The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind (50 page)

dangers of, 107–9

de-rating of, 110–11

disasters of, 105–7

inadequate safety warnings about, 115

income tax not paid by, 92

inspections of, 109, 110, 112–17

inspection waivers for, 112

“performance” fees paid by, 102–3

as Ponzi schemes, 102

profits of, 92–99

safety planning, 116

safety problems of, 109–10

Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (2002), 109, 115

Pipeline Safety Trust, 109, 110, 114–15

Plains Justice, 116

Plato, 18

Plessy v. Ferguson,
273

police, taxes needed to maintin, 133, 134

polio, reduction of, 137

Portland General Electric, 199

Posner, Richard, 154, 157

Potok, Leon, 166–67

poverty, 28

childhood, 20

in U.S., 20–21

Powder River Basin, 27–28, 29, 30

Power, Patrick J., 264

power plants, 68–69, 262

price competition, 31

price gouging, 11–12, 32–34, 44, 256

price revolutions, 192

Prins, Nomi, 170–71

prisons, taxes needed to maintain, 134

private-equity managers, 204–7

private letter rulings, 196

Procter & Gamble, 9, 234

Progress & Freedom Foundation, 56

Progress and Poverty,
48–49

progressive taxation, 18

promissory fraud, 161–62

property law, 15

property rights, 25

property taxes, 237

Proposition 13, 120, 129

prosecutors, taxes needed to maintain, 134

PSEG, 69–71, 80, 262

“pseudo promises,” 162

Public Enemies,
218–21, 224

public health, 137, 138

Public Utility Holding Company Act (1935), 67

Pure Food and Drug Act, 137

“pyramiding,” 67

Quarterman, Cynthia, 110

QuickBooks, 233

Quicken, 228

Quinn, Pat, 234, 236

Qwest, 50–51, 62

railroad industry, 42–49, 96–97, 260, 261, 264

bottleneck decision and, 42–44

competition in, 35–36, 39–40, 43, 45, 47–48

consolidation of, 31, 33

cost of capital in, 41

labor productivity of, 48

market power in, 36–37

monopoly power of, 40–41, 42–44

“paper barriers” and, 44–45

price gouging by, 33–34, 35

profits of, 40

service quality of, 45–46

Rail Theory Forecasts, 35

Rand, Ayn, 152

Random Walk Down Wall Street,
A
(Malkiel), 193

Ray, Billy, 56, 58

ReadyReturn, 227–28, 229–33, 269–70

Reagan, Ronald, 20, 92, 201, 209, 210, 216–17, 243, 248

Redmiles, Melissa, 211

Redstone, Sumner, 222

Reese, Kern A., 77, 87, 88–89

Regan, Lillian, 84, 85, 86

regulation, 34–35, 36, 241, 245, 267

asymmetry in, 52

of banks, 150–51

policy statements in, 95

Rehnquist, William, 25

Renaissance Technologies, 204

repeat player problem, 163–64, 266–67

Republic Services, 128–29, 132, 139, 140–41

retirement system, 23

Reuters news agency, 252

Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk Aktiengesellschaft, 121–22

