I’m a lawyer. Sometimes, when a great injustice is eliminated, I’m proud to have that professional calling. Sometimes, when I see how some of my brethren twist the clear intention of the law to aid some client in search of an exemption from legislative mandates, I feel like hiding in a corner, even though I did not partake of the ignominious evasion. When limits were placed on certain bonus compensation paid to executives of bailed out institutions, some legal wag noted that this exemption did not apply to bonuses in the form of stock. Guess what happened.
When the pharmaceutical industry reached an accord with the Obama administration mandating a ten-year, $80 billion reduction in the cost of prescription drugs, someone noticed that nothing precluded massive price increases before that legislation passed (if it does), so the cost of prescription drugs skyrocketed almost instantly. Tax lawyers find big holes so that big rich fish can swim out of their intended tax liabilities, something that drops the jaws of good faith taxpayers who simply watch their own paycheck stubs with massive and automatic withholding deductions.
Take a look at the pre-February 22d interest hikes and cancellations in the credit card industry, and the way they are charging annual fees, etc. That was the date that the new credit card regulations took effect. And when a law simply cannot be loopholed out of existence, lawsuits are filed by those affected, usually in the most anti-government regulatory venue possible (a friendly court is always a plus), challenging the law even if the likelihood of victory at an appellate level is unlikely… a delay in implementation of a statute is often just as valuable as extinguishing its very existence.
Since litigation is the most expensive form of entertainment known to the rich, easily eclipsing the cost of a private jet or a luxury yacht, it is abundantly clear that our legal system favors the wealthy overwhelmingly at the expense of the middle class. The under-classes have access to legal aid and government legal support; the middle classes face exorbitant legal costs (and often bankruptcy) to protect themselves or simply have to live with what life deals them without legal redress. Sure, there’s the personal injury arena where lawyers charge 25%-40% of the recovery to pursue a claim, a game the insurance industry knows how to play, but for most civil wrongs, the cost of litigation usually is a deterrent to justice for most folks in the middle.
Most legal systems have a mechanism to award legal fees to the victorious party. Absent a statute or a contractual obligation to the contrary, the American system of justice does not. So those pursuing the crushing of legislation that negatively impacts their lives or business operations generally have massive cash reserves allocated to such litigation and have well-funded industry organizations that lobby legislators heavily and provide political campaign support of staggering proportions. I personally don’t actually have a lobbyist in either Sacramento or Washington. Hmmm.
When I recently asked a candidate for New York State Attorney General, a person with a terrific track record in pursuing corporate financial miscreants on behalf of wrong investors, if he were willing to take Wall Street to task for the mega-trillions of dollars of financial chaos they directly caused by their irresponsible if not blatantly illegal activities, his was response was scary: “We can’t take down an industry that is a vital tax and revenue base for the State.” Big loophole.
So when travelers were stuck in planes on runways for hours with flight delays, lacking food and dealing with overflowing bathrooms, Congress passed legislation that could fine the airlines up to $27,000 per passenger for flights delayed by more than three hours unless passengers were allowed to deplane. So I guess that means that airlines would simply return to the gate and allow passengers to use airport restrooms and buy airport food – the easy button, right? Not exactly. Continental Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek has another plan to teach the federal government a lesson: “Here's what we're going to do: We're going to cancel the flight.” No fun being incontinent on Continental. Yup, the feds are the bad guys: “Smisek said at an investor conference [on March 9th] in New York that long delays are rare , and mostly caused by an outdated air traffic control system that the government has failed to upgrade.” March 9th New York Times. Teach those feds a lesson! Yeah! Think of that next time you book on Continental. And maybe you’d like some loopholes of your very own. Or you could just hold your breath until you turn blue… probably an equally effective vent for the middle class.
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