Page 4
The people are
‘a counting’ for
their own good
rest of us are a of
people are the rules and getting it.
i
A recent, in-depth news uncovered the way in which the largest
accounting firms in the United States are purposely steering the country
toward a kind of government that’s controlled exclusively by the wealthy.
The story unfolds the actions of giant aCcounting firms that help the
world’s biggest companies avoid paying taxes. Those actions don’t come
from office towers in large cities. They come from inside the government
itself.
Consider the following excerpt from the New Times:
For six years, Audrey Ellis and Adam euerstein worked together at
Pw,C, the giant accounting firm, helping the world’s biggest companies
avoid taxes.
mid-2018, one of Mr. Feuerstein’s clients, an influential associa-
tion of real estate companies, was trying to persuade government off-
cials that its members should qualify for a new federal tax break. Mr.
Feuerstein knew just the person to turn to for help. Ms. Ellis had recently
joined the Treasury Department, and she Was drafting the rules for this
very deduction.
That summer, Ms. Ellis met with Mr. Feuerstetnffd h
tentially worth billions of dollars to PwC’s clients.
About a year later, Ms. Ellis returned to PwC, where she was imme-
diately promoted to partner. She and Mr. F euerstein now work together
advising large companies how to exploit wrinkles in the tax regulations
that Ms. Ellis helped write.
This scenario, and others like it, is detailed in public records. Worse
yet, it’s not uncommon and it’s done almost as an effortless rite of
pas—
sage. .
It’s like a recipe: Tax lawyers take senior jobs at the Treasury
Depart—
ment, where they write policies that are frequently favorable to their for-
mer corporate clients, often with the expectation that they will soon
return
to their old employers. The firms welcome them back with 10ftier titles
and higher pay.
These individuals not only create tax loopholes, they roll back leg-
islative efforts that rein in tax shelters.
There’s no doubt that these arrangements have led us down a path in
which the tax system as a whole has been skewed in favor of the wealth—
iest people in the country. Worse yet, it’s come at the expense of every-
one else. .
Meanwhile, the rest of us are scraping by through what is hopefully the
latter stages of a pandemic. Politicians discuss “bailouts” and
unemploy-
ment benefits with the gusto of Mussolini, but yet say nothing of this
gov-
ernment-sponsored skewering of the tax code for the benefit of the top 1
percent of .tlierjahestpepplein America... ,, . .
is client’s lob—
riaricinn pn-
It’s true that this so-called revolving door, in} people cycle be- ‘
tween the public and private sectors, is nothing new. But the ability of
the world’s largest accounting firms to embed their top lawyers inside
the
govemment’s most important tax—policy jobs has largely escaped public
scrutiny.
In the last four presidential administrations, there 'were at least 35
in-
stances of round trips from big accounting firms through Treasury’s tax
policy office, along with the Internal Revenue Service and the Congres-
sional Joint Committee on Taxation, and back to the same firm, accord-
ing to public records and interviews with government and industry
officials. '
In at least 16 of those cases, the officials were promoted to partner
when they rejoined their old accounting firms. The firms often double the
pay of employees upon their return from their government sojoums. Some
partners end up earning more than $1 million a year.
Federal rules prohibit government officials from working on many
matters in which they have financial interests, like having an unwritten
agreement to return to their prior firm. The purpose of the rules is to
avoid
having officials beholden to private parties instead of working on behalf
of the public, though it is hard to prove the existence of such financial
en—
tanglements.
Clearly the rules are being ignored at best and outright ignored and
stomped on at worst. . 2
Standing up against these types of actions which erode the American
idea should be something that unites the public amid all our divisions.
How to contact your North’Dakota delegation
. Sen. John Hoeven.
G11 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC. 20510
Phone: 202-224-2551
. Sen. Kevin Cramer
B40C Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2043
Rep. Kelly Armstrong
1004 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-2611
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The Star
OPINION
Christian churches defy God over COVID
Arrogance.
