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Those evil corporations

Harvard professor Senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren continually inveighs against the evil corporations, particularly the oil companies getting those tax breaks. Here are a few facts about Exxon Mobil for 2011. They paid $31 billion in income taxes at a 42.4% rate. Additionally, they paid $74 billion in other taxes and made $31 billion in investments. They employed 82 thousand people and paid $9 billion in dividends. Taxes to governmental entities were eleven times greater than what they paid shareholders. The US corporate tax rate of 40% is the highest in the world. China taxes at 25%, the UK at 26%. The European average is 20.6%; the global average is 24.5%. And Exxon produces a product that powers our Priuses and our factories. in contrast, Solyndra and Evergreen (two alternative energy darlings of the Left) received government subsidies of over $700 million and , I believe, $60+ million and are "gone with the wind." I would expect Elizabeth Warren, as a Harvard professor, to be above demagoguery and adhere somewhat more to the facts. We should be encouraging good corporations, not demonizing them with untruths. Cheers. Pete Laird Sr. Member Dover Republican Town Committee

Mark S.

10:02 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Very well put! And on top of all of the taxes the corporation pays, ExxonMobil employs over 82,000 people, roughly 30,000 of which are U.S. jobs. Not only does that provide a livelihood for those American families, it also generates state and federal income and payroll tax revenue - not mention the sales tax revenue generated by products the company produces.

It's a bit ironic that so many of the same people who dislike big corporations love big government. The US federal government is the largest employer in the US, with more than 1.6 million full-time civilian employees and over $5 trillion in revenue. That would qualify as an awfully big corporation, except that it runs a $16 trillion debt and only answers to its shareholders at the ballot box once every two to four years. I'm looking forward to the November shareholder meeting!

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