6/4/2021

My dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            I loved seeing the photos of you & Jill on your bikes on the Gordon Pond Trail yesterday. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

            I learned today that Nike has not paid any corporate income tax for the past 3 years. That’s crazy! At my next Dartmouth reunion, I am going to give the CEO, John Donahoe (JJD), a piece of my mind. He & I went to the same high school & were in the same Spanish class. He was cute, nice, tall & known all over campus because he was a star on the basketball team. He seems to be an ethical guy, so I want to know about these executive stock options that enable Nike to avoid taxes. Whatever “Research and Experimentation” Nike is doing to get a tax write-off is not for the common good. We do not need a better sneaker! I am tempted to keep ranting about how kids kill one another over Nikes, but today’s theme is taxes.

            Given that multinationals like Nike are hiding their money in places like Bermuda, I love the idea being promoted by Spain, Italy, Germany & France about an International Tax System. They believe that corporations should pay their fair share to fund the public good at a level commensurate with their success. The plan is for all corporations to pay at least 15% of their income as tax in every country in the world.

            Is that where you got your latest idea to get the infrastructure bill passed? I hope that SMC can sell it to her GOP colleagues. How can they argue with the idea that everyone should pitch in?

            The Generals in Myanmar must be struggling to collect taxes. It seems that their banking system is a mess. The ATMs are empty so rich people can’t buy stuff. Civil unrest wreaks havoc on financial infrastructure. My grandpa, whose family lost everything in the Russian Revolution, refused to save money because he knew how fragile any economy is. He had firsthand experience of what happens when the wealth gap gets too wide. I hope JJD took a history class back in the day.

            BYBS,