Article first published as American Corporations are all About Profits – Not People on Technorati.

Have you heard the news that corporate profits hit an all-time high this past quarter? That’s right, with unemployment stuck near double digits and the wages of American workers continuing to fall, American businesses racked up profits at an annualized rate of $1.66 trillion.

So, even though they themselves may be hurting, shouldn’t patriotic Americans cheer these profits? After all, we have a huge federal budget deficit, and at least the tax revenues from these huge profits will improve the shortfall, right?

Wrong. The sad truth is that American corporations aren’t all that American, and they’re certainly not patriotic. General Electric, fourth on the Fortune 500, had an excellent year in 2009, making profits of $10.3 billion. Their U.S. tax bill? Uncle Sam owed them $1.1 billion. How does that happen?

Well, somewhere in their 24,000 page tax return are the details of how they consistently manage to make serious profits overseas but lose money in the U.S..

A similar story applies to Exxon Mobile, our nation’s most profitable company. Their profits for tax year 2008 climbed to a record high of $42.5 billion — the most ever for an American company. They did wind up having to pay $15 billion in income taxes, but unfortunately for Americans, none of that money was paid to the IRS. Exxon’s U.S. tax bill was a whopping zero dollars.

Sadly, these companies are anything but alone in their ability to exploit tax loopholes and dodge paying U.S. taxes. In fact, a 2008 study prepared by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that two out of three American corporations paid ZERO, zip, nada in federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005.

Unlike average Americans, corporations enjoy considerable flexibility in both operations and the resulting tax treatment. Exxon, for example, has several wholly owned subsidiaries domiciled in the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands that allow them to legally shelter cash flow. Other corporations, like Google, who was recently able to reduce its effective tax rate to just 2.4%, accomplish their magic by shuffling income through foreign countries using well-known tax strategies like the “Double Irish” or “Dutch Sandwich.”

Google’s use of the “Double Irish” maneuver depends on shifting non-U.S. sales to its Dublin office — 88% of its $12.5 billion in 2009. This technique is also used by others, like Microsoft, and requires that they have two Irish companies (hence the “double”) where one pays royalties to the other which collects the proceeds in a tax haven, like Bermuda.

Make no mistake about it, the use of tax havens is commonplace in corporate America. Another GAO study reported that 83 of the 100 largest American companies have subsidiaries in tax havens. It’s estimated that through the use of such havens, corporations and wealthy individuals are able to evade more than $100 billion in U.S. taxes every year. ATT, GE, IBM, Chevron, they all participate in the dodge.

Even those companies with government contracts, like Boeing, and those who took government bailout money, like AIG, GM, Goldman Sachs and Citicorp play the game. The truth is that the evasion occurs on such a grand scale that 18,000 companies share a single address in the Cayman Islands, a popular haven because of its lack of any corporate or capital gains tax.

What should be done about all of this? Some people advocate the closing of loopholes to prevent such activities. Others suggest that completely eliminating corporate taxes and treating corporate profits as the individual income of its shareholders would be a superior remedy. But whatever the solution, the core truth of the situation remains evident — 21st  Century corporations have no nationality.

Like it or not, we now live in a global economy. Billions of dollars in U.S. tax revenue is being hidden in foreign banks, and millions of American jobs have been offshored to foreign workers. American corporate profits are at an all-time high even while huge numbers of Americans are suffering. The sad truth is that American corporations have but one loyalty, and it’s not to our nation, nor is it to the American people; they are singularly focused on profits, and their only loyalty is to their shareholders.

There’s nothing really wrong with this specific truth. Corporations are legal fictions created for the purpose of making money. They are rightfully focused solely on profits. But there is something seriously wrong with assigning to these artificial entities the rights associated with being a person.

This is exactly what the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) did in its decision on Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission. In conferring personhood upon corporations and assigning full First Amendment protections for free speech, the SCOTUS not only made it perfectly legal for companies to lie but also opened a Pandora’s Box of election campaign abuse.

At a time when deep-pocketed corporations already control both political parties, and the cost of Campaign 2010 would hit nearly $4 billion — with Americans fighting to take their country back from the special interests, the Citizens United decision unleashed another $180 million in campaign ads, with $120 million coming from undisclosed sources.

