How does that compare to herding cats?

Your argument begs an obvious question: If things are so terrible, why did you (or the company's founders) choose to set up as an S-Corp? I wouldn't presume to guess at your particular reasons, but choosing the structure of a company is a set of trade-offs between protecting yourself from liability, providing a means to raise outside investment, giving the owners and employees a way of sharing profits, addressing tax issues, and so on. Setting aside the tax _rates_ for a moment, the tax _code_ is mostly designed to allow people to set up companies that address those kinds of issue while stopping people from avoiding paying taxes using the same mechanisms.

So, to take a small example, a small businessperson might think it's worth paying California $800 a year to limit their personal liability from their business's operations. They could choose not to limit my liability by operating as a sole proprietor and save the $800.

Much as we like to moan about these things (don't get me started on how self-employment taxes punish small businesses), as a business owner one does get to choose how one is incorporated and taxed, which does have its benefits. Once you've made those choices, you do have to accept the trade-offs, I think.

Hmm. Let's just clarify that, shall we:

- GE paid almost $2.7 billion in cash taxes OVERSEAS in 2010

Kind of makes the point, don't you think?

First, read David Allen's Getting Things Done. Then use whichever system is going to be most convenient to carry around with you. The two main features of a workable system, in my experience, are:

1. It has to break things into enough separate categories that you aren't overwhelmed with massive lists.

2. You have to be able to have the system with you at all times, so you can make note of things as they come up.

Whether you use something paper-based, text-file-on-computer-based or app-on-an-iPhone based is really a matter of personal preference. I like pen and paper, but maybe I'm just old-fashioned like that.

Well, for one thing, the amnesty proposals put undocumented aliens at the back of the queue. Seems fair to me.

There's an easy solution to this: allow undocumented aliens to get drivers licenses, so they can get insurance.

You have it exactly backwards: undocumented aliens pay taxes without getting any services. They're one of the main reasons social security will be solvent for another 25 years, by the way. Regarding depression of wages, as has been pointed out elsewhere, it's hard to argue that wages are depressed when no-one else is stepping forward to do the jobs undocumented workers are doing. You are right about one thing: they should have to get in line like everybody else.. that's another way of describing "amnesty".

Funny, I'm one of those people.

Since my site is now thoroughly slashdotted (thanks everyone!), you might want to check out the video at blip.tv: http://brucenash.blip.tv/#1425102 Bruce