Forum Post: Corporations profit from killing America and they run our country!
Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 10, 2011, 5:50 p.m. EST by ta1299
(1)
from Syosset, NY
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Summary of corporate globalization's death of America
1945-1990 The cold war.
Capitalism inhibited by USSR. Counterbalance to having global reign.
Corporations are far more domestic oriented. They have great influence in govt but share with the people goals of national prosperity. At this point their influence in govt is not a conflict of interests.
1990-Present
The USSR ends their global empire.
The world becomes far less politically restricted.
The computer age/internet is coupled with efficient, low cost, supply chain management that logistically shrinks the globe.
Corporations fully embrace globalization and set out to conquer the world. Sovereignty of nations limits exploitation, corporate profits.
Corporate influence in govt strips away at sovereign interests. Govt policy favors globalization, ignoring domestic policy concerns.
Puppet govt allows corporations to dictate policy. Free trade, NAFTA, tax policies,etc ignores national interests. Thousands of factories leave the USA. Tens of millions of jobs are lost. Our nation's industry is decimated. Govt inact no solutions to offset this paradigm shift.
The people's interests are no longer represented in govt.
unfunded offensive wars and fiat money printing burden the people with a ballooning debt.
Frustrated, the people take to protest. Angry about a govt that are
only puppets, controlled by money and a disgrace to the principles of
our constitution. The country is a runaway train to destruction. With
virtually no leadership for the people in sight.
WE CAN NO LONGER ALLOW ENTITIES THAT PROFIT FROM OUR NATION'S SOVEREIGN DESTRUCTION TO CONTROL IT'S DIRECTION. THE PEOPLE MUST GET CORPORATE MONEY AND INFLUENCE OUT OF OUR POLITICS.
"This truth is well known among our principal men now engaged in forming an imperialism of Capital to govern the world. By dividing the voters through the political party system, we can get them to expend their energies in fighting over questions of no importance. Thus by discreet action we can secure for ourselves what has been so well planned and so successfully accomplished." - Sir Denison Miller
You should make this an open letter and share it out on social media.
Agreed.
Good post.
My fellow Americans we must unite in one cause. Sovreign rule of the economy. We the People own the economy and deserve a voice and a legitimate vote in how its run. The Golden Rule must end.
If you are interested in learning about the history of corporations and why they should be viewed as government entities rather than private entities, see Corporations and the Public Purpose: Restoring the Balance, available at: http://www.corporatepolicy.org/issues/corppurpose.pdf
It is illuminating and vital for people to understand the nature and history of corporations in the US.
agreed.
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http://occupywallst.org/forum/capitalism-versus-corporatism/
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http://occupywallst.org/forum/help-me-understand/
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http://occupywallst.org/forum/5-facts-you-should-know-about-the-wealthiest-one-p/
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http://occupywallst.org/forum/stop-playing-the-devils-games/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/nonviolence-the-only-path/
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http://occupywallst.org/forum/national-initiative-for-democracy/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/a-third-political-party-the-movement-of-the-middle/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/300-fema-camps/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-is-a-false-flag-operation/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/why-this-will-not-work/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/paradigm-shift-now/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/a-proposal-for-focus/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/stop-the-bullshit-posts-and-get-organized/
No, here is the truth: There has been a massive "wealth redistribution" that has gone on for the last 30 years. The top 1% now control 42% of all of the nation's wealth and the top 10% now control 70% of our entire nation's wealth. The bottom 50% control a mere 2% of all of our nation's wealth.
The middle class is the economic engine of our economy. The middle class spends their wealth on goods/services and the corporations make a profit from the spending. Corporations have redistributed the middle class wealth by paying the vast majority of their profits all out to the executives and shareholders.
Middle class wages have stagnated for 30 years while executive wages have gone up 256% in since 1980. Even last year executive compensation went up another 11%. All of our nation's wealth has been redistributed into the hands of the few.
How did this happen right under our noses? The middle class was roped into replacing wages with easy credit/loans. So instead of paying people living wages, corporations fooled us into thinking we were doing well and could afford things by giving us easy credit instead of wages. Instead of having wages to buy t.v.'s, furniture, etc. we were given easy loans. So the middle class became a debtor class.
There used to be a tax disincentive to paying out all of corporate profits at the top because in the 1950's income was taxed at 90% over a certain amount money and now that tax disincentive has disappeared. In 1950's the highest marginal tax rate was 90%. In 1960-1970's it was 70%. In 1980's it dropped to 49%. In 1990's dropped to 39%. Under George Bush it dropped to a mere 36%. We have had over 30 years of massive tax cuts for the wealthy.
There is now no tax disincentive to paying out all of the corporate wealth at the top. And there is no employee bargaining power because now less than 12% of all of our jobs are unionized. Corporate profits are at an all time high, healthcare company profits are at an all time high, and oil profits are at an all time high. We have a profit-taking crisis at the expense of the people that no politician will doing anything about. Healthcare and oil companies have enjoyed a decade of record profits while we have had a decade of massive premiums for little coverage and a decade of outrageous gas prices.
The problems are: 1) deregulation of the banks by the Republican-controlled congress in 1999; 2) hedge funds are exempt from regulation; 3) tax system no longer has a disincentive against paying outrageous executive salaries (highest marginal tax rate has dropped from 90% to 36%); 4) commodities market is exempt from regulation (Republican-controlled Congress exempted it in the Commodities Future Modernization act of 2000); 5) the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations can spend unlimited funds in campaign elections (thus politicians on both sides favor the wealthy/corporations) and 6) the rise of corporate/billionaire propaganda media "news." Because of the need to raise massive sums in politics today, we no longer have a party that represents the people. The Democrats have to chase the corporate and big money donors too.
What can we do about this: 1) re-instate Glass-Steagall Act regulating the banks; 2) regulate hedge funds and the commodities market (because the commodities market is not regulated speculation has caused prices for commodities to go through the roof); 3) get rid of the money in politics (have federally funded elections with clear limits on spending and no outside groups allowed to have ads); 4) get rid of 1980's laws stating that corporations' only duty is to maximize shareholder profits; and 5) regulate "news" channels and newspapers (no more "slanted opinion news" masquerading as hard news) and reinstitute the fairness doctrine across all news outlets to ensure that both sides get equal time.
Corporations should have duties to society and to their workers too. They should have to balance their duties to maximize shareholder profits against their reinstated duties to their employees and to society. The laws saying that corporations' only duty is to maximize shareholder profits have led to the destruction of long-term business plans and care for their workers and have created short-term profit monsters at the expense of workers and society.
Alot of your article's content supports the synthesis of mine.
I think so, but I think that corporations use globalization as an excuse for why they have not been paying higher salaries when the truth is that they have not been paying us higher salaries because they have been paying the profits all out to the executives at the top and shareholders through dividends.
"The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes." - Benjamin Disraeli, First Prime Minister of Britain