Forum Post: Corporations: Creation of a true Sociopath

One of the worst things to have ever happen was the elevation of corporations to a protected status as if they were a person or individual entity in and of themselves. Now we have an entity with all of the rights and privileges of a person with none of the responsibility. Not only that, but because the nature of the corporation is to serve the selfish interests of their shareholders you have an entity that not only doesn’t have responsibility towards the rest of the community, but one which will always seek its own self-interest... in many cases at the cost of the surrounding community.

Abraham Lincoln predicted doom more than a century ago:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed." -- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins) Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)

We are now in a situation where CEOs get more for less. A point in our history when people continually repeat the mantra “Well if we tax the rich it will cost jobs!” not realizing that we’ve been cutting the taxes to the rich for several decades and employment has only been getting worse. Now that they are at an all time low tax bracket employment is at the worst it’s been since the depression. Taxes can be higher and the rich can pay their fair share and the economy can be stronger. Nobody has to lose.

So what would you call an individual that goes by their own rules, answers only to their own interests, and is not concerned with the consequences of their actions?

Apparently we would call this person Boss and let them run the country into the ground.