Rhode Island, 222

Ribley, Warren, 235–36

Rio de Janeiro, 133

Rittenhouse, Charlie D., 116–17

Roberts, John Glover, 25–26, 162, 175, 176, 273

Rochester, N.Y., 81–82, 130

Romer, Paul, 153

Romney, Mitt, 9, 189, 204, 205, 251

Rooney, Philip J., 178, 179, 180

Roosevelt, Theodore, 142

Rosenbloom, Dick, 131

Royal Dutch Shell, 105

royalties, charged by shell companies, 237

Ruane, Jim, 114, 115

Rumke Consolidated, 141

Sacramento Municipal Utility District, 265, 266

safety inspectors, 174–75

safety waivers, 114

Sam’s Club, 173

San Bruno, Calif., 106, 115

San Diego Gas & Electric, 72

Sandlin, Jimmy, 58

Sandrik, Karen, 161, 162

San Francisco Chronicle,
72, 121

San Lorenzo River, 121

San Lorenzo Valley Water District, 122

Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad,
24–25

savings and loan crisis, 151, 153, 242

Saxon, Stephen M., 185

Scalia, Antonin, 26, 163, 175

Schering-Plough, 214–15

Schmidt, Eric, 235

Schneiderman, Eric, 1

Schwartz, Alan G., 159

Schwarzenegger, Arnold, 97

S.C. Johnson, 220, 236

Scorse, Gerald, 272

Scottsboro, Ala., 58, 260

Securities and Exchange Commission, 16, 52, 102, 138, 193–94, 202

Seeber, Joe, 77–89

Entergy’s suit against, 86–89

Senate Banking Committee, 150

Sentelle, David B., 90, 93–94, 95, 96–97, 98, 99, 101

September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 170–71

settlements, used to hush up problems, 164

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, 241

SFPP, 93–94, 95–96, 97

shadow banking systems, 145

Shelf Project, 99

Shields, Jeff, 74, 75–76

Siemens, 9, 234

Simon, James, 204

Simon, Timothy Alan, 97

Sinai, Allen, 210, 212

Skype, 53

smallpox, eradication of, 137

Smith, Adam, 38, 55, 80, 136, 139, 243, 259

Smith, Greg, 170

SNL Kagan, 54

Social Security Administration, 21, 187, 256

Solow, Robert, 200–201

South Carolina, 238

Southern California Edison, 72, 73, 265

Southern Pacific Communications, 3

Southern Pacific Railroad, 2–3, 24–25, 273

South Fulton, Tenn., 134

South Korea, 23, 60, 62

South San Joaquin Irrigation District, 73, 74–76, 266

Spalter, Samuel, 177, 178, 179

specialization, benefits of, 136, 189

Spence, Michael, 61–62

Spielberg, Steven, 222

Sponseller, Dan, 70–71

Sprint Nextel, 3

Staggers, Harley, 31

Staggers Rail Act (1980), 35, 43, 47, 48

“standard form” contracts, 157

state income taxes, 9, 234, 236

State Tax Notes,
97, 99

state utility commissions, 66, 80

Statistics of Income, 206

Stein, Norman, 185

stimulus package (2009), 253

stock options, 191, 198, 214

stranded costs, 68–69, 70

streetlights, 78, 82, 83–84

Strickland, Tony, 232

Strickler, Sheri, 163–64

Strine, Leo, 169–70

Strobel, Ernestine, 157–59, 266

subsidies, 133–34

corporate, 8–9

Subway, 159, 266

Sullivan, Martin, 216

Sunoco, 91

Supreme Court, California, 11

Supreme Court, Montana, 159, 160

Supreme Court, U.S., 10, 25–26, 155, 156, 159–60, 175–76, 272, 273

class actions and, 162–63

Supreme Court, West Virginia, 175

Surface Transportation Board (STB), 32, 33, 34–35, 36, 40, 41, 42–43, 45

Sutter Hospital, 180, 181

tax accounting, 197–201, 202, 270

tax auditors, 238

tax credits, 225–26, 237

Tax Credits LLC, 226

tax cuts, 209–10, 248, 253

tax deferrals, 270–71

taxes, 38, 90–99, 196–207, 248, 251, 269–72

benefits of higher, 133–41

capital gains, 21, 205

corporate income tax rate, 38, 71–72

delayed payment of, 196

in electric utilities, 68–70

garbage collection and, 129–33

