Robert Green wrote:

Are you saying that if the US Congress put their mind to it they
*couldn't* close the loopholes that allow companies to move offshore
so easily? Not that they ever would, but in light of their threats
to claw back the obscene AIG bonuses, it seems that they might indeed
have the power to pass laws saying "You can leave, but it's going to
cost you dearly." I'd have no heartache with making American
companies that built their fortune here leave a lot of it at the door
when they leave. I would feel better about than then dissolving
bargaining agreements and union busting. Teachers aren't playing
off-shore keep-away with the IRS but they're the ones paying for
companies that do.

As you may know, Caterpillar sent a letter to the governor of Illinois
citing the recent 66% increase in the state's corporate income tax as a BIG
incentive to move 23,000 manufacturing jobs to a different state. The
governors Indiana, Ohio, Texas, and several other states immediately sent
letters to the CEO of Caterpillar saying "We'd be honored to host your
company right here."

Moving one's operation from Illinois to Kansas is conceptually not much
different from moving from the U.S. to the Lesser Antilles.