The tax cuts may have worked. You have to consider that *it could have been worse* without those tax cuts.
I think it a bit like Keynesian economics, it saved the world after WW2 but then imperiled us with the hidden time bomb of inflation and now governments are terrified of inflation. The difference imho is this is a nuke that will go off.
Apple pays lower corporate tax rate than Wal-Mart: report http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/30/apple-pays-lower-corporate-tax-rate-than-wal-mart-report/
yes, that's what those of us that own apple want them to do, take advantage of every tax loophole (if you want to call a legal law a loophole) to reduce our taxes like the man said, "If I paid more than I legally owe I wouldn't be fit for office" you can lower your tax rate by buyng a house and deducting the mortgage interest you can lower your rate by donating to charity you can lower your rate by having children see how it works?
Not just the USA, most of the world is at it but the wealthy informed have been able to sidestep the problem of pesky tax since the idea of tax was brought about. There has been two tax systems for as long back as I can discover - one for the very wealthy who can pay next to nothing and one for the rest who pay though the nose and have no idea how to arrange their affairs so as to side step the system. The power to collect tax demonstrates sovereignty and hence conflicting international tax jurisdictions has been the way to make a voluntary tax contribution. Many of the trades done in London are booked to offshore tax havens and pay zero tax. If you have the money to enter the fold you start with a tax lawyer who will rid you of the ownership of your assets making them mobile and nontaxable. Quite easy really. It's got to the ridiculous state where BBC employees and footballers learned some tricks and massively underpay even while living in the UK. You can scam the scam in other words