Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc., has announced to a congressional committee that he will not "repatriate" $100 billion of profits hidden in offshore shell companies in an elaborate tax avoidance scheme unless the government reduces the tax rate for the company.
Mr. Cook is not an elected official nor does he hold any political office. He seems to fancy himself as an old-fashioned oligarch who can dictate terms to an elected government.
Bearing in mind ordinary U.S. citizens would be punished mightily for hiding income and would be laughed out of court if they attempted to dictate their own tax rates, this might be a wonderful opportunity to teach him a lesson.
I would suggest that Mr. Cook be arrested immediately and incarcerated without trial — that does appear to be rather popular these days — and the $100 billion in hidden profits be confiscated and used for socially useful projects. I'm sure $100 billion could go a long way to helping rebuild community and lives in Moore, Okla.
I find it to be an eminently ethical strategy for the social good.
Mark Lunt
Castleton