Because of the SCOTUS decision, corporations, even those with significant foreign ownership, now have the power to directly influence American elections. How this can be a positive for our nation is a mystery. The Founding Fathers were certainly not advocates of such corporate power. They fully understood the truth expressed by Justice John Paul Stevens, in his dissenting opinion: “the corporation must engage the electoral process with the aim to enhance the profitability of the company, no matter how persuasive the argument for a broader or conflicting set of priorities.”

Corporations are not people, and what’s good for one is not necessarily good for the other. The Citizens United decision is an abomination upon the American system of government that runs counter to the ideal of one-person-one-vote. It virtually ensures that American corporations will continue to evade paying U.S. income tax while stoking profits with cheap foreign labor. It corrupts the very core of our founding and ensures that a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” will indeed perish from the Earth.

If you are a patriot, if you love your country and care about democracy, you’ll agree that, left or right, our government belongs to The People. Please raise your voice and say NO to the sale of our democracy — join your fellow Americans in ending corporate rule and Move to Amend.

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President Obama spoke to the people of America on Saturday. With the campaign season for the fall election heating up, his message was focused on the insidious effects of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Citizens United case. The President cited the recent “flood of attack ads, run by shadowy groups with harmless sounding names.” He contended that the people deserve to know who’s behind these campaign ads, and argued that the Disclose Act, which is being blocked by Senate Republicans, is an effective device to accomplish that end.

Legislation that’s directed at greater disclosure by donors, the Disclose Act would require, “special interest group officials to physically appear at the end of campaign ads they sponsor, acknowledging their campaign contributions.” It would also prevent foreign run entities from interfering in our election process, undoing another detrimental side effect of Citizens United. The bill was already passed by the House, with 2 Republicans voting in favor, along with all but 30 Democrats. But the legislation has been stalled since it reached the Senate.

Falling into the prevalent pattern of Senate dysfunction, the Disclose Act is just another bill to find itself the victim of Republican obstruction. Needing one more vote to gain cloture and avoid filibuster, Americans will not gain knowledge of the people behind the campaign ads unless Democrats can get at least one Republican to break ranks and put The People above the Party.

Asked for comment on the legislation, Mitch “Tax cuts pay for themselves” McConnell offered more nonsensical blather. According to McConnell, “The president says this bill is about transparency. It’s transparent all right. It’s a transparent effort to rig the fall elections.” So, in the Senate Minority Leader’s own words, informing voters of who’s paying for campaign attack ads somehow amounts to rigging the election.

I’m sure that Senator McConnell had no intent of supporting the President’s position, but based on his own comments, it’s hard to refute what President Obama had to say regarding Republican opposition to the bill, “This can only mean that the leaders of the other party want to keep the public in the dark.” The President added that, “They don’t want you to know which interests are paying for the ads. The only people who don’t want to disclose the truth are people with something to hide.”

The November election will be laced with illegitimate attack ads of all sorts, and those ads will come from both sides. This has long been the case, and now the problem has been magnified by the Citizens United decision. The Disclose Act is essential legislation that can’t prevent the ads, but can at least inform the voters who’s behind them. It’s like truth in advertising 101, and the Republicans want no part of it. That fact alone should call their position into question.

Concerned voters need to speak out and make sure their representatives understand that We the People want to know. Voters want transparency. Big-Money has already hijacked the American government, and the Supreme Court, through Citizens United, has given them yet another avenue to exert their will. Corporations are not people, and in the long term, our nation needs reform to undo the damage of this decision. Such reform is already underway in the form of a constitutional amendment carrying 74 cosponsors in the House. People can also voice their support at Free Speech for People.

Like campaign finance reform, the Disclose Act should have nothing to do with partisan differences. The fact that it is being debated along party lines should be sufficient cause to make people stand up and take notice. Citizens United was anti-democracy at its very worst. To fight against its reform is un-American.

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The stage is set and the lines are drawn for this November when the siege of the U.S. Congress will conclude in the battle for America. Under cover of the darkness of their deception, the Republican Party, backed by their corporate overlords, will attempt to unleash hell on the Democratic Party and the American middle class. The deployment of their arsenal of lies, half-truths and distortions began months ago, and has already carried a staggering payload of misunderstanding and fear. Now, as we march toward the election, their generals are marshalling the troops, and their foot soldiers, ignorant and enthusiastic, are poised for victory.