Haughty arrogance.
Self-righteous arrogance.
Sinful arrogance.
Killer arrogance.
Regrettably, the time has come
for someone knowledgeable in
Scripture to respond to the instruc—
tions of the New Testament mes-
sengers who charged church
~ parishioners with challenging the
malfeasance of church leaders.
'Many churches, most promi-
nently Evangelical, have defied the
attempt of society to stop the
pandemic from
killing more people with mask and
distance mandates. From the pul-
pits, they have preached defiance
against the proposals made by ex—
pert health professionals.
A prominent Evangelical pastor,
John MacArthur, believes that the
Bible overrides COVID health or-
ders and has been allowing un-
masked congregants to cram into
his church without regard to Cali-
fornia mandates. He is' not alone:
He claims that God is in his cOr-ii
ner,‘“quoting a single VerSe from”i
Acts enunciated by Peter and the ’
disciples. “We must obey God
rather than men,” they said to the
Pharisees who tried to shut them ‘
up.
John MacArthur not only hangs
his behavior on the single verse in
Acts but, lacking other specifics, ;
claims that his action is based on
“biblical principles” without listing
them“ His reasons are really ex-
cuses to exercise secular power in
his kingdom.
His one verse of Scripture does
not a principle make. Instead, it
Although not mentioned in the
Constitution, the right to privacy has
been invoked by its enormous fol-
lowing as thoroughly American and
indispensable to our conception of
liberty and freedom.
Its partisans have expressed nu-
merous reasons for its exalted status
.in the hearts and minds of the citi-
. zenry. It prevents the government
from spying on the people. It protects
personal data. It protects freedom of '
speech. and freedom of religion. It
protects one’s reputation, voting
rights and participation in politics.
While not everyone agrees with
the application, enforcement and
scope, the right to privacy, the ,
Supreme Court has held, also en-
compasses the use of contraception,
access to abortion and, of course, pri- ,
vacy in our homes.
The right to privacy is not enu-
merated in the Constitution. Its lack
of textual paternity is not unique; the ‘
right to travel, the right to marriage ‘
and the freedom of association, uni-
Other Views
By Lloyd B. Ormiaiii
takes a preponderance of evidence
that is in accord with the text and
the spirit of the Gospel. So it is im-
perative to review What else the
Bible says on the issue.
Romans 13: 1: “Let every person
be subject to the governing author-
ities...” ' q
1 Peter 2:13: “Be subject for the
Lord’s sake to every human institu-
tion...” .
Titus 3:1: “Remind them to be
submissive to rulers and authori-
ties...” I
As a typical Evangelical,
MacArthur believes in a literal in-
terpretation of Scripture and is
quick to grab onto the apostles’ de—
fiance of the Pharisees. That re-
quires a discussion of a literal
interpretation of the three specific
verses quoted above. Shouldn’t
they be taken literally?
1:1,. addition- to . these specific _
verses of scriptpre, the Bible de—‘
scribes the demeanor of Christ
while He walked the earth. He
never preached contention, instead
advising us to be content in all
things. Give up your cloaks also,
walk the extra mile, turn the other
cheek. He himself respected the
government by paying taxes.
So the churches that defy a gov-
ernment trying to save the lives‘of
its citizens have permitted their
self-righteous arrogance to lead
them astray. Scripture is not on
their side no matter how prominent
the speaker may be.
This plague of arrogance in
David Adler, The Alturas institute
Dov/d Adler answers your Constitution questions
Send them to this newspaper.
, versally valued by Americans, are
other examples of unenumerated
‘ rights. Nor does the textual omission
make them less important than enu-
merated rights; invariably, every
right and liberty requires interpreta-
tion by the courts.
For many, the puzzlingvpart of the
right to privacy is its origins. Like
other rights and liberties, the right to
privacy enters the annals of Anglo-
American legal history through mere
assertions that form a rhetorical tra-
Christendom also runs afoul many
other verses. Being that Evangeli-
cals believe'that the Bible is in—
errant, .4 .0 imrodnus co
acknowledge numerous other
verses that must be authorities in
Evangelical theology.
