McCaskill's question is great.
So if Apple is really just about minimizing tax burdens as a matter of doing what you can within the law to maximize profit for your shareholders -- as they say, and as their defenders here say -- why not shift the company entirely off-shore?
Cook had two options: admit he was screwing his shareholders by not doing that, or admit that there's more to it than just maximizing profits. He choose (b) -- "we're an American company" -- but couldn't explain why it wasn't unAmerican to hide 70% of your profits from America.
Yes, we all try to minimize our taxes. But when the rich can minimize them much more than the poor, that's not just an issue with the tax code, because the rich will always be able to find more loopholes with million-dollar lawyers. It's a matter of what it means to believe in America as a free, equal, and fair democracy. And Cook can't repudiate that without destroying the Apple brand in the eyes of millions of Americans. So he's left in this uncomfortable position, simultaneously claiming to be a pure profit-maximizer, and a loyal American company. And that won't cut it.
I agree that it was a great question, but I disagree with your analysis.
First, the "we're an American company" answer is obviously BS, but it is the most graceful answer Cook could give. The truth is: "The only reason we don't relocate is that most of our talent is here, and it would be difficult to relocate that many people. We care about our talent because it is integral to our success as a company, so we tolerate your ridiculous tax code and harassment."
You can say that Apple is at a disadvantage in the sense that it isn't really feasible to move its main operations to more business-friendly countries like a small to mid-size business could, but I digress.
Second, your statement that they are "hiding profits" is ridiculous. You seem to be under the misconception that profits are somehow immoral, and take away from the public. That couldn't be less true. Profits can only be earned through one method:
pleasing your fellow man. That is what makes capitalism different than something like communism - you are rewarded proportionally to which you satisfy your fellow man, rather than through dominating him.
To add to that, I would ask you: who do you believe spends their money more wisely: Apple or the US government? Do you remember the bank bailouts? Citigroup alone received over 2.5 trillion -with a T- dollars. Where do you think that money comes from?
Finally, I want to remind you that America is not about equality and fairness. Our Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal". That means that we all have the same opportunity to succeed
and to fail. Our founding fathers believed that this is a right given by a higher power than the government of man. The very moment we are born, we stop being equal, and become responsible for our own fates. "Fairness" is a mind-bogglingly abusive word today. How is it fair to pay more for working hard, making the right choices, and ultimately achieving the dream of success?
