Customer Reviews

Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich - and Cheat Everybody Else

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I am a traditional conservative who has been bothered by tough coverage of the tax code in WSJ for years, but I am deeply troubled by Johnson's book. I have spoken with three tax attorneys who read it and found it accurate. What upsets me most is that THEY are not outraged. It does not do justice to this remarkable popularizationof an extremely complex subject to say merely that we always knew that the tax system was unfair. Cynicism is not Johnson's issue. The tax code is not understood by ANY of officials we have elected and rely on to represent our interests,. It is a black hole that makes incalculable (literally) national wealth disappear from our common enterprise. While we argue about deficits or unfunded mandates, hundreds of billions of untaxed profits of the very rich are sheltered and deferred in ways unavailable to wage earners who will soon be further burdened by a perversion of the "alternative minimum tax."

It is worth thousands of dollars to you, in all probability, to read this book carefully and then bring a copy to your Senators and Congressman with the demand that it be read. No vague review should divert every serious citizen from reading this clear and detailed explanation of why your government takes so much money from you while not securing your financial future.

Written by David Cay Johnston

I do not attack the Bush family in my book.

In my book I explicitly state that it is perfectly proper for rich families to seek to tilt the tax system in their favor, that the problem is that the middle class has largely withdrawn from politics and the members of Congress -- many of whom, I have interviewed -- have their minds focused on the concerns of their donors, who are a narrow and rich group of Americans. That Congress behaves as it does fits perfectly with classic economic theory (I went to the Chicago graduate school of economics on a fellowship 31 years ago).

I certainly say that the rich overall -- and they are not monolithic -- have changed our tax system and that the results we see today re not the result of normal capitalism, but a rigged market.

But frankly I am just skimming here what commentators who have read the book, left and right and in the middle, have all been describing as -- and these are not my words, but theirs -- with terms like "extraordinary achievement," "One of the most important documents in the history of the Republic," "even handed," "the most extraordinary work of journalism I have ever read"..... Yesterday on the radio a leading lobbyist for the rich on taxes, who opened up on a radio interview with an attack, soon found himself saying again and again that he agreed with what I was saying.......

So I hope you take the time to read the book, which is not an attack on the Bush family (and, indeed, makes no mention of any Bush other than the two presidents in their official role as President except for my examination of George W. Bush's income tax return to make a particular point about the tax system and the IRS).

This is one of the most amazing books about taxes I have ever read. Mr. Johnston proves, in convincing detail, how the US tax system has been hijacked by the super-rich. He does this in a wonderful prose and without ever resorting to exaggerations, just stating the embarrassing facts. If you ever wondered how so many executives can fly around to private vacations in corporate jets, this book will tell you why - the taxes they pay for this fringe benefit are less than they'd pay for the cheapest coach ticket, courtesy of the US Congress. There are dozens of other examples, such as this one. This is a book that will ruffle some powerful feathers that should have been dipped in tar a long time ago.

If you are wondering whether you should read this book, I strongly say YES. I just finished reading Perfectly Legal, I have a Ph.D. in economics and business administration and was not sure that I would learn that much. Boy, was I wrong!

What an outstanding book! He writes so cleanly and clearly, it is no surprise he has a Pulitzer for stories he has written for the New York Times. The research and logic is world class and very disturbing. We need to fix the situations described before it is too late. To do this we need to get our friends and associates to read it as well. Get the word out. Buy it and give it to your friends, (you get free shipping if you buy more than one :-) suggest it to book clubs, talk about when ever you can.

The Miami Herald book club is reading and reviewing it this month. We need more of this to happen. Dave Johnston has written an investigative masterpiece in the tradition of Upton Sinclair book The Jungle. He and has done a great service to America in writing this book! As Upton Sinclair created a political revolution in 1906 when his book was published - this book should create a revolution in 2004. If we do not fix what David has identified, America and the world will indeed be in a sorry state.

