I think I'll sit out this episode of 2 Minutes of Hate; RE: Apple, Inc.

[Tom Rinaldo]

14. I have no problem being upset with Apple over this matter, none at all.

However if they carefully took all steps needed to comply with the letter of the law there should not be a witch hunt looking for an excuse to prosecute them. I get that.

However there is a difference between unethical and illegal and just because something is legal doesn't mean I can't be upset over it being unethical. And Congress is not one monolithic entity either. Just like with the Supreme Court there are principled dissenting opinions that someday may evolve into the prevailing majority view point. So sure no doubt there are hypocritical show boating members of Congress as you describe, but there are also some voices in Congress who have long argued for tax fairness and greater economic justice. Just because those voices did not prevail when the tax loopholes that Apple used became law is no reason why those voices should be silent about this now. If anything they should be louder now that the intended result of those loopholes are clearly revealed.

I agree that it makes little sense to have selective outrage at Apple only just because it seems they may be a little bit more talented at playing a rigged game than some others. The anger should be over the rigged game, but it is appropriate to call public attention to an outrageous example of how that game is being played. That is how people grasp the concept - examples are always needed and is this is a damn good one. Not every corporation devotes as much energy to legally scamming the system as Apple has. If they get no flak for this the future trend line for corporate (legal) tax evasion) is obvious, and it will be even worse than what we subject to now.