When has a corporation actually screwed you more than the government

The problem with corporations is that they are "soul-less" entities, but they are given rights as if the corporation was an actual citizen. A corporation is afforded the same basic rights as a human being.

Which doesn't sound all that bad at first glance, but what is bad about it is that since it is a soul-less it means that the people controlling the corporation basically get to join into this soul-less entity and then do whatever they want, and since the corporation is considered seperate and so forth, those in charge of it don't have to worry about consequences. Afterall, it all goes on the corporation rather than the person.

This thread shows that as well. As it is addressed what have corporations done to screw you over. Rather than looking the specific people behind the corporation who did so, as they are the ones who are truly guilty.

Not to mention corporations grow and such all at the whim of the fed, and at the cost of taxpayers and so forth, but thats another topic. But corporations are the ones who end up with all the "new money".

All a scam IMO.

reply to post by justsomeboreddude


1. They don't care about the environment.
2. They pay salaries to execs that are hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they deserve.
3. They are sending jobs to other countries and therefore not helping our economy
4. They have lied and changed numbers to make themselves look good.
5. Half the time, no one knows what is actually going on with the companies.
6. They make poor investments.
7. They pollute.
8. They only care about their own interests.
9. Some corporations still show poor judgement regarding the populations that they hire from and their respective salaries.
10. The corporations are failing.

I support government intervention. There are 10 reasons for you.

I don't even think a debate is necessary on this one, honestly.

They’re in bed together. They’re both screwing us, the government just manages to do more harm because it has more control over a variety of never ending things.

reply to post by ravenshadow13


Very good call. I especially agree with point 2 of your post, especially after all that's been happening this year with the banks.. They screw us over, we're losing confidence in their ability to keep our money, and the CEO's are scooping up bonuses just for being where they are, instead of being severely punished for heinous blindess and stupidity.

Originally posted by badmedia
This thread shows that as well. As it is addressed what have corporations done to screw you over. Rather than looking the specific people behind the corporation who did so, as they are the ones who are truly guilty.

there lies an interesting point, i would say that it doesn't seem to matter all that much what the constituent parts of a corporation are, it will still act immorally due to it's nature.

doesn't matter who's at the helm, the corporation's only reason for being is to maximise profit, maximum profits almost always lie down the road of unethical practice and the most profitable practice is also the most unethical.

corporations cannot act ethically as it is the opposite of their nature. the constituent parts of the corporation are irrelevant.

reply to post by justsomeboreddude


Your point is exactly the problem with the mega stores. They move into small cities and communities that are slightly above the poverty line already knowing that consumers will immediately shop at their locations b/c of the cheaper prices. This in turn causes all the local retail stores and markets to shut down.

The mega stores prey on poverty stricken area's and people and advertise their opening as good for the community and will provide jobs for the jobless.

Tell the people dying of malaria how evil pesticides are. Governments are what prevent them from culling their mosquito populations.

Why is it so much cheaper to manufacture goods in other countries? Governments set the fees for operating costs with regulations and taxes and mandated minimum wages.

Folks in business and in government screw us everyday. Sometimes as a team. The difference to me is that some business can't send shock troopers to kick in your door at 3AM and shoot you in the head because they feel like it. And if some business wanted to confiscate your property to erect some structure they can't. Not without government pulling it's eminent domain crap.

A business is as powerful as you allow it to be. You dont have to work for any one in particular. You dont have to consume from any one in particular. You don't need any one in particular to live your life. You can stand together and keep it out of your town. A government is as powerful as it wants to be whenever it wants to be. Government forces you to work within its structure. It forces you to participate. And good luck banding together to keep it out of your town.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthereA business is as powerful as you allow it to be. You dont have to work for any one in particular. You dont have to consume from any one in particular. You don't need any one in particular to live your life. You can stand together and keep it out of your town. A government is as powerful as it wants to be whenever it wants to be. Government forces you to work within its structure. It forces you to participate. And good luck banding together to keep it out of your town.

yeah, you don't have a vote and you're not allowed to run for office, you're not allowed to express your opinion to your reperesentive and there's no way you're allowed to band together and form a political party.

