The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind (48 page)

237
Donald Trump began his career:
Wayne Barrett,
Trump: The Deals and the Downfall
. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

Chapter Twenty-three: Of Commas and Character

241
The dominant law:
Frank H. Easterbrook and Daniel R. Fischel,
The Economic Structure of Corporate Law
. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991, p. 283. “A rule against fraud is not an essential or even necessarily an important ingredient of securities markets.”

246
As explained:
Johannes R. B. Ritterhausen, “The Postwar West German Economic Transition: From Ordoliberalism to Keynesianism.” IWP Discussion Paper no. 2007/1, January 2007.

Chapter Twenty-four: What It All Means

252
Then in 2009:
David Cay Johnston, “Scary New Wage Data.”
Tax.com,
www.tax.com/taxcom/taxblog.nsf/Permalink/UBEN-8AGMUZ.

253
For all the talk:
David Cay Johnston, “Forget Taxes, It’s Wages that Plague Americans.” Reuters, August 6, 2011, http://blogs.reuters.com/david-cay-johnston/2011/08/06/forget-taxes-its-wages-that-plague-americans/.

Chapter Twenty-five: Solutions

261
Almost eight decades:
James C. Bonbright and Gardiner C. Means,
The Holding Company: Its Public Significance and Its Regulation
. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1932.

274
“Labor is prior to”:
Lincoln’s December 1861 address to Congress, available at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29502# axzz1tvhQqnUM.

Aaker, Gordon Allen, Jr., 111

accelerated depreciation, 200–201, 270

Accenture, 20

accidental death, 135

Accumulated Deferred Income Tax (ADIT), 70, 72

acid rain, 29

Adelson, Sheldon, 20

AIDS patients, 170

AIG, 166, 167

airline safety, 110

Akerloff, George, 152–53

Alcoa, 73–74, 268

ALI (automatic location indicator), 4

Allen, Paul, 58

Allied Waste Industries, 140

Almquist, Jeff, 122

AMC Theatres, 9

American Association of Railroads, 39

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 160

American Bankers Association, 146

American Jobs Creation Act (2004), 210–13, 216, 217, 251, 270

American Petroleum Institute, 110

American Public Power Association, 71, 197

American Revolution, 23–24

Americans for Tax Reform, 96, 232–33

American University, 155, 163

American Water Works Association (AWWA), 118–19, 121, 122, 123

infrastructure neglect by, 125–26

New Jersey subsidiary of, 124

Angelides, Phil, 171

Anthony, Susan B., 259, 276

antitax movement, 129–30, 133

Apollo Management, 9

Appaloosa Management, 204

Apple, 19, 192

arbitration, 156, 157–61, 244, 266–67

payment for, 163

unfairness of, 162–64

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), 33

Aristotle, 18–19, 134

Asmundson, Mark, 105

Association of Oil Pipelines, 110

AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph company), 1–4, 51, 53, 82, 178

