One way the corporate/plutocrat/conservative agenda gets foisted on us is through what I call "sneak laws." These are laws that sneak through state legislatures and the Congress before We the People get a chance to learn about them and organize opposition. (Read to the end to learn about a monster of a sneak law sneaking through the Congress that could cost our government as much as $700 billion now and tens to hundreds of billions a year from now on.)

There are tons of federal, state and local sneak laws written to benefit a few key corporations or billionaires. These sneak laws limit competition, grant monopolies, provide subsidies, give (sometimes huge) tax breaks, grant special waivers from laws and regulations, prohibit consumers from fighting back when harmed ... you name it. But they never, ever help regular We the People.

Sneak laws can be stopped if people find out about them and get the word out in time. One recent notable sneak law was exposed just in time – not long before it was going to be signed into law by the governor. The Arizona "anti-gay" law would have legalized bigotry under the disguise of "religious freedom." But people found out about this law and got the word out. Organizations and citizens were able to rally opposition in time and Governor Brewer vetoed the law – even after her own staff had helped write it.

Tennessee's Sneaky Whiskey Label Law

This Monday's TPM writes about one of these sneak laws. Tennessee legislators managed to sneak through a state law last year to help the company that makes Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey. According to TPM, the law specified that, "If it isn't fermented in Tennessee from mash of at least 51 percent corn, aged in new charred oak barrels, filtered through maple charcoal and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof, it isn't Tennessee whiskey."

The thing is, this law "resembles almost to the letter the process used to make Jack Daniel's."

The result of this sneak law? Many of Jack Daniels' competitors aren't allowed to call their product "Tennessee Whiskey." Sneaky.

A Sneaky Law To Block Tesla

Another example of sneak laws written to help established special interests is in the news. Most (all?) states do not allow automobile manufacturers to sell cars themselves, instead requiring them to go through independent dealers. Electric-car maker Tesla wants to sell their own cars themselves. So to get around requirements that they sell their cars through dealerships, Tesla sets up local showroom galleries, but customers have to purchase Tesla's cars online.

Auto dealers in New Jersey just got the Christie administration to come up with a new regulation that New Jersey customers cannot purchase a car without the help of a middleman, and Tesla now has to close two showrooms. (Texas and Virginia have similar rules and Ohio and New York are working on blocking Tesla, too.)

So what's next? Will Best Buy cough up the cash needed to purchase laws or regulations to ban Apple stores?

Sneaking Guns Into Georgia Airports

The gun manufacturers' lobby (NRA) is trying to sneak a bill through the Georgia legislature to allow people to bring guns into elementary schools, churches and even airports. Yes, guns in elementary schools and airports.

The bill would also expand Georgia's "Stand Your Ground" law to allow felons immunity from prosecution if they claim they stood their ground after shooting someone, even though felons aren't allowed to carry guns. Yes, you read that right, someone already convicted of murder in the past could now claim immunity from prosecution because they were just "standing their ground." (Of course one part of this that is not written into the law but it is clearly understood by all involved: as long as the victim is black and the shooter is not.)

Teacher Sneak Law

A sneaky sneak law snuck through Congress in the bill that ended the government shutdown. This one lets states use low-cost trainees instead of teachers who are highly qualified. The Washington Post covered this last October, writing:

In language that does not give a hint about its real meaning, the deal extends by two years legislation that allows the phrase “highly qualified teachers” to include students still in teacher training programs — and Teach For America’s recruits who get five weeks of summer training shortly after they have graduated from college, and are then placed in some of America’s neediest schools.

Here is the actual language in the bill that snuck this through:

SEC. 145. Subsection (b) of section 163 of Public 5 Law 111-242, as amended, is further amended by striking 6 ”2013-2014” and inserting ”2015-2016”.

Wow, extra sneaky! And now it is the law.

A Plutocrat-Enriching, Inequality-Driving, Job-killing, Corporate-Takeover Trade Sneak

The NAFTA-Style Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an example of an attempt to sneak in laws bypassing Congress' ability to regulate what corporations do. And an obscure Congressional procedure called "fast track" was planned to help sneak it through. But bloggers and others caught on to this one ahead of time and rallied enough people to start a response. So far fast track has been delayed but not killed. And TPP is still in the works. Keep your eye out for fast track and TPP!

Hide And Sneak: A Monster Of A Sneak Law Is Sneaking Through Congress Now

The mother of all sneak laws is quietly making its way through Congress disguised as corporate tax "reform." Corporations have been avoiding taxes by moving production and profit centers out of the U.S. because of a loophole that lets them "defer" paying the taxes they owe until they "bring the money home." Now they are hiding around $2 trillion or more outside of the country, which means they owe up to $700 billion in taxes!

So they are pushing "corporate tax reform" proposals and almost all of these would let them bring the money back without paying the $700 billion they owe. Not only that, these "reform" ideas would dramatically cut taxes they pay in the future. Some of the proposals would even let them pay little or no taxes on money made outside the U.S., meaning companies would move all the rest of the jobs, factories, labs, call centers, profit centers, intellectual property patents and copyrights, and so on out of the country to take advantage of this.

This is the big one, the monster sneak attack, and it's worth $700 billion now and tens or hundreds of billions a year from now on – plus the rest of the jobs, factories and all the rest – if they are able to sneak this one through.

We can expose this if we act in time. Keep an eye out for "tax reform" because they are going to reform the taxes they owe like a lumberjack reforms a redwood tree with an axe.

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This post originally appeared at Campaign for America's Future (CAF) at their Blog for OurFuture. I am a Fellow with CAF. Sign up here for the CAF daily summary