PrintApril 3, 2011
Obama and Immelt Playing US Like Fools
Why do former Sen. Feingold and MoveOn.org need to force GE's Jeff Immelt's resignation? They were all supposed to be on the same side, right?
From CBS News:
Former Sen. Russ Feingold and progressive group MoveOn today called on General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt to resign from the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in the wake of a report that despite $14.2 billion in worldwide profits - including more than $5 billion from U.S. operations - GE did not owe taxes in 2010.
When the left rails against the left, it's about setting somebody up in order to take him down. You know, Obama appoints a progressive leader to a high profile position; a couple months later, leftists call for CEO's resignation because of dirty accounting practices. Obama remains "neutral" until said resignation, and reaps a reward in the polls for standing up against capitalists.
Just this past January at the State of the Union and in the same month as appointing Immelt to head the President's Council on Jobs, Obama took issue with companies like GE who spend hundreds of millions of dollars hiring lawyers and lobbyists to "rig" the tax code:
Mr. Obama has railed against just the sort of tax loophole exploitation of which G.E. is accused.
"Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries," he said in his State of the Union address in January. "Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all."
Where was Obama's concern about underhanded companies when he appointed Immelt?
In addition to his company's tax evasion, Immelt has no loyalty to American ideals. He's been pushing China since 2001 and was doing business with Iran up to 2005. He likes the ways Germany does business as well; top down, bottom up and inside out government and business together.
All this maneuvering screams Obama 2012. Michael Moore recently bloviated that the U.S. is awash with money, but it's all in the wrong hands. Moore is a johnny-one-note always stirring up the oppressed masses by ranting about the "fat cats." You can be sure Obama will use this same strategy in his 2012 campaign; Immelt has to go because he doesn't fit the working man's profile.
Imagine Obama telling some sympathetic group in San Francisco or Chicago that he's sad to see Jeff go, that he's been a great ally to the administration, but we have to be about the working people.
And many Americans will eat it up.
Read more Ann Kane at www.potterwilliamsreport.com
