Topics
IAC Prime Member
|
| | | |
never never band
|
2/22/2009 4:07:56 AM
a public service announcement for capitalist corporate apologists
First published February, 2000 by 'RECLAIM DEMOCRACY"
(there is a link at the end of the essay, I'm sorry to cut and paste, it's never been my habit to do that but this is good history and good journalism...
First published February, 2000
When American colonists declared independence from England in 1776, they also freed themselves from control by English corporations that extracted their wealth and dominated trade. After fighting a revolution to end this exploitation, our country's founders retained a healthy fear of corporate power and wisely limited corporations exclusively to a business role. Corporations were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, public policy, and other realms of civic society.
Initially, the privilege of incorporation was granted selectively to enable activities that benefited the public, such as construction of roads or canals. Enabling shareholders to profit was seen as a means to that end.
The states also imposed conditions (some of which remain on the books, though unused) like these:
* Corporate charters (licenses to exist) were granted for a limited time and could be revoked promptly for violating laws.
* Corporations could engage only in activities necessary to fulfill their chartered purpose.
* Corporations could not own stock in other corporations nor own any property that was not essential to fulfilling their chartered purpose.
* Corporations were often terminated if they exceeded their authority or caused public harm.
* Owners and managers were responsible for criminal acts committed on the job.
* Corporations could not make any political or charitable contributions nor spend money to influence law-making.
For 100 years after the American Revolution, legislators maintained tight controll of the corporate chartering process. Because of widespread public opposition, early legislators granted very few corporate charters, and only after debate. Citizens governed corporations by detailing operating conditions not just in charters but also in state constitutions and state laws. Incorporated businesses were prohibited from taking any action that legislators did not specifically allow.
States also limited corporate charters to a set number of years. Unless a legislature renewed an expiring charter, the corporation was dissolved and its assets were divided among shareholders. Citizen authority clauses limited capitalization, debts, land holdings, and sometimes, even profits. They required a company's accounting books to be turned over to a legislature upon request. The power of large shareholders was limited by scaled voting, so that large and small investors had equal voting rights. Interlocking directorates were outlawed. Shareholders had the right to remove directors at will.
In Europe, charters protected directors and stockholders from liability for debts and harms caused by their corporations. American legislators explicitly rejected this corporate shield. The penalty for abuse or misuse of the charter was not a plea bargain and a fine, but dissolution of the corporation.
In 1819 the U.S. Supreme Court tried to strip states of this sovereign right by overruling a lower court's decision that allowed New Hampshire to revoke a charter granted to Dartmouth College by King George III. The Court claimed that since the charter contained no revocation clause, it could not be withdrawn. The Supreme Court's attack on state sovereignty outraged citizens. Laws were written or re-written and new state constitutional amendments passed to circumvent the Dartmouth ruling. Over several decades starting in 1844, nineteen states amended their constitutions to make corporate charters subject to alteration or revocation by their legislatures. As late as 1855 it seemed that the Supreme Court had gotten the people's message when in Dodge v. Woolsey it reaffirmed state's powers over "artificial bodies."
But the men running corporations pressed on. Contests over charter were battles to control labor, resources, community rights, and political sovereignty. More and more frequently, corporations were abusing their charters to become conglomerates and trusts. They converted the nation's resources and treasures into private fortunes, creating factory systems and company towns. Political power began flowing to absentee owners, rather than community-rooted enterprises.
The industrial age forced a nation of farmers to become wage earners, and they became fearful of unemploymenta new fear that corporations quickly learned to exploit. Company towns arose. and blacklists of labor organizers and workers who spoke up for their rights became common. When workers began to organize, industrialists and bankers hired private armies to keep them in line. They bought newspapers to paint businessmen as heroes and shape public opinion. Corporations bought state legislators, then announced legislators were corrupt and said that they used too much of the public's resources to scrutinize every charter application and corporate operation.