breakup of, 2, 3, 5

lobbyists hired by, 7

Athenians, ancient, 18

Atlanta, Ga., 118

Atlantic City, N.J., 12

automated bill-payment systems, 82

automated teller machines, 145

automatic number indicator (ANI), 4

Baby Bells, 2, 5

Bagley, Bill, 72

bailouts, 142, 143, 150, 165

Bain Capital Management, 9, 205

bank failures, 150

bank fees, 11, 142–43

banking industry, 11, 142–43, 144–45, 147–48, 267–68

debit-card fees in, 11, 142, 143–44

reserves requirement for, 267

Rule 23A and, 147–53

Bankman, Joe, 227, 233, 269

Bank of America, 143–44, 146, 148–49, 268

fees charged by, 11, 142

as zombie bank, 149–50

Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act (2005), 17–18

bankruptcy protection, 17–18

Barclays, 148

Barr, Connie, 118, 121, 122–23

barrier to entry, 140

Bartels, Larry, 147

Batinovich, Robert, 263, 264

Bear Stearns, 166

Beaumont, Tex., 79

Bellingham, Wash., 105, 110, 114, 117

Benitez, Roger T., 158

Benjamin, Brent, 175–76

Benna, Ted, 186–87

Bentham, Jeremy, 243

Berkshire Hathaway, 32, 37, 38–39

Bermuda, 20, 216, 250

Berryhill, Tom, 73

Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One, The
(Black), 153

Black, Bill, 151, 153, 242

Black and Veatch, 119

Blackburn, Paul, 116

Blankenship, Don, 174–76

Blankfein, Lloyd, 166

Bloomberg Business News, 150, 215

BNSF Railroad, 31–32, 34, 37, 40, 44, 45, 48, 182

as duopoly, 38–39

price gouging by, 32–34

Bonbright, James C., 261

book accounting, 197–201, 202, 270

Boston Tea Party, 24

Boston Tea Party, The
(Labaree), 24

bounced checks, processing fee for, 11

BP (British Petroleum) West Coast, 93

Brandon, Zach, 219

Braverman, Burt, 56–57

Bridgeman, Curtis, 161, 162

Brighton, N.Y., 130–31, 132

Brin, Sergey, 235

British East India Company, 24

Brock, Fred, 252

Brown, Jeffrey R., 192

Brown, Marcus V., 83, 88, 89

Brown v. Board of Education,
273

Brunori, David, 239

Buffalo, N.Y., 112

Buffett, Warren, 31–32, 34, 37, 38–39, 43, 44, 134, 145, 155, 166, 167, 181, 182, 198–99, 244

building codes, 135

Bulgaria, 60

Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs, 91

Bureau of Labor Statistics, 248, 255

Bush, George H. W., 93, 248–49

Bush, George W., 22, 43, 94, 95, 96, 110, 129, 150, 201, 210, 211

tax cuts of, 209, 249

Bush administration, 67, 72, 166, 248–49

“business judgment” rule, 19

Butler, Steve, 190

cable companies, 7, 8, 53–59

handheld-remote charge by, 55

cable systems:

as capital intensive, 55–56

municipal, 57–59

CalFile, 232

California, 119, 176, 260

property taxes in, 129

ReadyReturn in, 231–32

California American Water, 121

California Public Utilities Commission, 71, 72, 76, 97, 107, 120, 122–23, 263

California Public Utilities Commission Foundation, 72

California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, 176

Canadian Broadcasting Conporation, 174

Cannon, Howard, 35

capital gains taxes, 21, 205

capitalism, 38, 102, 150, 186, 268

captive shippers, 33–34

Cargill, 33

Carlsbad, N.Mex., 106, 109, 111, 114

Carlyle Group, 9

Carter, Jimmy, 217

Casarotto, Paul and Pamela, 159–60, 161, 266

Cayman Islands, 216, 220, 236, 250

cell phones, 51, 53

Census, U.S., 248

Central Intelligence Agency, 20, 60

Centrust, 241

Century Investments, 187

CenturyLink, 51

CFO,
184, 188

Chaing, John, 232

Charity Hospital, 77–78

Charter Communications, 58

Chattanooga, Tenn., 57

Cheney, Dick, 20, 94

Chew, Stanley, 181, 182

Chicago, Ill., 134–35

Chicago School, 150, 151, 241–43, 246

China, 17, 47, 62, 243, 250, 251

Chrysler, 234

Chualar, Calif., 119

Ciaccio, Philip C., Jr., 88

Citigroup, 19, 148

Citizens for Tax Justice, 198

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,
25–26, 175, 272–73

Citizens Utilities, 121

class actions, 162–63

Clean Air Act (1970), 29–30

clinker, in Powder River Basin, 27–28

Clinton, Bill, 171

Clinton administration, 248–49

Club for Growth, 232

coal, 27–28, 29, 32, 35, 37, 43, 44, 46

Wyoming vs. Appalachian, 29–30

Coast Guard, U.S., 81

Code of Hammurabi, 17–18

collateralized mortgage-backed securities, 171

Cologne Re, 181, 182

Columbia River, 73

Comcast, 8, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57–58

Commodore Hotel, 237

community water systems, 118–27

competition, 30–31, 38, 139–40, 141, 243, 245, 246, 259–60

in cable systems, 56

in garbage collection, 128

in railroad industry, 35–36

in telephone industry, 53

Comptroller of the Currency, 149

Concentra, 182

Congress, U.S., 29, 33, 34, 35, 55, 67, 69, 91, 92, 99, 109, 146, 147, 150, 155, 156, 171, 192, 196, 197, 199, 200, 213, 227, 228, 233, 261, 262, 265, 271, 272

