The Anger Blog, A Real Slap in the Face(book)

Eduardo Saverin could be the poster boy for Mitt Romney's definition of capitalism. They seem to live by the same tenets: Everyone should make as much profit as he possibly can; this is the American dream. Fairness has nothing to do with it; greed is the great motivator.

As you may recall, Mr. Saverin was granted asylum in the United States in the mid-1990s, when he feared for his life in Brazil. In addition, he was granted American citizenship. These actions gave him the opportunity to attend Harvard and meet Mark Zuckerberg, and the creation of Facebook was the result. Saverin's part in this event came from his financial investment, via his father, in the concept. When Mr. Zuckerberg tried to fight sharing the profits with him, Saverin filed a lawsuit in the U.S. court system, which was eventually settled out of court, and Mr. Saverin was able to receive compensation. This 'compensation' estimates range anywhere from four to eight billion dollars, depending on the I.P.O., plus any future earnings.

This is how Saverin and Governor Romney differ. Mr. Romney thanks the U.S. by shipping jobs overseas. He avoids paying taxes by using corporate loopholes and setting up bank accounts in foreign countries. Mr. Saverin takes advantage of the preferential treatment given to him by the U.S. by renouncing his American citizenship to become a resident of Singapore, where capital gains are not taxed. Thus, he is able to avert paying millions of dollars in taxes to the country that enabled him to profit so handsomely.

Incidentally, while at Harvard, Saverin reportedly employed Brazil's lax rules on insider trading to earn $300,000 profits in the oil industry. This (along with his Facebook suit and citizenship changes) may be a harbinger of a lifetime style of business transactions for the young man.

Many conservative proponents of capitalism, including Rush Limbaugh, feel that he is merely taking advantage of legal recourses and should be lauded as an aggressive businessman. There seems to be a real disconnect in this country, however, between what makes a good businessperson and what reflects a true American.

It really irritates and angers me that the same people who would praise Saverin for his wise business dealings become upset when they feel that many people who rely on food stamps and other forms of public assistance are trying to "beat the system." They feel that these social programs, though legal, are taking advantage of other taxpayers, yet behavior like Saverin's is savvy and indicative of a successful person. Is the action of removing money from our country by way of switching citizenship or transferring assets to foreign banks merely clever capitalistic behavior? Is it patriotic? Or betrayal? A drain on our economic system?

Related reading on this subject: Strategies to overcome social anxiety.