GE Explains It All

GE's George Jeffrey Immelt on job creation:

"The people who are part of the business sector, the people in this room, have got to stop complaining about government and get some action underway," he told the group. "There's no excuse today for lack of leadership. The truth is we all need to be part of the solution."

Forbes:

The most egregious example is General Electric (GE - news - people). Last year the conglomerate generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion.

As an small businessman I welcome this advice. I suppose my next move should be to convene a meeting of my accountants and tax lawyers, possibly at the lakeside conference center. Then, we'll plow our tax savings into the economy. Well maybe not plow. Maybe a small shovel would be more appropriate. Or a hand spade. (maybe a large teaspoon)

Sheesh. Thanks for the advice Jeffrey. See, this is part of the problem. Our corporate tax doesn't need to be one of the highest in the world, at 35%. Better would be a 15% rate that is paid by every corporation.

Since Obama wants to improve government regulations, how bout a trade? We drop some of the regulations that prevent drilling for oil, and institute one that prevents heads of corporations that pay no tax from lecturing us on complaining about government.