Sock it to Whom?

When legislators make noise about increasing costs to corporations, many liberals rejoice. Most of us know how the tax burden has shifted from business to worker since Ronald Reagan decided the government should get off backs in general, but mostly backs belonging to big business. Since the Democrats gained power, more of them have picked up on the fact that the American people are finally realizing that the Free Market is not equally free to all players. Therefore, it makes good political sense to rail against the bloated corporate bureaucracy even as they fend off the right-wing Birthers and Other Nuts who hate the bloated government bureaucracy.

The big secret is they know most of the charges aren't paid by companies; lots of them are paid by us. A good example might be AT&T, giant purveyor of communications. I happen to subscribe to AT&T as my cell phone carrier and I recently went on its web site to research my bill. After I finished, I noticed a severe pain in the area where I was sitting.

Let's take fees. I don't mean taxes, which I'm glad to pay to keep the government running; I mean fees to make AT&T richer. Here are a couple:

1. Federal Regulatory Fee. Don't let the name fool you. Far from a tax on the company, this fee is "designed to recover the annual fee imposed on AT&T by the Federal Communications Commission." In other words, the customer picks up AT&T's costs in addition to the monthly payment for the phone. But that's not all.

2.Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS). This is charged to recover the contributions AT&T is required to make into the Federal TRS fund. Once more, the ratepayers to the rescue!

3. How about the costs of keeping your number when you change companies? AT&T uses this as a bragging point - as does every other carrier. Well, the recovery of these costs will be coughed up by the customer, according to AT&T.

4.Of course, we shouldn't forget the Enhanced 911 and Wireless Tower Maintenance Costs. Customers are billed for these to reimburse AT&T for "enhanced technology to help emergency response agencies better determine the location of the customer calling 9-1-1" as well as helping the company recover costs associated with regulations relating to wire less towers, "including regulations imposed by the National Environmental Protection Act, Clean Water Act, endangered Species Act, etc. etc." Oh yes, we're also asked to help the company out with "inspections of marked and lighted cell towers."

There are lots more. We pay for notice requirements, network outage reporting, state-mandated annual reports, and the intra-island fee "imposed on AT&T by the Puerto Rico Telecommunication Regulatory Board." We also get to assist with payments to settle claims made by certain municipalities in Missouri.

However, the winner is the State Universal Service Fund Fee. It seems some states have asked the telecommunications industry to "ensure affordable telecommunications service for all consumers in the state, especially residents in high-cost rural areas and low-income customers." Sounds good, right? Well, nothing gets by the industry, folks. Although "all telecommunications providers are required to pay into these funds... their contributions may be recovered from customers."

Oh yes, there are also surcharges to reimburse the company for "specific government taxes or fees imposed on the company's gross receipts, sales and/or other property." These include 911 access, DEAF charges and other "favors" we read about that are bestowed on us by the benevolent folks at AT&T. We also pay for discounts given to schools and libraries out of the goodness of AT&T's corporate heart.

So when some congressperson goes into his or her spiel about "getting the big companies to pay their share," try to find out where he or she was when the loopholes got through allowing big companies like AT&T to pass on their costs to the poor suckers who are having trouble making ends meet and not, like AT&T, posting a 2008 profit of almost three and half billion dollars.