1 Peter2:12: “Keep your behav-
ior excellent among the Gentiles...”
(Today the Gentiles would be the
nonbelievers.) ‘
Philippians 1:17:”Conduct your—
selves in a manner worthy of the
Gospel of Christ...”
Romans 12:17: “Respect what is
right in the sight of all men.”
‘2 Corinthians 6:5: “Giving no
‘cause in anything in order that the
ministry not be discredited.”
Coloss‘ians 4:5: “Conduct your-
selves wisely among outsiders.”
Romans 2:23-24: “The name of
God. is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because Of you.”
' The image of Christianity has
been stained by the arrogant depar-
ture fromthe teachings [of Jesus and
His tapestles, The atheists, skeptics
and agnostics are haVing a heyday
over the hypocrisy exposed by this
arrogance. '
They may not be Jesus follow—
ers but they certainly know how
Jesus followers ought to live. And
they have rightly proclaimed that
we are not living in harmony with
the love of Jesus Christ.
So we have not conducted our-
selves worthy of the Gospel or re-
spected what is right in the sight of
all men. Because of us, the name of
God is being blasphemed in the
press and social media.
As believers, we have a lot of re—
penting to do.
‘ Right to privacy isn’t in the constitution, but it’s about freedom
I
dition, embraced and prized by its
beneficiaries which, in this instance,
refers to those who, centuries ago,
were fortunate enough. to have
homes. The immediate gateway is
the Fourth Amendment, which pro-
vides protection from unreasonable
searches and seizures of one’s prop-
erty.
Prior to the American Revolution,
there was scant evidence of a right to
be secure in one’s home from unrea-
sonable search and seizure. English
law and practice permitted govern-
mental ransacking of private homes
and places of business upon the flim-
siest pretexts of illegal possessions,
especially whenever the prospects for
British revenue gleaned from taxa-
tion schemes were at stake.
Through the mists of time, we can
discern a tradition that forges a path
to the Fourth Amendment and the
right to privacy. The majestic Magna
Privacy
(Continued on Page 5)
Taking a business lesson in longevity
Turtle Mountain Star, people always ask just
how much longer will it last.
seem like a long time compared to a lot of other
business owners in town.
movies a lot longer than I’ve been writing sto-
ries. Arne Boyum is still running a law firm.
Doug and Mary Kretschmar continue to sell
groceries.
he still shows up for work... sometimes.
around here but her story is as unique as her oc—
cupation.
While closing in on a quarter century at the
The answer isn’t easy but 25 years doesn’t
Curt and Cheryl Bonn have been showing
Lowell Tupa even sold his car dealership but
Then there’s Virginia Oliver. She’s not from
It was 1928 when Virginia Oliver, age 8,
stopped working the harvest yet.
started trapping lobsters, and she hasn’t her 78—year-old son’s boat,
which bears her
name. In that role, she measures and bands lob-
Oliver, now 101 years old, is a stemman on sters, but Oliver, of Rockland,
Maine, also
loads traps with small fish to attract lobsters
and gets up before dawn to head out tosea.
The Associated Press reported that a couple
of years ago, a crab nipped her finger and she
had to have seven stitches.
When the doctor asked Oliver why she was
still lobstering, she snapped back, “Well, that’s
’cause I‘want to do it.”
Oliver has no plans to retire. “I like being
along the water. And so I’m going to keep on
doing it just as long as I can.”
I don’t think I can match Virginia’s
longevity, but doing something you love is hard
to leave behind. Like every business owner, life
running an operation — especially in today’s
world can be difficult, but I wouldn’t have it
any other way.
September 27,2021
Pages from
the past...
10 years ago
September 26, 2011
Callie Sivertson and Dustin De-
Mers were crowned homecoming
queen and kingat St. John school.