Government spending during the Civil War brought these corporations fantastic wealth. Corporate executives paid "borers" to infest Congress and state capitals, bribing elected and appointed officials alike. They pried loose an avalanche of government financial largesse. During this time, legislators were persuaded to give corporations limited liability, decreased citizen authority over them, and extended durations of charters. Attempts were made to keep strong charter laws in place, but with the courts applying legal doctrines that made protection of corporations and corporate property the center of constitutional law, citizen sovereignty was undermined. As corporations grew stronger, government and the courts became easier prey. They freely reinterpreted the U.S. Constitution and transformed common law doctrines.
One of the most severe blows to citizen authority arose out of the 1886 Supreme Court case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad. Though the court did not make a ruling on the question of "corporate personhood," thanks to misleading notes of a clerk, the decision subsequently was used as precedent to hold that a corporation was a "natural person."
From that point on, the 14th Amendment, enacted to protect rights of freed slaves, was used routinely to grant corporations constitutional "personhood." Justices have since struck down hundreds of local, state and federal laws enacted to protect people from corporate harm based on this illegitimate premise. Armed with these "rights," corporations increased control over resources, jobs, commerce, politicians, even judges and the law.
A United States Congressional committee concluded in 1941, "The principal instrument of the concentration of economic power and wealth has been the corporate charter with unlimited power...."
Many U.S.-based corporations are now transnational, but the corrupted charter remains the legal basis for their existence. At ReclaimDemocracy.org, we believe citizens can reassert the convictions of our nation's founders who struggled successfully to free us from corporate rule in the past. These changes must occur at the most fundamental level the U.S. Constitution.
Thanks to our friends at the Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD) for their permission to use excerpts of their research for this article.
Please visit our Corporate Personhood page for a huge library of articles exploring this topic more deeply. You might also be interested to read our proposed Constitutional Amendments to revoke illegitimate corporate power, erode the power of money over elections, and establish an affirmative constitutional right to vote.
About ReclaimDemocracy.org
Go to Home Page
|
|
satch
|
2/22/2009 8:52:11 AM
Spot on - the larger global corporations are the root of so many of our global problems.
|
|
Paul groover
|
2/22/2009 10:02:46 AM
My Grandparents and there fathers and mothers fought so i could enjoy the freedom i have now. I ask you this what fucking freedom. I will not be part of a socialist fascist communist or any other ist state. You can fool some of the people some of time but you cannot fool all the people all of the time. The lies they are coming out with are so incredulous that it beggars belief that people will actually listen to these people lie upon lie. It,s like watching a badly made b-movie with actors that cannot get work in the real world. And this is supposed to be reality don,t make me laugh.
I agree with what you have to say i would go much further
dissolve all banks and fiat currencies. Replace this with locally run coop banks run by local people for local interests. Use a gold or silver standard for the notes which has the same value wherever you go so a note in China would have the same value in Canada. So it doesn,t matter what the colour shape or what it,s got printed on it. It has the same value.
Dissolve all corporations and distribute there assets according what interests they have among the regions they are currently involved in. Shareholders would be reenumerated with any profits made before they are dissolved. The local populace would have the option to continue the operation if they so wish or shut it down if it is having to much of an impact on the local area.
Remove the fakery of the straw man from law.
Courts and Governments cannot be run as businesses as they are now.
All the plants in the world are yours to grow as you see fit without interference.
Turn the arms industry into an industry for the benefit of all
This is just a couple of idea,s no doubt been thought about i could go on but i won,t
|
|
Psyche's Muse
|
2/22/2009 1:17:28 PM
Great post Never-Never. Controlling corporate growth as well as monetary growth is an essential component of DECENT governance. As is usual the corrupt tend to corrupt and the stain of their existence is a blot on society which if left unchecked makes an ever increasing mark. Whenever this corruption is viewed as acceptable then that mark becomes a thing to be held in high esteem. This is due to the rewards which are gained by its attainment.
