Yes let's blame the big bad mean old corporations, what's wrong with greed? correct me if I am wrong but is it not in the nature in a free and I stress word free here market economy to make a profit? The U.S has the second highest corporate taxes in the world, and the largest number of regulations by far in world. You wonder why a corporation has problems doing business in this country? Let me cite you just one example, for a long peroid of time GM actually had to enter into collective barginning with the UAQ because it's out dated pension fund was causing it's demise. An agreement was stuck finally, however GM is so bloated with regualtions, and contracts, that in order to compete in the "like it or not" world , they are forced to look elsewhere to build their car's i.e. Mexico. Take building an Oil refinery , the last one was built in this country over 30 years ago, know why? EPA regs. thats why, and you wonder why we have problems with jobs being shipped overseas. So what does Obama propose? well he proposes a tax increase on corporations, you think thats going to provide an incentive for them to keep US based jobs?
The "Enron loophole" exempts most over-the-counter energy trades and trading on electronic energy commodity markets from government regulation.[1] The "loophole" is so-called as it was drafted by Enron Corporation lobbyists working with U.S. Senator Phil Gramm to create a deregulated market for their experimental "Enron On-line" initiative.[2]
The "loophole" was enacted in 7 U.S.C. §2(h)(3) and (g) of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, signed by President Bill Clinton in December 2000.[1] It allowed for the creation, for U.S. exchanges, of a new kind of derivative security, the single-stock future, which had been prohibited since 1982 under the Shad-Johnson Accord, a jurisdictional pact between John S.R. Shad, then chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Phil Johnson, then chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Enron was a complete and total joke and those responsible for it are now paying a heavy price for it. If you have a problem with Enron though and MCI, and Adelphia, and many others, I suggest you look at the last democrat in the White House and ask him those questions.
I do like your idea about small business however, but again, you need to take that tax burden away from small business, and the massive amount of regulation that hinders small business from competing too. Obama's plan does not exclude, a tax on small business as well. So in short i'm afriad if the next administration is an Obama one look for even more US jobs to go offshore.
