Ross Perot, Billionaire Former Presidential Candidate, has Died at age 89:
Billionaire, philanthropist and former presidential candidate Ross Perot has died, CBS News has confirmed. He was 89.
Perot died in Texas, the state where he was born, surrounded by family.
[...] In 1992, Perot made a name for himself when he became the most successful non-major party presidential candidate in 80 years, amassing 19 percent of the popular vote, running against President George H.W. Bush and Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.
As a boy in Texarkana, Texas, Perot delivered newspapers from the back of a pony. He earned his billions in a more modern way, however — by building Electronic Data Systems Corp., which helped other companies manage their computer networks.
Yet the most famous event in his career didn't involve sales and earnings; he financed a private commando raid in 1979 to free two EDS employees who were being held in a prison in Iran. The tale was turned into a book and a movie.
Perot first became known to Americans outside of business circles by claiming that the U.S. government left behind hundreds of American soldiers who were missing or imprisoned at the end of the Vietnam War. Perot fanned the issue at home and discussed it privately with Vietnamese officials in the 1980s, angering the Reagan administration, which was formally negotiating with Vietnam's government.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 10 2019, @09:30AM (4 children)
Yes, why is the solution never "make the government 10% more efficient"? This would free up $400 billion dollars a year for new projects... But that possibility is *never* mentioned.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday July 10 2019, @12:11PM (3 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 10 2019, @04:18PM (2 children)
Well, there's legal and then there's legal. You do realize that the "criminally undertaxed" have bought and paid for the politicians who write our tax code, no? While what the ueber-wealthy are doing may be[*] legal, moral or ethical could be another matter entirely.
[*] I have my doubts about how many of the tax breaks these ueber-wealthy are claiming are on the up and up; they typically have lawyers and accountants to make as many dodgy, weasally claims as they can muster with a semi-straight face. Just sayin'.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 10 2019, @05:23PM
So you want the criminally undertaxed to give more money to their bought and paid for politicians?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 11 2019, @12:26PM
"Could be". Pretty weaselly even for the law. Meanwhile I'll note that even the allegedly moral or ethical tend to pay as little taxes as they can get away with.