Americans Have a Declining Relationship with Their Corporations
Over the last half century here in the U.S., there have been a few mega-trends that have redefined American life, and most of these are summed up in the work cynicism. We now have a pervasive distrust of government that, was perhaps bubbling beneath the surface, but didn’t have any real size and strength at the end of WW II.
More obviously, consider our relationship with the multinational corporations that provide most of what we eat, wear, drive, and otherwise consume has totally come a cropper. Think back to the days when “The business of America is business” and “What’s good for General Motors is good for the USA.” Those days are gone, and they’re not coming back.
As to the reasons, here are a few speculations:
• The complete load of BS we find in their messaging, e.g., the ad above. In truth, we’ve come to expect this, but it still stings. Newsflash, despite corporate protestations to the contrary, smoking cigarettes actually does cause cancer. Consuming fossil fuels actually does cause global warming.
• Scandals like VW’s gas mileage cheating, Wall Street’s subprime mortgage debacle, Well Fargo’s stealing from millions of customers, Exxon’s deliberating lying to us about climate change, Beechnut’s selling apple juice for babies that contained 0% apple juice, and the countless other ugly, self-inflicted wounds.
• The fact that corporate criminals almost never go to prison for stealing billions (when common people go away for decades for tax evasion, petty theft, or selling pot).
• The enormous tax breaks engineered by the Trump administration; Amazon, Chevron, Eli Lilly, IBM, GM, and Netflix are among 60 of the largest U.S.-based corporations that paid no tax last year.
• The frustration that corporations, through campaign contributions, lobbying, and God knows what else, essentially own our law-making process, in many cases, actually writing the laws that are meant to regulate them.
Perhaps, if the results of this criminality were less visible, this might not be such a big deal in the American psyche, but that’s anything but the case.
One particularly poignant example is that our children are being shot down like dogs, since Congress cannot even talk about enacting the most minor common sense gun laws that would protect us from the criminally insane armed with weapons of war, taking them to our workplaces, our schools, our places of worship, our concert arenas and so forth.
The most agonizing aspect of this whole disgusting lot is that it’s so intractable. Americans are powerless to protect themselves from corporate money, and there is no mechanism for changing this. Wish I had better news.
Craig,
You should consider writing speeches for grumpy old men like your idol, Bernie Saunders.
Like the people who work and runs corporations, these organization are a mixture of god and bad, often merely representing o the times or fashions of a particular period in history.
Corporations, large and small are an intricate part of a free society and economic life. Government who tax corporations too heavily, quickly discover corporations behave like individuals and simply move to more friendly locations, along with their investors. When gone, governments must accept unemployment, lost opportunities and weakening national economies. Society suffers as the tax base is too small to deliver social services.
This has become even more oevident in the age of the internet when long established corporations discover previously successful business models challenged and are no longer able able to compete.
The result may seem a better deal for some consumers, but not when consumers find themselves unemployed because of the changes in national economics and governments find the tax base eroded.
I’m not sure where you acquired your hatred of affluence and wealth creation. It could be rooted in your increasing adherence to leftist political ideology, or maybe the result of an early puritan style of education.
Corporations are made up of people. They represent a huge part of society and economic life. Since corporations are affected by the the political policy decisions, they should be entitled to have input into those policy decisions through the political process.
Democratic elected representative government works best when every voice is permitted to speak openly, without restriction.
Those who seek to censor or prevent any person, group or organization from taking part in free speech, in any guise, are no friends of a free society!
Your anti-corporate tirade, shows you to be a person no longer able to cope with being unable to convince your fellow citizens of the veracity or value of your political ideology or agenda.
Increasingly, you have demand those whom you perceive as opponents should be prevented taking part in social and political debate.
Socialism. like all forms of “social control’ is born out of fear, envy and insecurity. Socialist adherents and advocates are afraid of their fellow citizens. Afraid someone might be better, smarter,happier, more successful, more popular or just different.
Like the citizens in the film, “Pleasentville”, socialists are afraid of the infinite choices offered by a world of colours. Socialists prefer to control a monotone world of grey.
But most of all, socialists are hypocrites! You are outraged and indignantly scream “Consuming fossil fuels actually does cause global warming.” as you fill up your car at a gas pump!
Former President Obama cries “sea levels are rising” yet he and former VP Gore (after making $ billions from preaching the dangers of global warming) have bought huge luxury beach side compounds and estates!
You have no object to the $500 million donation to the Democrats by Amazon, and similar donations by other billionaire individuals and corporations.
The 2018 year was very difficult for Chevron. A year when a combination of accumulated losses and low prices affected profits and the balance sheet.
But if you had bothered to read Chevron’s balance sheet for 2018 your would see the idea chevron paid no tax, is absurd !
Chevron, like all US Oil companies are the largest domestic tax payers in the US. US tax revenue from the Oil and Gas industry remains the largest individual tax source for US governments.
There is much to criticize in US corporate behaviour, as in all human behaviour, but hiding unfounded and unproven allegations in among genuine examples is an old, but shabby trick.
All the law suits against Exxon have failed and many states and municipalities have lost billions of taxpayer money pursuing ideological “climate change” law suits against Exxon.
In 2016, Democrats screamed “if Trump is elected he’ll start a war in the first year”, then it was “collusion” now “recession”.
None of these things have occurred. Much to the fury of his detractors, all the ‘scandals’ proved either false or inconsequential trivia, while the economy remains strong and unemployment, especially among blue collar and black women, is at an historic low.
The President has kept his electoral promises,despite endless law suits and bloody minded resistance from Congress.
President Trump has proved to be the least belligerent of American presidents in recent decades, preferring to wield economic measures rather than military action.
Investment has poured by into US business, and the economy has responded accordingly. To the dismay of the Democrats and anti-Trumpers, the US is winning the trade war with the Dragon, without too much damage to the US economy.
“real wages’ are on the rise as the demand for labour grows. labour market tightens.
The trade ‘war’ against a resilient Peoples Republic of China will not be decided by the current battle. Long after the Trump Presidency, the US must be prepared for decades of competition from this most determined and assiduous rival.
The significant, but minor victory gained against China by this President is only a prelude in a long campaign for supremacy by the CCP.
America, and Americans, must remain vigilant and competitive for generations to come. If not, like the fate of civilizations before them, America too will fall to the barbarians already at the gates.
In 5 years time America must elect a President even shrewder, more astute and more determined. He (or she) must be supported by like minded legislators. The fate of the US and American allies in the West relies of the steadfastness of the US people and US leaders.
Weakness and naivety can no longer be afforded. The leadership of the Peoples Republic are not the old troglodytes of the USSR. This enemy is far more patient, efficient, cunning and devious.
There is no time for ‘Kumbaya’ flirtations with naive socialist ideology or craven attempts to collaborate with the enemy in the hope they’ll “play nice”.
This is the ‘realpolitik’ we lease our children.