David Cay Johnston Quotes
The British use a system where the profits a corporation reports to shareholders is what they pay taxes on. Whereas in America we require corporations to keep two sets of books, one for shareholders and one for the IRS, and the IRS records are secret. For publicly-traded companies, the British system would tend to align the interests of the government with the interests of the company because the company wants to report the biggest possible profit. Though, all wealthy countries have high taxes as wealth requires lots of common goods, from clean water to public education to a justice system.
Quotes to Explore
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My government is working for the common man. Our priority is the poor of the country. We want good governance through a dynamic and seamless government.
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I often have said to people that there are really two cities in the country where the outlook is always forward-looking - there is never really a backward-looking tendency. My banking work has taken me out to Palo Alto, what is commonly called Silicon Valley. And you sense out there is always a forward-looking outlook. And New York City.
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Being bi-racial and being from the country, I can talk to guys like Travis Frederick from Wisconsin and Doug Free from Wisconsin. And then I can go over and talk to Dez Bryant. I mean, think about the two different standpoints you need to have a real conversation with both, to really understand what they've been through.
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I guess my favorite artists are The White Stripes or Tom Waits. The more theatrical the music is, the more I get into it. I also like the quieter folk music, that kind of old-school rockabilly or country. I'm not really picky when it comes to music, as long as it's honest.
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The United States was the first country in the history of the world to be consciously created out of an idea - and the idea was liberty.
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We've only been wealthy in this country for 70 years. Who said we ought to have all this? Is it ordained?
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If you want to change a country, you're going to be bumped every now and then.
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We weren't dirt poor, but there was no spare money kicking around. While it was very much understood that the way to a better life was through education, books were a luxury we couldn't afford. But when I was six, we actually moved opposite the central library, and that became my home from home.
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Merit pay has failed repeatedly, and it's no surprise. When you base teacher pay on standardized test scores, you won't improve education; you just promote the high-stakes testing craze that's led parents, students and educators to shout 'Enough!' all across the country.
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This country is conducive to making money. Once you learn this lesson and make your first deal, you will really appreciate the tools available to you in the United States, the tools that will help you 'boot-strap' yourself into a large income.
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As we explore ways to bring price relief and bolster our country's energy independence, one significant energy source has emerged as a potential solution, hydrogen fuel cells.
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Seeing that flag means so much: I am inspired by my Queen, my country.
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If I were a congressman who had voted for the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, I'd claim it was forced on our country by a sinister international organization.
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If I had high-ticker 10 percent financing, which would probably be the market rate, I would have to dump stuff. The interest payments would be killing me.
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In Lebanon, it's never over for anyone. You cannot write off anyone or anything in this country.
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My dad is like a cactus - introverted and tough. I'm a people person, like my mom, but I got my competitiveness from my dad. He came to this country from Belarus with nothing and built a real business. He's my hero for giving me that need to run a business and for having enormous confidence in me.
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Ike runs the country, and I turn the pork chops.
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Black and brown communities are significantly and disproportionately impacted by deficiencies in our criminal justice system.
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I don't have this weird, natural funny bone that constantly comes out. It's not like my every instinct is to be funny, and I'm always having to dampen that down.
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I do want to keep the Wedgewood Collection in place, intact, and open to the public. Selling it off would be a real tragedy.
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I love to eat everything and you pretty much can - a little piece of something fattening is not going to kill you. It's when you eat the whole box that it's going to kill you.
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The British use a system where the profits a corporation reports to shareholders is what they pay taxes on. Whereas in America we require corporations to keep two sets of books, one for shareholders and one for the IRS, and the IRS records are secret. For publicly-traded companies, the British system would tend to align the interests of the government with the interests of the company because the company wants to report the biggest possible profit. Though, all wealthy countries have high taxes as wealth requires lots of common goods, from clean water to public education to a justice system.
