Breitbart: The American political tradition of issuing public challenges to resolve disputes among public figures got a breath of new life over the weekend when the founder and chief executive of FedEx invited the publisher of the New York Times to debate him over taxes.
FedEx chief Fred Smith, who started the delivery and logistics company based on an idea he developed for an economics class at Yale University, said in a statement Sunday that a New York Times story about FedEx’s tax bill was “distorted and factually incorrect” and “an outrageous distortion of the truth.”
“I hereby challenge A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times and the business section editor to a public debate in Washington, DC with me and the FedEx corporate vice president of tax,” Smith said.
The New York Times claimed that FedEx and Smith had lobbied extensively in favor of the Trump administration’s tax cuts and that the law had reduced the company’s tax bill by at least $1.6 billion. The story did not provide details of the alleged reduction in Fed Ex’s tax bill but noted that the company paid $1.5 billion in 2017 and $2 billion over the past decade. read more
Pete Buttigieg is in first place in Iowa? Somebody please explain to Iowans that when Pete talks about playing cornhole, he’s NOT talking about throwing beanbags!
Fred Smith -and his crazy idea for overnight delivery- has done more for the American economy than the IRS and the NY Times combined. FedEx has helped me land quite a few contracts and meet some tough deadlines. I would pay to watch that debate!
One-upped the old REA (now UPS).
Watch it, Fred. I hear they’re brainstorming “Castaway II” right now.
Paul Krugman the NY Times “clown prince of economics” gets literally anaphylactic over even the idea of public debate is likely cowering in the fetal position in his office right now. But he’ll have a lot to say about from a very safe distance in his column soon.
Glad to hear it. STILL wouldn’t count on FUDD-Ex to deliver water to the Mon, if their truck fell OFF the Liberty Bridge though. 😳
Looking forward to sending this story to one of my many lib brothers, a systems engineer for over 25 years with Fedex, to get his…REACTION!
Admittedly I didn’t read the article but I heard the overview on Larry O’Connor tonight. Trump’s tax break involved a deferral involved reinvesting in infrastructure in purchasing planes, trucks, buildings. Investing in employees, training, their retirement plans.
So, Fedex spent $6-7 billion in the US economy and their ongoing enterprise versus sending a billion to the DC bureaucracy to squander.
I would love this debate.
Debate, nuttin’!
I want to see fisticuffs, if not an out-and-out duel at ten paces.