Just one example out of hundreds and hundreds from the book that must be reversed. David points out that the upper 10% of U.S. tax payers saw their income rise by 88% and their share of national income go from 33% to 48% from 1970 to 2000. The the bottom 90% of US taxpayers saw their income stagnate and their share of national income went from 67% to 52%. And as David points out if the current "Perfectly Legal" tax loopholes continue, this disparity with grow!

Your future and your family's future are in the balance. This is not a republican or democratic issue, it's an American issue! America will not be great nation if it becomes a nation of haves and have nots. Get the word out about this book, e-mail your family and friends, it is the most important thing you can do this year. We need the changes that Upton Sinclar's book brought about, and David Cay Johnston's book can do that. It is even more important to our contry in 2004 than Sinclar's was in 1906. To make this happen we must do our part.

The next time a friend invites you dinner, bring this book instead of a bottle of wine or 6 pack of beer. Your friends will forget the wine or beer they will never forget this book! And they will thank you over and over for it. My friends have.

Jerry Fisher

Perfectly Legal by NYTimes Pulitzer Prize writer, David Cay Johnston, is the one book that all of us struggling to make ends meet cannot live without. In clear, indignant prose, Johnston writes about the political manipulations of our tax system so the superrich get richer and the poor get children--or jobs as checkers at Wal-Mart. Johnston shows how our tax system cheats most Americans out of their ability to save--or spend--while low taxes on investment incomes fill the pockets and swell the bankbooks of the super-rich to overflowing. Indicting both Republicans and Democrats, presidents and members of Congress, Johnston recommends tax reforms that will benefit the majority of Americans--not just the Super-Rich.

Johnston's call to arms to the Everyday American is must reading. As Johnston writes, "It is by our actions, or inactions, that we create our own future. We can go on with what we have and pay a heavy price in lost opportunity. Or we can speak up one by one until we are heard. Ultimately, we can create a tax system actually promotes long-term prosperity." Placing the responsibility squarely on our shoulders, Johnston urges us, "Reform begins with you."

Book Clubs owe it to themselves to adopt and discuss Perfectly Legal. And those of us who are lonely readers trying to figure out why we work so hard and have so little will find Perfectly Legal an investment in bettering our futures.

As one who has been following David Cay Johnston's work for years in the newspaper, I am delighted that he has found a venue for laying out--in all its gruesome detail--how certain politicians, lobbyists and business leaders (enjoying great favor under the Bush Administation) have siphoned off America's middle class wealth to make the rich richer. This is a shocking story. Instead of wasting their time on talk shows and conspiracy theories, people should read the facts--just the facts--and make their reaction known through the political system. Are the Democratic candidates listening?

David Cay Johnston has received two Pulitzer Prizes for his economic writing in the New York Times. His privileged vantage point provides him with the experience and insight to write a book delineating the potential disaster confronting America from the manipulation of the federal tax system to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the rest of society.

Many years ago H.L. Hunt, the Texas oil magnate then reputed to be the world's richest man, revealed his confident arrogance about the federal tax system, indicating that "even if they taxed us 99%" that the wealthy would prevail and pay nothing, leaving the rest of society to bear the responsibility. He had reason to be confident, as noted by Johnston's informative investigation. As for ferreting out tax cheats, the current IRS weakesses are appalling. Johnston noted that after locating the 16,000 worst suspected tax cheats, the IRS then investigated only a paltry 4% of the perceived malefactors.

Johnston exposes the gimmick of pandering members of Congress who showboat on behalf of the wealthy to insure continuing tax breaks. A particularly egregious example was the drama put on by Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, who lost his Senate Majority Leader status for his tribute to former ardent segregationist, Senator Strom Thurmond. Lott's histrionics focused on perceived abuses by the IRS which were never corroborated. The performance related to keeping the heat on those who wanted to change the system by presenting the image of an aggressive IRS trampling on the rights of the wealthy patrons Lott sought to protect.

