Fourth of all, it's a stretch to claim that outsourcing and tax dodging by corporations is the reason the economy is in the hole. Corporations were doing the exact same thing during the economic boom under Clinton and no one said a word. Our economy is in the hole because we (corporations, governments and individuals alike) have built on debt for so long and it's all falling in on us. It has nothing to do with outsourcing and tax dodging.
Corporate subsidies are only part of the reason the economy is in the hole. Outsourcing - killing American jobs (reducing tax revenue, local non-government spending, and local business demand and activity) has direct negative effects on the US economy.
The US military is a huge drain on the economy. It is the single largest sector of the economy, upwards of $1 trillion in spending not including war costs. The US spends more than 50% of all the money spent on all the militaries around the world, and more than the next 30 largest countries combined.
Tax cuts are a form of spending. The 2003 Bush tax cuts were accompanied by a bill raising the debt ceiling - they were passed on the same day. Giving away $350 billion in tax revenue (annually, for decades!) required raising the debt limit so we could borrow money to replace lost revenue.
It should be noted that the "savings" - money NOT paid into taxes - was largely invested overseas in tax free strategies, further reducing US tax revenue and increasing the debt. This spending created jobs - in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc.
Regulatory failure has led to multiple financial collapses and massive Federal bailouts at taxpayer expense. Other spending issues are exacerbated by the failure to collect tax revenue.
Medicare and social security are not unfunded liabilities. They are bedrock programs
funded by every working American to pay for some small degree of care at the end of life. There is fraud in Medicare, but much of it is institutionalized and corporate, i.e. the Medicare Drug Plan which fleeces seniors, prohibits low-cost imported drugs, etc. Many of the problems with these programs have to do with privatization and other conservative efforts to destroy them.
You indeed did not mention Apple specifically. You did comment on them in the past and I forgot this thred title changed.
And you still refuse to answer the question posed or explain why it is "foolish".
What good does it do the bring work back the US, pay more in taxes to "strengthen your country" when those behaviors will make your business un-competitive and cost you sales and quite possibly put you out of business? Then those workers will be out of a job as well as those that were here to begin with.
It's the employed workers who will add revenue by paying taxes, and it would do a lot of good on numerous levels. More tax revenue for the government = reduction of debt. More citizens gainfully employed = more demand for business and services and more economic growth (which leads to more tax revenue and further reduction in debt).
In terms of competition, that's a good thing (especially according to the so-called "free market" that spends so much energy trying to eliminate it). Import duties would easily level the playing field between the difference in labor costs, making competition about product quality rather than labor cost.
Globalization and the elimination of restrictions on trade (and often on taxes as well) has eviscerated numerous economies around the world.
But clearly, maximizing profit is far more important to you than the well being of your country and your fellow citizens. You'd sell them out in a heartbeat for lower prices or a higher dividend.