401(k)s and, 186

hedge fund manager taxes and, 204–5

NAFTA and, 250

tax cuts by, 72, 210–11

tax deferrals and, 201

Congressional Budget Office, 253

Connecticut, 236

Consolidated Edison, 108

Consumer Federation of America, 45

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 146

Continental tire company, 234–35

contracts of adhesion, 157, 160

control fraud, 8, 151, 242, 245, 267

Cooper, Mark, 45

Corace, Ralph J., 194

Corbett, Glenn, 108–9

corporate income tax rate, 38

corporate socialism, 29, 150, 268

corporate tax deferrals, 197

corporations, 11–12, 14–17, 160, 238

arbitration for, 156

book vs. tax accounting for, 197–201

cash reserves of, 275

executive tax deferral and, 201–4

history of regulation of, 17–23

income tax exemptions for, 262–63

liability limits on, 16, 19

partnerships and, 92

as “persons,” 24–26, 273

political influence of, 19–20, 25–26, 272

profits changed to expenses by, 236–37

profits of, 91

promissory fraud by, 161–62

rise in power of, 20, 23–26

Roman precursors to, 19

shareholders as sole responsibility of, 16–17

state income taxes retained by, 234–39

corporations (
cont.
)

tax deferrals, 197

2004 tax cuts for, 210–11

corruption, 31, 242

Council Rock Avenue, 130–31, 137–38

Council Rock Refuse District, 131

Countrywide Financial, 152, 153

Cox Cable New Orleans, 85

Cox Communications, 56, 58–59

Cox Enterprises, 58

Cranick, Gene, 134

Crawford, Susan P., 63

credit-card companies, 17–18, 268

credit-card lending, 145

credit default swaps, 148–49, 165–66, 171

credit ratings agencies, 149

Crocker Bank, 11

crony capitalism, 242

CSX, 48

Cuba, 20

current account deficit, 243

Daniels, Mitch, 126

Davis, J. C. Bancroft, 24–25, 273

dead-weight loss, 36

debit-card fees, 142, 143–44

Decision Economics, 210

“defective” grantor trust, 205

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 59

Defense Department, U.S., 59

deficits, 209

Delaware, 222, 236, 237

Dell, 251

Deloitte Tax LLP, 215

Demosthenes, 18

deParle, Jason, 250

Depp, Johnny, 218, 224

deregulation, 67, 242, 244

of pipelines, 116

derivatives, 165, 171, 241, 245, 267–68

Deutsche Bank, 148

Dillinger, John, 218

diphtheria, reduction of, 137

directory-assistance calls, 4–5

disbursement fee, 144

Disney, 222

Doctor’s Associates, 159

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 142–43

Doherty, Ed, 81–82

Domar, Evsey, 201

Donlon, William J., 179

Douglass, Frederick, 275–76

Dow Jones, 252

Dreamworks, 222

Dred Scott
decision, 273

Drucker, Jesse, 215

duopoly(ies), 36, 39, 48, 53–54, 56

Dunn, Vincent, 107–8

Easterbrook, Frank, 241–42

Easterns Automotive Group, 154–55, 163–64

economic development agencies, 10, 237

Economic Recovery Tax Act (1981), 20

Economic Research Associates, 224–25

Edison, N.J., 108

Edison Electric Institute, 98

Edison International, 265

education, 136–37, 243, 275

electricity, 30, 37, 38, 44, 261

electric utilities, 43, 45–46, 98, 66–67, 103–4, 260

inflated billing by, 81–82

stranded costs in, 68–69

tax benefits of, 71–76

tax deferrals for, 197–98

travel money for regulators of, 72–73

Electrolux, 9, 234

electronic bill-paying services, 145

Ellison, Larry, 256

El Paso Corporation, 169–70

El Paso Natural Gas, 106, 108, 114

eminent domain, 75, 123

Empire Pipeline LLC, 112–13

Empire State Pipeline, 113

Employee Benefits Research Institute, 187

employment, 248–51

energy industry, 94–95

subsidies for, 98–99

Enron, 90, 94, 95, 191, 192, 197, 241

Ensign, John, 210, 213

Entergy, 78–89, 198, 265

CEO pay at, 79–80

“Code of Entegrity” of, 89

overbilling by, 81, 84, 85, 89

profits of, 79

refunds paid by, 80–81

Equilar, 79

Escalation Consultants, 33

executives, tax deferrals for, 201–4, 270–71

executive salaries, 265

ExxonMobil, 19, 93, 96, 98

Fannie Mae, 152

“FCC Subscriber Line Charge,” 6

Federal Arbitration Act (1925), 156

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 151–52

Federal Communications Commission, 6–7, 52, 54