Reply #19: Bush favors corporatism, Clark seems to agree

[Jerseycoa]

I've been trying to sit these things out a while, but what the hell.

"Retired general Wesley Clark, on the rise in two recent polls of the Democratic presidential race, on Thursday vowed to end "corporate welfare" by cracking down on the shelters U.S. companies use to avoid taxes and increasing the penalties faced by offenders.

"Campaigning with Enron Corp. whistle-blower Sherron Watkins, who has become a symbol of U.S. corporate governance reforms, Clark fleshed out details of his plan to finance middle class tax cuts by clawing back up to $10 billion a year in revenues now lost to corporate tax avoidance schemes.

"We seem to have created a tax system that's encouraging American businesses to devote resources to avoiding taxes," he said. "It shouldn't be that way."

"Clark's plan would seek to outlaw all tax shelters, which would be defined as any financial transactions conducted solely for the purpose of avoiding taxes. It would also double the current fines for corporations found to have abused the tax code and quadruple them for repeat offenders."

Source: Reuters 1/8/04

Wasn't there something about Dean's relationship with Enron not long ago?