While focusing much criticism on presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush for helping skew the federal tax code in the direction of the wealthy through their massive tax cuts, Johnston notes that to attempt to focus too much of the blame on these individuals would be a grave mistake. It is much broader than these two individuals, as powerful as they were and as fervent as their efforts have been in that direction. The special interests have woven their magic in bringing prominent as well as less than prominent Democrats and Republicans onto their team with the situation deteriorating over a long period of time. For instance, remember footage of so-called "seminars" at posh country club retreats? Scores of these have been organized by the corporate sector to "inform" elected officials from the House and Senate on how to properly deal with the tax system. Needless to say, these seminars are best conducted in comfortable surroundings. Unsurprisingly, those who cooperate find themselves back in office, assisted by special interest largesse. Those who do not generally find themselves out of office.

Grover Norquist is a successful tax lobbyist with his own think tank. He is a prominent adviser to Bush, Cheney, and Rove. Knowing how the system is played, Norquist has referred to bipartisan congressional cooperation as "date rape." As for basic federal programs enjoyed by taxpayers, such as park systems and educational benefits, Norquist takes a harsh view. He has stated his desire that federal government activity, absent defense spending and anti-crime activity, belongs "flushed in a toilet bowl." He knows that if the system is top heavy enough in the corporate direction, with the middle class confronting the burden, that a plutocracy will result more in the tradition of eighteenth century France's pre-revolutionary phase than the New Deal, Fair Deal, and New Frontier administrations of presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy.

You see, France can be used as a sensible model, after all, by Bush partisans! Freedom fries, anyone?

This is a book that ought to make almost everybody angry, with the possible exception of the super-rich. Even if you don't want to be angry (and I'm angry enough at the state of the country these days), you still really ought to read it because Johnson explains exactly how the American tax system is stacked against the poor and the middle class. I knew some of these details already such as the phony campaign to repeal the estate tax, but other parts (like the chapter on corporate jets) were shocking to me and I am cynical enough that I don't shock easily.

The millionaires and the corporations depend upon your ignorance to keep this sytem going. Reading this book is the first step so that you can understand what's going on and work for real change.

Despite repeated statements to the contrary, THE AUTHOR, DAVID CAY JOHNSTON IS IN FACT A REGISTERED REPUBLICAN.

I don't know where people get the idea the author is a liberal. Maybe because his book criticizes George W.'s tax policies. They seem to overlook the fact that he just as often criticizes Bill Clinton's policies. He goes on to show that regardless of party affiliation, for several decades our elected officials in the whitehouse and congress have been continuosly and consistently shifting more and more of the cost of running this country from those who are most able to pay to those who are struggling to get by.

I'm about half way through the book, and I'm already thinking I need to buy a copy and give it to everyone I know. I think we should demand our senators and congress people all read this book and then tell us what they are going to do to guarantee the super rich take up their fair share of the tax burden and lighten it for those at the bottom. And if they don't enact it within a year, we'll vote them out office. And we won't accept a short term pacifier that will later transform into an even greater burden. We need a permanent solution.

This book explains in terms most people can understand the various ways in which our tax system cheats the average American. Even if the topic of taxes and finances typically makes your brain cloud over, you'll still be understand this book. The use of several examples to explain a given point help you grasp the concepts. I finally got impatient and jumped to the chapter whose title seemed to suggest might it contain the author's suggested solution "Is Reform Possible?". He points out problems with some recently suggested fixes, but doesn't suggest one himself. I think part of the problem is that while most people, after reading this book, will agree our current system is unfair, it's hard to agree on what a fair system would look like.

Every American citizen who pays taxes needs to read this book.

Everybody who ever fills out a tax form knows that the system is totally crazy, but I really had no idea how bad things are until I read this book. Some people will try to spin it as a liberal book about the Bush tax cuts, but it's SO much more than that. Both parties are equally guilty of screwing the middle class and even the upper middle class to let the zillionaires duck out of their tax burden. There are things in here about Bill Clinton and the Democrats in Congress that will make the Democrats' heads spin. The only way out is to scrap the entire IRS system and start over with something simple and fair, with no loopholes. We really need to make this an issue in the presidential campaign.

Believe it or not this book was fun to read, not just eye-opening. Lots of juice stories about rich people cheating the system.