Originally posted by pieman
yeah, you don't have a vote and you're not allowed to run for office, you're not allowed to express your opinion to your reperesentive and there's no way you're allowed to band together and form a political party.

If you still believe your vote has any value or that you are represented then good for you. I havent felt represented locally or federally in the past quarter century. Running for office outside of a municipal election, voting, forming a party, etc... all futile against the federal government and what it wants to do.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


For the record, there is a way to prevent malaria without using pesticides.

It's called a vaccination.

*GASP!!!*
I know. Those evil horrible needle-like things. Gosh. It's so much better to just blast food sources with carcinogens.

reply to post by ravenshadow13


Last I knew the vaccines were still in their investigational phases. If not, then good for them.

A vaccine wont bring back the dead though, will it?

Corporations exist for one thing: profit.
Corporations that sell a tangible product, defile the earth to extract resources to manufacture their products. Their products are cheaply made so that you should upgrade or buy a new one every X days/years. Planned obsolence ensures that they keep generating revenue.

If they made products that could be easily upgraded or didn't break down then their profits would be slim to none.

What we really need to do is get rid of money and profits as we know it and use a different system of trade where noone can abuse it and have power over others due to profits and resource exploitation.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
If you still believe your vote has any value or that you are represented then good for you.

it has as much value as it should, i am only one person among many.

A vaccine wont bring back the dead though, will it?

because pesticides will?

Originally posted by pieman because pesticides will?

Because they will prevent needless deaths while a vaccine is researched.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere

Originally posted by pieman because pesticides will?

Because they will prevent needless deaths while a vaccine is researched.

so will mosquito nets, yet they cost a fraction while being far, far less damaging to the environment.

[edit on 21/4/09 by pieman]

reply to post by ravenshadow13


Thanks for all your points. I would say you are right a small percentage of corporations do these things. I believe, the vast majority of corporations are good corporate citizens for the most part.

I could also make the case that if the government enforced existing laws then the people who violate the law with unethical business practices would be in jail.

Do you know that the board of directors and corporate heads can be held criminally liable for their actions? Also, if you commit a crime doing your job for a corporation you can still be arrested and convicted. So it seems to me this is an example of the government screwing us by not arresting people who violate the law.



[edit on 21-4-2009 by justsomeboreddude]

reply to post by pieman


Sure. You hand out a couple hundred thousand nets and I'll spray a couple gallons of Deet over a stagnant lake.

Given the scope of the tasks and the wonderful variable of human behavior which one will be more effective?

Ideally both should be done.

One or the other is like making people choose between the lap belt or the shoulder harness when they easily could just wear both.

reply to post by ravenshadow13


So what would you do? Would you eliminate corporations all together? If you did, how would stuff get done?

How would you have:
A phone system
An electric system
A natural gas system
Gas for your cars
Grocery stores
and on and on and on.

[edit on 21-4-2009 by justsomeboreddude]

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
I'll spray a couple gallons of Deet over a stagnant lake.

the difficulty with that is that people tend to drink the water, irrigate their fields with it, eat the fish that live in it and the animals that drink it.

the mosquitoes on the other hand will propagate in the bowls of a tree or the water that collects in a discarded tyre.

it's perfectly possible to eliminate or reduce mosquitoes but it is incredibly dangerous to randomly start spraying pesticides on bodies of water in a country with limited water resources.

either way, it is not in the interests of corporations to eliminate a problem, they will always maintain it at a sustainable level where possible.

Originally posted by Mudman21
reply to post by justsomeboreddude

 

Your point is exactly the problem with the mega stores. They move into small cities and communities that are slightly above the poverty line already knowing that consumers will immediately shop at their locations b/c of the cheaper prices. This in turn causes all the local retail stores and markets to shut down.

The mega stores prey on poverty stricken area's and people and advertise their opening as good for the community and will provide jobs for the jobless.

But I would say all the local stores will shut down eventually because they are not as efficient as the chain stores. They lack buying power and it is more efficient to do the books for a chain of stores than for a bunch of little stores.

Its not like the little stores were paying some astronomical wages, so really people are just giving up one losing one low paying job and getting another. What is the difference?

Its a free country (kind of) so if you dont like WalMart or Target dont shop there. Shop at the local stores. If enough people think like you then they will stay in business.