancestors did when they came here and claimed the land we now call America. We didn’t ask or buy, we took. It sounds to me like these people are more compatible with the aggressive American culture than people who ‘wait in lines’.

2 days ago on Why Laurene Powell Jobs broke her silence to support immigration reform 2 replies

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“The problem is that our education system can’t produce enough skilled workers to fill the positions, at any price.”

I’m not sure I agree with this point. I think we could significantly increase the number of skilled workers we graduate each year if we were able to bring the cost of education down significantly, and by significantly I mean >50%. There has to be a reason why foreign students pay so much less than American students for the same quality of education, and I imagine it has a lot to do with priorities and waste.

2 days ago on Why Laurene Powell Jobs broke her silence to support immigration reform 1 recommend

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“The US could just copy Canada’s point-based system”

Sadly, we Americans are the nation of “NIH – Not Invented Here”. If we didn’t invent it or come up with it, it can’t be as good as our system and we won’t consider it. Our immigration policies, health care delivery, education delivery, etc., etc., could all be more effective than it is currently if we were willing to learn from the experiments and experiences of others. Our American ego, however, seems to get in the way of doing that.

Our focus should not be on perfection or ‘the grand solution’, it should be on progress with continuous improvement. Take small steps but take them quickly and don’t be afraid to call a mistake a mistake.

2 days ago on Why Laurene Powell Jobs broke her silence to support immigration reform

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Ok, fair enough. Drone strikes are bad and when the US inserts themselves in your airspace, there is a definite loss of face for those in power if they don’t object. It makes them look like US poodles, which they basically are.

But how does that compare to the loss of face that comes from harboring Bin Laden for years? Or how does it compare to supporting the Taliban?

I think what we have here is a failure to communicate.

Pakistan – you take billions of dollars in US aid, so you are a US poodle state. If you don’t like that, stand on your own two feet and tell us to go home. Please! Oh, and you harbor enemies of the US at the same time as you take the US aid. That elevates you beyond ‘Poodle Nation’ to ‘Drone Target Nation’. You reap what you sow.

9 days ago on US drone strikes condemned as illegal by Pakistan's highest court 4 replies 8 recommends

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I’m sure it was for the patents, even if they were over-valued. Remember, ‘over-valued’ is a term usually associated with hindsight.

25 days ago on Does anyone know why Google bought Motorola? 1 recommend

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The ‘asking’ becomes ‘suing’ when the other companies respond with “We don’t need no stinking licenses!”

25 days ago on Does anyone know why Google bought Motorola? 15 recommends