6 corporations own 63% of US economy

I was trying to find a link to that statement because I saw it on MSNBC today on the Dylan Ratigan Show. So I did the math and here are some stats.

GDP: $14,260,000,000,000

6 corporations make up: 63%

6 corporations make up: $8,983,800,000,000

Everything else: $5,276,200,000,000

GDP Per Capita: $46,400

without those 6 corporations: $17,178




So this means that if these 6 corporations fell our economy would drop 63%! That is why they were termed 'too big to fail'.

During the great depression we only lost 26.7% of our GDP!

en.wikipedia.org...

We need to break these corporations up, there should not be any corporation that is too big to fail.

I guess Exxon-Mobil is one do you know who the others are?

Originally posted by anglodemonicmatrix
I guess Exxon-Mobil is one do you know who the others are?

I even tried to find it online and I can't. I wish I could find a link to it. If I find it I will post them.

That's why American's like myself need to understand how capitalism works. Once we organize the system then the economy would be stable.

This is unregulated capitalism for you.

Boycott them all - and get everyone you know to do the same.

Every time you spend a dollar, think of it as a vote as to how you want to see the world.

ETA:
Don't forget their subsidiaries!

[edit on 28/4/10 by ghostsoldier]

This stat is actually very believable. This is why solar panels and other alternative energies aren't being mass produced right now. You would effectively kill another 10% of the economy if not more. I can tell you, whoever decides to start mass producing these panels and gets them to the market and made affordable first will literally own 10% of our GDP. I can't understand why we as Americans keep going to corporations for our needs. I used to be a strict republican and my friends who still are wonder why I don't shop at Wal Mart. I tell them even though it is private it is still big government. Wanna change the country for the better? Start buying locally. We need corporations for mass production only. As far as just day to day buying, screw them.

reply to post by ventian


That sounds like a good idea. Big business creates jobs and keeps creating jobs.

I have nothing to support this, it's purely a guess...
In no particular order:
1. Walmart
2. Exxon
3. AT&T
4. GE
5. Hewlett-Packard
6. Chevron

Note: HP is my uncertain pick here... I was tempted to throw Bank of America on here, but kept them off because I'm not sure if financial transaction costs by an international banking entity contribute to national GDP. If it does count, then BOA is a monster and likely among the 6.

Not to rub salt in a wound, but a mere few years ago the discrepency would have been even larger but distributed between 8 companies rather than 6... Ford and GM were beasts for decades, representing vast percentages of national GDP.

Ok, so how many of those big 6 are owned by one or two banks?

I remember working at the Bank of England some years ago, and on leaving the main doors was a plaque listing the biggest 150 companies they owned..

The list read like a corporate who's who of the world at the time.... all owned and ultimately controlled by the Bank of England (until it was nationalised and then asset stripped by the UK Gov)

So which banks own what now?

Top 10 US companies by market cap.

www.theonlineinvestor.com...

Exxon
Microsoft
Walmart
P&G
Apple
Johnson & Johnson
GE
IBM
JP Morgan
AT&T



[edit on 4/28/2010 by mythatsabigprobe]

Top 10 US Companies by revenue.

en.wikipedia.org...

Exxon
Walmart
Chevron
Conoco Phillips
Ford
GE
GM
BofA
AT&T
Berkshire Hathaway

Just taking some punts on top of whats already been mentioned...

General Motors?
Citigroup?
AIG?
IBM?

...

I agree, the amount of capital control is staggering.

reply to post by ventian


Good point mentioning renewable energy. Not until those corporations find a way to market renewable energy so that they can make more money than off scarcity, will we see such a change. a little change here, a little improvement there, adds some popularity - but to change the whole system - - out with the old and in with the new ways to make profit first.

Originally posted by serbsta
IBM?

Yes, and what about....

Walt Disney
Viacom?
Time Warner?
News Corporation?

Hmm....

Culture Jamming is the activist tool against Corporatism... Do some research... Theres a cool vid I've got linked in my sig.

how many people have played Monopoly
the board game ???

well this is almost identical. We're down to
everybody going bankrupt cuz we cant afford to
travel around the board.

Game over, I dont wanna play anymore

en.wikipedia.org...

Largest US Companies:

ExxonMobil Oil and gas $477.3
Wal-Mart Retailing $374.5
Chevron Corp. Oil and gas $214.1
ConocoPhillips Oil and gas $187.4
Ford Motor Company Automotive $172.5
General Electric Conglomerate $169.7

Revenue listed is in Billions.

Total revenue for the US's largest 6 corporations:

$1,595,000,000.00 (1.6 trillion approx)

US GDP = $14.6 trillion.

The largest 6 do not equal 63% of the GDP.. in fact, while representing a large portion of the GDP, they are not so significant that to loose all 6 would we be in a major depression.

Reason?

It's replacable.. all of it. We can never not have oil, so if exxon collapsed (which it wont) we would buy from another company. If walmart collapsed (god willing) we would buy our cheap crap from some other store.

It is interesting to note how much of our GDP is centered around oil production even though we do not even have oil reserves to export.. is it any wonder we went to war to secure oil contracts?

I am having a hard time swallowing the lists of companies posted so far.
I'm fairly certain a pharmaceutical must be on that list somewhere, no?

Rockpuck, stop making so much sense.

There is nothing wrong with capitalism or a free market society. The problem the US faces is that we have neither of these. What we have today is inflitrated with government rules and regulations that throws a wrench into the whole process. We would be much better off - and likely have fewer companies owning as much as they do - if we eliminated such laws. The government helps create these near-monopolies, rather than deconstructing them. And it's no wonder that the businessmen who own those companies support certain politicians who are willing to keep their crooked deals operating.

I'd love to have a capitalism-basher explain a better (and realistic) economic system than true capitalism. What would you perfer? Socialism?