Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Behind the Wall Street Protest

... are these economic factors.  Basically it boils down to rich people and institutions tying up so much of the country's capital that the rest of the country can't function properly.
Tags: economics, news
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  • 36 comments
...go 6 levels up... Expand
gwendally

Electoral reform, yes, but let's drop the corporate issue

gwendally

October 12 2011, 22:25:03 UTC 9 years ago Edited:  October 12 2011, 22:25:26 UTC

Corporations are ENTITIES. That is what "incorporating" means, it means that an association of persons joined together to form an entity that exists apart from them, with unlimited life and transferability of ownership.

Corporations are derivatives of people: persons one step removed. They exist as a tool of persons.

The concept of Corporate personhood is tied up with the concept of campaign contributions, right? I mean, your issue isn't that corporations don't get jail time or get executed for murder, it's that they have rights as entities that you wouldn't give them?

If that's the case then we can leave corporate law alone and concentrate on campaign reform and the electoral system changes you propose. I think these both have a lot of merit. The corporate personhood thing just muddies the waters in my opinion.

Almost every person I know is a shareholder in a corporation. They and us are the same. Every CEO run amuck gets to do this because the corporate shareholders - their BOSSES - don't show up to bitchslap them at the annual meetings. Go look at your retirement savings: own any stock? Show up at an annual meeting lately? My point is that we as a citizenry are SO CULPABLE in the misdeeds of corporations that it's fruitless to pretend it was only evil CEOs (selling us the goods we were demanding to buy of our own free will.)

No, let's leave the corporation stuff out of it. But, yes, electoral reform. Got any more on that? Links?
siege

Re: Electoral reform, yes, but let's drop the corporate issue

siege

October 12 2011, 22:49:42 UTC 9 years ago

Actually, I do support a more severe punishment for corporations that deliberately kill people. Let's not even bother with fines; save that for the wrongful death lawsuits. Instead, halt operations at those sites where the corporation deliberately took actions that led to death, such as refusing to provide or maintain safety equipment. Confiscate and auction off the property involved if necessary.

Yes, that would punish the workers; but it also provides an incentive for the workers to push the company for better behavior alongside the shareholders.

As for links to material concerning electoral reform and proportional representation, I don't have any I can dig up offhand. I can point to Australia's electoral system and say they do it pretty close to right as far as counting the votes and determining who will serve.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Electoral reform, yes, but let's drop the corporate issue

ysabetwordsmith

October 12 2011, 23:16:56 UTC 9 years ago

>>Actually, I do support a more severe punishment for corporations that deliberately kill people. Let's not even bother with fines; save that for the wrongful death lawsuits. Instead, halt operations at those sites where the corporation deliberately took actions that led to death, such as refusing to provide or maintain safety equipment. Confiscate and auction off the property involved if necessary.<<

I'm in favor of the corporate death penalty. A corporation that causes major damage or death should be disbanded and its assets sold off to cover expenses. Its place can be taken by someone more competent.
gwendally

Re: Electoral reform, yes, but let's drop the corporate issue

gwendally

October 13 2011, 02:14:23 UTC 9 years ago

This exists. Enron got it. It's called bankruptcy.

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