AREN’T ALL THEFTS TAX-EXEMPT?
“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” -- George Bernard Shaw
“Who stole the tarts?” -Lewis Carroll in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland T his chapter is an introduction to some of the second order effects in our society. Effects that pervert the very intention of our law- makers and of the public. Charities that aren’t. Localities in com- petition with one another to give away more and more of your hard earned dollars. All because the law is complex -- and people like me have learned how to take unfair advantage of it. I am an investment banker. My job is to provide financing for state and local governments. My firm does this by arranging for the sale of debt instruments (usually tax-exempt bonds) which create the funds for these localities. To the extent we are providing a needed service and are paid rea- sonable compensation, no problem. However to the extent we get greedy and raid the till we are in effect committing public theft. Much of the saga which follows is a sad reflection on the amount of public theft which is committed everyday. It is not just the investment bankers who are the parasites here
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