Corporations are bleeding America dry

[Perd Hapley]

One of the things that in my mind robs American conservatives of intellectual credibility is this pretence that corporations operating in a marketplace are somehow inclined to do great things for society and individuals.  It's obviously not true.

It's obviously not true that American conservatives have this view of corporations. American conservatives actually believe that corporations (and everybody else) naturally act in their own interest, and that this tends to benefit society as a side effect. Ya know, Adam Smith, and all that stuff.

[roo_ster]

The problem is that none of those measures will be deployed in the US, because unlike the "common knowledge" in conservative circles that corporations are easy targets, they're actually the most powerful institutions in the entire political system.

Call me when Bill Gates has the authority to command men with guns to arrest those who are using non-Windows operating systems and to shoot those who resist.

Really, statements like that quoted seem ignorant of the basic facts of government.

[makattak]

There are tax measures that can effectively take money out of corporations and put it in government coffers, leaving the corporation with few avenues for response.  It happens all over the world in highly developed economies with higher real tax rates than America.

The problem is that none of those measures will be deployed in the US, because unlike the "common knowledge" in conservative circles that corporations are easy targets, they're actually the most powerful institutions in the entire political system.  Their funds and connections effectively determine all of the major elections.

Corporations operate to make a profit; there are many, many scenarios where profits for a corporation are damaging to the economy and to society as a whole.  That's why increased profits don't necessarily mean more jobs, and increased productivity hasn't resulted in real wage increases.  One of the things that in my mind robs American conservatives of intellectual credibility is this pretence that corporations operating in a marketplace are somehow inclined to do great things for society and individuals.  It's obviously not true.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

<breathe.... breathe.... breathe...>

Sorry, that's one of the funniest posts I've ever read.

Their funds "effectively determine" all of the major elections? I suppose you can make the case for that since whoever wins gets TONS of donations from thousands of corporations. Of course, whoever loses gets TONS of donations as well. This is because corporations know whoever wins has them over a barrel, so they give, "generously", to both sides.

As for profits being bad, I'm impressed by ignoring "ceteris paribus" as for why increased profits may not mean increased wages or more jobs.

It's like saying shooting someone center of mass with a .44 magnum doesn't necessarily mean the threat will be stopped or the target killed as there are many many scenarios where an individual can and has survived.

[Ned Hamford]

Influential /= powerful

[Sergeant Bob]

That was what I was thinking, too.

Amazing how people forget what corporations do, and how they are structured.  They also tend to forget that those "absurdly high profits" get paid to shareholders, most of whom are shareholders through some type of investment or retirement plan.  I have a friend who is forever harping about how Big Corp "just makes too much money".  When I ask her about how she intends to fund her retirement if the dividends get cut and her IRA takes a dump, she looks at me like I have horns growing out of my head.  Her emotional investment in the "Don't Pay Their Fair Share" mantra is so deep that she not only can't but won't believe her success is tied directly to the very thing she loves to hate.

Kinda sad that people are so disconnected with the way the economy really works.

Brad

Indeed!