I fear that liberals who underestimate the severity of the damage done by Republican obstructionism and fear mongering are in for a rude awakening come November. Polls are not elections, but when all indicators are pointing in the same direction, it’s wise to take notice. It’s common knowledge that midterm elections are all about voter turnout, and democrats would be well served to look back at the last midterm for a hint of what will happen if they cannot rally their faithful and get out the vote.

The results of the most recent Pew poll on the topic are not encouraging for Democrats. Taken in mid-June, the poll leans heavily in favor of Republicans, showing significant margins in voter enthusiasm and attention, both critical indicators in a mid-term. Republican voters are currently winning the enthusiasm battle by a score of 56% to 42% and show a similar margin in those who are “closely following campaign news,” with 64% compared to 50% for the Democrats.

Republicans also show a sizable lead with older voters — who happen to be more engaged and likely to vote. And in possibly the most significant metric of all, Republicans have managed to turn the tide of independent voters. Where Democrats enjoyed a 47% to 32% preference amongst independent voters in June of 2006, the tables are now turned, with independents supporting Republicans by a 44% to 36% margin.

Nearly everything is already leaning in favor of the Republicans, and we’ve yet to face the juggernaut of corporate backed advertising that will soon descend upon the American airwaves. Led by a $75 million pledge from the U.S. Chamber, the Republicans already have over $200 million in commitments from conservative organizations. Couple this with the Supreme Court’s release of the Corporate Cracken, and it’s hard to deny the possibility of a conservative route.

If Democrats are to have any hope of retaining a majority in the Congress, they must do something to excite voters and rally them to the liberal cause — and they must do so NOW.

It’s time for Democrats to drop their cool demeanors and start fighting fire with napalm. Democrats need to stand and refute the lies perpetuated in the Republican campaign of fear and distraction, and they need to take bold action. With the economy still in the toilet and the Gulf being turned into one, these are historic times — and historic times call for historic measures.

The Democratic majority in the Senate can be the catalyst to mobilize liberals across the nation. But in order to do so, they need to immediately stop reserving power for the future and take decisive action for victory today. They are the majority, and they don’t have to allow the Republicans to control the Senate with a minority. To sit with a 59/41 majority and play victim, and to do so without ever even requiring an actual filibuster is so cowardly as to demand disrespect. The Republicans have threatened filibuster on every major issue, including the extension of unemployment benefits to the very people whom their corruption has put out of a job. Such a drastic attempt to obstruct the legislative process is without precedence and should be met with an unprecedented response. The Democrats can and should invoke the nuclear option today and take real control of the Congress.

Match this act of leadership with an all-out campaign to educate the American people on the contemptuous tactics and behavior of the corporate betrothed conservatives, and the pending Republican route will become their Waterloo.

The problem right now is that there’s only one voice that’s being heard — the conservative voice. Sure MSNBC is carrying the liberal message, and places like Huffington Post are doing their part. But the rallies belong to the conservatives, and Fox News reels in as many viewers as all other sources, liberal and centrist combined. With the Cracken sure to attack soon, Democrats are in desperate need of a countering force.

Like a collective of Paul Reveres, it’s time for liberals to mobilize before it’s too late. The corporatists are coming . . . the corporatists are truly coming! Democrats need grassroots support, and we need to call upon liberal celebrities from sea to shining sea to help make it happen. Celebrities can reach and activate younger voters who swing Democrat in large numbers. They may not have the bully pulpit, but they do command the limelight.

What might happen if liberal celebrities gathered together for an event like Band Aid, Farm Aid and Live Aid? What if Democrat performers like Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Eddie Vedder, Cher and Streisand used their celebrity to engage others and come to the aid of the average American? There’s a long list of musicians, actors and other performers who support the Democratic Party. Where are celebrities like Tim Robins and Susan Sarandon, like Madonna, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and many others who all speak out actively against Republican politics? What about Clooney? How about Oparah?

We’ve had celebrity aid for farmers, and we’ve rightfully had it for the truly needy. I respected and supported these efforts, but now I contend that there’s an even more important battle to be fought. The battle is for the very fabric and spirit of the culture that makes these other efforts possible. Conservatism is strangling the life out of the vast majority of American people, and far too many are unwittingly leading themselves, their family and friends to slaughter. The voice of truth must be heard. The lies must be revealed. The time for those who can reach the masses to stand and be counted is now. America may not survive another round of Republican government.

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