Grown Man's Hustle
Offshore tax shelters not just for the rich.
I came across an interesting article in today's USA Today about off shore tax shelters. A once prevalent tool for large companies to secure their assets and protect their income from taxation has now become a means for averaged income Americans to do the same. Well let's just say the IRS doesn't like it when the common folk catch on to the scheme of things. Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich. said "$3,000 fee...to someone to help hide their assets offshore is getting to be a huge problem." Well I just seemed to find such a statement completely contradictory and hypocritical because of the large amount of US companies registered overseas. This is a practice that has been going on for some time here on our country. It is a great way to avoid taxation on a large amount of capitol and gains as well as it hides the information of those who are actually in control of such assets. What will really be interesting is if the independent "street wear" market, or any other sub-genre of independent businesses ever pick up on this practice and utilize it to their benefit. Imagine if we took the tools of big business and really started using them for ourselves. They already cater to us in many different ways shapes and forms because they have no choice (i.e. Jeff Staple's Weekly Drop), if they don't they won't survive. If we start practicing for ourselves what they do already, they really won't have a choice. Revolution happens through time, with patience, and to do it effectively you have to understand the hustle side of things not just the cultural side of things. Revolution is also a strong word and concept, but that's what this whole movement is about - being INDEPENDENT! Why do you think you've never seen an aNYthing New Era, because Aron believes in doing everything in house. We as a culture need to take heed to such philosophies to really garner change. Soon enough it will be - Viva La Financial Revolution! Remember "Its Your World" - Common BE
posted by Culture !s King at 11:09 AM
1 Comments:
Hold on there skippy... Using the power of a cunsumer driven subculture that feeds off of the international companies USING the offshore tax shelters... we should rise up and rebel against the government by taking all our money from the businesses and banks our families and friends work at to send it to the Caymans? A bank is a bank worldwide (World Bank). If you're just doing it to evade taxation you're only hurting yourself and your family. Taxes used to pay for real social programs and reforms and will again someday soon.
Also, being INDEPENDENT?! Is there anything less independent and revolutionary than Nike sneakers and an online community that creates thousands of shrines across its vast temple of consumerism to worship this unnecessary spending? How many of these streetwear brands actually do their own sewing? How many non-Nike sanctioned customs and creative (overpriced) clothing ideas actually create a viable, profitable, and sustainable business for themselves? Where are all these companies whose business is hype, with products that celebrate the hype, going to be in 10 years? Where will the products be when we realize the hype isn't cool anymore? Where will we be when the products, culture, and hype is gone? Maybe we'll be acquired by Nike as consultants...
Let's face it, we use our resources the way our resources were meant to be used... As tools to consume what the creators of our tools intended us to consume. "Streetwear culture" has lots of creativity, passion, and hype... but what are you hyping? A new marketing campaign? An entreprenuerial buddy of yours who inevitably has slightly less morals than the "educated man" of yester-year? These companies we embrace may make some "fresh shit," but they don't give price breaks, and they aren't in the game to go broke. One more line on the budget/resume. Think how stupid we're gonna feel when we shake from our mild-coma to realize that the reason we made fun of Nike and mainstream culture in the first place was because it's a destructive, overconsuming cycle that leaves us broke and distracted.
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