The federal tax code is riddled with special-interest loopholes. Most of these exist because firms and trade associations lobby Congress and provide campaign support to members of Congress to gain special favors to individual firms or industries. Is it ethical for firms to seek special privilege?

Migrant farm workers are at the bottom of our employment force and quality-of-life standards. They work very hard, do not make much money, and often live in miserable conditions. You run a large vegetable farm operation that hires migrant workers an average of four weeks per year. You pay the going wage rate for the workers, who rent dumps to live in while they work in your area before moving north. Do you have an ethical responsibility to pay more than the market wage so that these workers can live in better conditions? Do you have a responsibility to provide housing to the workers you employ? If you pay above-market rates, your profits could fall, and you could even go out of business. Assuming these to be facts, what responsibilities do you think you have?