In this my first real diary post, I'd like to introduce myself to future loyal readers, providing details on my background and influences (
flashbacks) and some on my expertise and interests, forming a roadmap of the topics I'll be addressing (
premonitions). First, here's my whole life condensed into four bullet points:
*Corporate Tax Lawyer - Spent last 12 years helping move corporate profits offshore
*Fallen Catholic - Raised as a Catholic, became an atheist by middle school
*Commie Sympathizer - Soon turned from my parents' conservatism to progressivism
*Linguistics Major/Music Addict - Manic depression found outlets in words and music
As a result, readers can expect diaries focused on the following topics: Taxes and Tax Reform, the Progressive Agenda, Health Care Reform, Election Reform, Framing the Liberal Lexicon, Corporate Feudalism, Impeachable Offenses and, of course, eighty years of Music Appreciation.
Like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, I invite you to come with me as I face three ghosts:
the
Conundrum of Tax Reform Present, the
Flashback of Experience Past and the
Premonition of Diaries Future.
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CONUNDRUM OF TAX REFORM PRESENT
Odd as it may seem, a decade in the belly of the beast (a Big 4 accounting firm), advising corporations how to reduce worldwide taxes, actually fits in reasonably nicely with my progressive moorings. Just as my childhood Catholicism and later evangelical Bible study grounds my "conversion" to Atheism with a deep and nearly unshakable philosophical basis, my experience helping the rich and powerful avoid pitfalls and exploit loopholes likewise arms me the knowledge and tools needed to tackle fundamental tax reform.
My views on basic tax reform allowed me to serve corporate interests in the first place--despite an abiding conviction that fair taxes are the foundation of democracy. To be clear, I believe in progressive taxation of individual income, without distinction between income from labor or from capital. In my view, corporate taxation properly has no direct role in the ideal tax system. The chief problem with corporate taxes are that their "incidence" is unclear--that is, unlike sales taxes (which are clearly borne by the consumer), economists cannot determine to what extent corporate taxes are borne by shareholders as opposed to employees or consumers. Radical simplification would eliminate corporate taxes except as a prepayment mechanism and a means of taxing foreign shareholders, and would raise top individual tax rates to make up lost revenue. Similarly, fundamental reform would review and rationalize all other types of taxes: employment (social security) taxes, inheritance taxes, property taxes and even sales taxes - insuring that the overall burden is appropriately progressive.
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FLASHBACK OF EXPERIENCE PAST
To help readers understand my biases and test my expertise at same time, here's some more introductory background. I was raised Catholic, was an altar boy and boy scout, and polled my third grade class for a landslide 99:1 election of Nixon over McGovern (I was not the 1%). By high school, I had shaken off both Republicanism and Christianity, based both on logical reasoning and a sense of fairness. I was influenced heavily by my reading, especially Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and the embedded Books of Bokonon.
I went to college at U.C. Berkeley in the early 1980's, at the height of Reagan's illegal wars in Central America. For the first time, I discovered many radical and progressive magazines, from In These Times to NACLA's Report on the Americas, from the Nation to the Progressive. I also found many kindred hearts, especially at the Berkeley Free Clinic, putting progressive ideas in practice through community medical and information services, but also suffering from limitations of its Utopian form of organization.
Around 1990, I began my journey into the practical, heartless world of corporate control. I studied law at the best schools: general law under the ivy of Columbia, masters in tax at the august NYU. Then came my decade practicing tax law with a Big 4 acounting firm, serving corporate interests directly. Working in the Northern California's Silicon Valley, I developed a particular expertise in issues relating employee stock options. Saw much in corporate governance that was wrong and dangerous, including excessive motivation to show short-term profits. But also saw good practices, management giving incentive and flexibility to individuals throughout the organization.
I am now struggling to synthesize the lessons of progressive and corporate experience. For instance, one of the toughest nuts to crack is the challenge to the old labor-capital paradigm posed by the new economy: can you organize knowledge workers? To what extent do new economy companies practice or promote corporate feudalism?
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PREMONITION OF DIARIES FUTURE
Aside from Tax Reform (discussed at length above), here are some of the other topics I intend to address in future diaries:
Liberal Lexicon: Having majored in Linguistics at Berkeley, I am naturally interested in framing the issues, and redeeming pejoratized words (like "Liberal" itself). I was a student of Robin Lakoff, remain a fan of Robin's ex- George Lakoff, as well as a skeptical but still awed acolyte of their former mentor Noam Chomsky. I expect to write a series of articles addressing language and framing issues and building an honest but unafraid Liberal Lexicon to match the Right's fraudulent lexicon (from "death taxes" to "ownership society").
Corporate Feudalism: "Corporate Feudalism" from Conceptual Guerrilla, the first phrase in the Liberal Lexicon (followed close second by "Cheap Labor Conservative"), means a society where corporations have power without accountability and wage earners have only those rights and privileges allowed them. I am interested in exploring whether this new world order is a betrayal or a fulfillment of misguided but seemingly honest Goldwater conservatism, as well as how it fits within the modern What's the Matter with Kansas social conservatism. The entire Bush agenda, including the host of impeachable offenses (from Downing Street to Valerie Plame, from Secret Prisons to Torture, from Haliburton to Wiretaps), falls within the framework of Corporate Feudalism as well.
Progressivism: After giving the devil his due, it is any good diarist's duty to speak for the side of the angels. In this spirit, I will try to lay the progressive agenda as I see it, with a good dose of history and a healthy respect for the opposition's underhanded tactics. Two key areas in particular: Health Care Reform, including universal healthcare, public funding of research and public ownership of patents; and Election Reform, including robust paper trails, exit polls and audits; public financing or steps toward it; and multi-party reforms ranging from instant run-off to proportionate representation.
Eighty Year of Music Appreciation: Finally, I will post the occasional diary drawing from eighty years of wonderful music, much with a progressive agenda - from Woody Guthrie to Phil Ochs, from Nina Simone to Bob Dylan, from Tom Robinson to Rufus Wainwright, from the Dead Kennedies to Skunk Anansie, and many more. Check out my musical tastes at either Launchcast (under username tp_options@sbcglobal.net) or Pandora (under username david.chamberlain@tp-options.com).