The Dunseith High School
crowned Tyler Keplin and Tamara
Beck as homecoming king and
queen.
Alex J acobsen, of Rock Lake, re-
ceived the Swanson Family Presi-
dential Scholarship from the
University of North Dakota for the
2011-12 academic year.
Three area students were among
the 386 students to graduate from
North Dakota State University in the
summer 2011 class. The graduates
were Clint Parisien, Belcourt, and
Anna Schleisman and Lee Vandal,
both of Rolla.
Pvt. Kelsey Jay has completed 10
weeks of basic training for the U. S.
Army National Guard at Fort Jack-
son, South Carolina.
Brooke Lentz, of Rolla, received
the Anton & Anna Thompson Presi-
dential Scholarship from the Univer-
srty of North Dakota for the 2011-12
n..— J
The friendly rivalry between the I
Rolette—Wolford Comets and Rolla
Bulldogs kiCked up again last week.
The players come together to cheer
for the football co-op involving the
school, but on the court, it’s all busi-
ness. The Bulldogs took care of that
business Thursday night on the road,
downing the Comets 3-1.
The St. John Woodchucks football
team capped off their homecoming
activities last week with a convinc-
ing 52-14 win over Four Winds.
The St. John Woodchuck volley-
ball team got back on the winning
track last Tuesday night, sweeping
by Belcourt 25:15, 25—15 and 25—21.
Everett Lervik, a senior on the
North Prairie football team, and
Mary Jo Guilbert, a sophomore on
the Rolla volleyball team, were
named Athletes of the Week.
The Dunseith Dragon Cross
Country team traveled to Cooper-
stown on Saturday, September 17,
and every runner finished in the top
25. Chandra Yankton claimed first' \
place in the girls varsity division
with a time of 15.37. '
30 years ago
September 30, 1991
Nichole Thomas, daughter of
Manny and Antoinette Thomas, and
Jody Zerr, son of Dale and Sonia
Zerr, were chosen homecoming king
and queen at Turtle Mountain Com—
munity High School in Belcourt.
Ernest and Anna Biberdorf, and
their son William Biberdorf and his
wife Kimberly have been chosen by
the Rolette County Soil Conserva—
tion District as the 1991 SOil Con-
servation Achievement Winners.
Larry DeCoteau of Dunseith has
been invited to participate in Tribal
Arts ’91, the Northern Plains Tribal
Art Show and Market which will be
held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
September 26-29.
Erin Viving, a senior at Rolla
High School, has been named a
Commended Student in the National
Merit Scholarship Program.
The Belcourt Braves cross-coun-
try team placed 11th out of 17 teams
in a meet held in Bismarck on Satur-
day. Jamie Hamley finished 42nd
overall and was the Braves’ top fin-
isher out of 105 total runners.
The Belcourt Bravettes captured
the siXth place trophy in the Grand
Forks Optimist girls basketball tour-
nament held over the weekend. Bel—
court was led offensively by Kelly
Davis with 14 points and April
Keplin with .12 points. Leigha Zerr
and Nada Parisien each had eight
points and Gina LaRocque chipped
in with seven points. ‘
60 years ago
September 28, 1961
Sharon Bergan of Egeland has
been named as one of the first win-
ners of the Alumni Special Scholar—
ships in Applied Music at the
University of North'Dakota.
A new 8-car “carport” is being
constructed‘at the Theel Chevrolet
Company car lot at the east end of
Main and is expected to be com—'
pleted this week.
Mrs. Esther LaFrance of Rolla
Super Valu has presented avset of the
Golden Book Encyclopedias to G. V
A. Tooley, superintendent of the
Rolla school. The Golden Book En-
cyclopedias are the only complete
set of reference books created espe-
cially for children.
Ric Theel, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Bruce Theel of Rolla and a 1961
graduate of Rolla high school, is at-
tending General Motors Institute at
Flint, Mich.
