The American Jobs Destruction Act and the Health of Workers

Left Coaster points us to an article in the Wall Street Journal that calls into question the right-wing’s claim about corporate tax breaks being good for America because they create jobs. According to the WSJ:

There is more evidence that a tax break intended to boost U.S. jobs isn't getting the job done.

Consider several major companies that say they are considering bringing home hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign profits under a tax holiday that is part of the American Jobs Creation Act passed last year. These include National Semiconductor Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. -- all of which recently cut staff. These companies' example calls into question how effective "repatriation" will be in spurring new jobs, adding to already reported concerns about the wiggle room the law gives companies in how to spend the money.

A tax attorney quoted in the WSJ’s article notes that it is "not inconsistent with the law" for companies to cut jobs at the same time they are considering repatriating funds ostensibly meant to create jobs.

Amazingly, National Semiconductor's spokesman, who used to work on Capitol Hill, is quoted as saying:

. . . repatriating earnings should be seen simply as a tax break. Calling the law "the American Jobs Creation Act" was marketing, he says. "I would not trust the title of any law and what it really says."

I typically don’t write about political topics (after all, the political blogs typically don’t write about environmental health), but the intersection with health in this case is particularly strong. Brooklyn Dodger has written recently about the health risks (particularly cardiovascular mortality) among remaining employees following downsizing. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, followed Finnish municipal employees over a 7.5 year period. Brooklyn Dodger also tells us about the linkage between depression and mortality from stroke; and it is established that job loss and the resulting financial stress can be a cause of depression.

So, there are health risks associated with corporate decisions to collect a tax windfall that was supposed to help create jobs. The companies who are laying off the employees are likely not going to be bearing the full costs of the health burden associated with the job losses. These companies also are creating additional health care costs for themselves from the stress-related diseases incurred by the remaining employees. And then, there’s this issue about health-care costs being a significant factor in personal bankruptcies.

Are all corporations this ethically color-blind? Do the voters know how badly Congress gave away the farm on this one?