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You're leaving out the part where corporations lobby relentlessly and effectively for the tax loopholes that best suit them. The structure and implementation o

You're leaving out the part where corporations lobby relentlessly and effectively for the tax loopholes that best suit them. The structure and implementation of corporate taxes in the USA strikes me as needlessly complicated and corrupt, and I think corporate influence over the tax code is deeply unethical in many ways. At the same time, I wouldn't tell any individual or company that they're ethically obligated to forgo tax relief that's legally available to them. These two things are not in contradiction.

imgabe 6y ago
> corporate influence over the tax code is deeply unethical in many ways. It is problematic in that corporations have a lot more resources to bring to bear than the average person does. I don't find it unethical though. People have a right to express their concerns to the government and advocate for their interests, even if those people group themselves together into a legal entity such as a corporation. It would be more unethical to single out certain groups of people and say "everyone else is allowed to talk to the government and advocate for their interests, but you are not". Edit to add: It's the government's job to listen to everybody's concerns and balance the interests of different groups against each other. If we're unhappy with the job they're doing, we should elect a different government that will do a better job, not just silence groups we don't like. They are not passive elements in this who are just helplessly acted on by outside forces.
- nate_meurer 6y ago
  > everyone else is allowed to talk to the government and advocate for their interests, but you are not In practice, this is exactly the problem with revolving-door politics and regulatory capture. > we should elect a different government that will do a better job Agreed, and I would add that one of the most important functions of journalism like the OP is to inform the voters about these situations.
- sarakayakomzin 6y ago
  >I don't find it unethical though. People have a right to express their concerns to the government and advocate for their interests, even if those people group themselves together into a legal entity such as a corporation. People still have the power to do so individually, but a corporation isn't democratically organized.
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ipaddr 6y ago
So you are saying lobbying by these companies is unethical? Is all lobbying unethical?
- nate_meurer 6y ago
  No, not categorically, but there's definitely a point at which I'd say the influence of lobbyists over government becomes unethical. Some examples off the top of my head: - Correctional officers unions lobbying for harsh drug laws to ensure a steady supply of prison inmates. - AccuWeather lobbying congress to prohibit NOAA and NWS from providing weather data to the public, so that AccuWeather can charge money for it. - Intuit lobbying to prevent states and the IRS from providing free tax filing facilities. When the question becomes, "what do we do about it", I'm well out of my depth, but I think the fight is worth having, and the practical effect of corporate lobbying is certainly a worthy subject for journalism like the OP.

imgabe 6y ago

> corporate influence over the tax code is deeply unethical in many ways. It is problematic in that corporations have a lot more resources to bring to bear than the average person does. I don't find it unethical though. People have a right to express their concerns to the government and advocate for their interests, even if those people group themselves together into a legal entity such as a corporation. It would be more unethical to single out certain groups of people and say "everyone else is allowed to talk to the government and advocate for their interests, but you are not". Edit to add: It's the government's job to listen to everybody's concerns and balance the interests of different groups against each other. If we're unhappy with the job they're doing, we should elect a different government that will do a better job, not just silence groups we don't like. They are not passive elements in this who are just helplessly acted on by outside forces.

nate_meurer 6y ago
> everyone else is allowed to talk to the government and advocate for their interests, but you are not In practice, this is exactly the problem with revolving-door politics and regulatory capture. > we should elect a different government that will do a better job Agreed, and I would add that one of the most important functions of journalism like the OP is to inform the voters about these situations.
sarakayakomzin 6y ago
>I don't find it unethical though. People have a right to express their concerns to the government and advocate for their interests, even if those people group themselves together into a legal entity such as a corporation. People still have the power to do so individually, but a corporation isn't democratically organized.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

ipaddr 6y ago

So you are saying lobbying by these companies is unethical? Is all lobbying unethical?

nate_meurer 6y ago
No, not categorically, but there's definitely a point at which I'd say the influence of lobbyists over government becomes unethical. Some examples off the top of my head: - Correctional officers unions lobbying for harsh drug laws to ensure a steady supply of prison inmates. - AccuWeather lobbying congress to prohibit NOAA and NWS from providing weather data to the public, so that AccuWeather can charge money for it. - Intuit lobbying to prevent states and the IRS from providing free tax filing facilities. When the question becomes, "what do we do about it", I'm well out of my depth, but I think the fight is worth having, and the practical effect of corporate lobbying is certainly a worthy subject for journalism like the OP.