gift, 205

income, 199

monopoly utilities and, 71–76

offshore profits and, 210–17

paid by American Water, 125

progressive, 18

property, 129, 237

state income, 9, 234, 236

utility-consumption, 263–64

workers’ compensation, 136

tax havens, 211, 215, 216, 220

Tax Incentives Alert,
237–38

tax loopholes, 186

Tax Notes,
216, 232, 239

Taxpayer Freedom to File Protection Act, 232

Taxpayer Protection Act (1998), 233

tax preparation industry, 227–33

Tax Reform Act (1986), 92

tax shelters, 202

Tea Party, 24

Telecommunications Act (1996), 56

telemarketing companies, 4

telephone bills, 1–2, 5–6, 51

extra charges on, 3–4

misunderstanding of, 6–7

telephone industry, 1–8

fiber-optic network created by, 50–51

record keeping in, 52

Telescripps, 55, 56–57

Tennessee, 134

Tepper, David, 204, 205

terrorism, pipelines and, 113

Theofanous, Theo, 111–12, 114

Thomas, Clarence, 26

Thomas, Kenneth, 9

Tilden, Kevin, 124

Time Warner, 56, 60

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, 229, 238

Transportation Department, U.S., 12, 108, 109, 112, 114

Trapp, George J., 184–85

Treasury, U.S., 245

Triangle Shirtwaist Company, 136, 173

trickle-down economics, 20, 243

Trieweiler, Terry N., 159, 160–61

TriStem Consulting, 78–79, 81, 82, 83–84, 86–87, 88

Trump, Donald, 237

trusts, duty of, 18

truth-in-billing policy, 6

Tsiorvas, Stephen, 105, 106

TurboTax, 228, 229–33, 269

Turk, Ron, 130

Tyco, 20

Tytler, Alexander Fraser, 208

UBS, 150

unemployment, 22, 208, 250, 252–53

Union Pacific Railroad Company, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48

unions, 147, 245

United Steelworkers Union, 166

Universal Studios, 218, 219, 222

Upper Big Branch mine explosion, 174

utilities, 67, 72, 260–66

average equity of, 80

executive salaries in, 265

holding companies and, 67–68, 260–62, 265

overbilling by, 82–83

progressive consumption tax for, 263–64

public takeovers and, 266

ratemaking proceedings and, 264–65

see also
specific utilities

Utilities Mutual, 177–81

utility-consumption tax, 263–64

Utility Rate Network, The (TURN), 7

Utility Workers Union of America, 116, 125

Vanderbilt University, 147

VanDerhei, Jack, 187

Vanguard, 189

Venice, 190–91

Ventry, Dennis, 232, 269

Verizon, 8, 51, 53, 237, 268

Verizon Wireless, 4

Vermillion, S.Dak., 116

Viacom, 222

Viagra, 211, 212

Virginia, 232

Visa, 143, 268

Vonage, 53

wages, 21–23, 250, 252, 253–58

median vs. average, 253–55

per capita, 257

stagnation of, 54

Wall Street Journal,
152, 252

Wall, Terrence, 206–7

Walmart, 23, 134, 162–63, 173

Waste Management, 128–29, 132, 138, 140, 141

water companies, 118–27

water systems, 118–27

privatization of, 119–24, 126

Wealth of Nations, see Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

Weimer, Carl, 109, 115

Weiner, Joann M., 213

Weisbenner, Scott, 192

Weisshaar, Ben and Rita, 64–65

Welch, Jack, 202

Wells Fargo Bank, 11, 154, 164, 244

Whatcom Falls Creek, 105

Williams Companies, 102

Wired for Greed
(Seeber), 87–88

wire maintenance fee, 5

Wisconsin, 119, 220, 224, 236, 238

film industry tax breaks in, 218–22

Wisconsin Commerce Department, 221–22

Wood, Liam, 105

Wooden, John, 240

worker safety, 135–36, 173–74

workers’ compensation, 136, 172, 176–83

Workers’ Compensation Board, New York, 179

World War II, 245

Wulff, Kurt, 102–3

Wyatt, Dennis, 75–76

Wyoming Corporate Services, Inc., 14

Yahoo, 237

Zuckerman, Deborah, 160