Now, to continue on with Paul's comments about going MUCH further, I say, "We shall enact a new DEATH PENALTY!" And this shall be imposed upon any Public Official to be found guilty of:
1) LYING
2) MAKING OR TAKING BRIBES
3) THEFT OF PUBLIC ASSETS
4) And whatever else it may take to instill TRUST once again
We shall also take back the control of the making of money from the bankers. This shall become a GOVERNMENT ENDEAVOR, thereby causing all those who are involved in banking to fall under the "DEATH PENALTY" guidelines as listed above.
And Paul, using a "gold standard" or something similar to that would be a crucial MISTAKE! There is a finite amount of those type of things and for the economy to expand you'd need more of that gold or whatever commodity was backing the currency to make it happen. The value of the currency would have to be manipulated when the need to issue more currency arises. The currency may even have to be devalued to compensate for not having a sufficient supply of backing on hand. This would also happen because through international commerce, other currencies if also backed by gold, would be able to manipulate our economy from outside our borders. Instead of using an inanimate object we should issue currency based upon our people using "Supply And Demand" principles in relation to economic conditions. The value of our currency would be backed by the work ethic of oure people. Our currency would then be linked to our very flesh and blood. And this is much more valuable than any amount of gold could ever be. We ourselves through work would then dictate the value of a Dollar. We could so control our currency that a Dollar today would still be worth a Dollar 50 years hence. This accomplishment would be impossible using anything else for backing the currency. American workers are also a much more worthy candidate for backing our currency than any amount of gold could ever be. Plus, we'd never let any bastards get away with monetary shenanigans ever again. It would be seen as stealing our very lives... which in reality it already in fact is... we're just consciously removed from that fact at present.
-M-
|
|
The Man With No Band
|
2/22/2009 10:15:26 PM
Very good commentary ... a small story if I may ...
It used to be that when Government wanted something done ; (roads or bridges built, contracts for arms etc. etc.) the Government put jobs up for bid by Corporations ... now it is the other way around ... and Corporations actually hold the Government Hostage over those projects ...
Case in point ... I worked for the Boeing Corporation for many years ... Starting in the late 1990's we were asked to take cuts in pay and benefits by the Corporation while they were making record profits ... they basically held our jobs as hostage, as they had already taken much of our work over-seas and now we were asked (told) that we had to take cuts or see our jobs shipped out ... they gave us the old "we're all in this together" spiel and said in the long run this would help the company which in turn would benefit us and our families ... When what it really amounted to was extorsion ... They used this tactic against the local Government several times to get their buildings and machinery paid for and such ... telling the city if they did not do it they would find another city that would ... and take jobs out of the city ...
Around 2002, they announced a new model of airplane and they began taking "applications" from several states to see who would give them the most to have "the honor" of building the new jets ... They told the State of Kansas and it's taxpayers that they would have to give them "five hundred million dollars" to stay in consideration for the new plane ... and they did the same to several other states with varying amounts ... The original principle, Boeing said it would pay back ... but tens of thousands dollars in interest would have to be picked up by the Taxpayers ... All the time promising new jobs and an expansion of the facilities where I worked ... guess what ...
Each of the States got a small piece of the plane ... while the biggest part of all the work was taken over-seas ... the plant I worked in was put up for sale and around 20,000 of us were shown the exit door ...
That is Corporate America today ... they OWN America ... WAKE UP PEOPLE !!!!!!!!
|
|
Night Krawler Blues
|
2/23/2009 12:00:25 AM
Times are tough all over
I had to get new clothes,.....where I work the corporate suits made all of us blue collar workers wear pink pajamas, something to do with no more bullying.and pink reflecting the quality of acceptance and respect....and to top it off we had to buy them ourselves...so instead of the usual blue coveralls this is what we get..well at least I have a job. but I am getting used to going to work in them
|
|
Psyche's Muse
|
2/23/2009 1:54:35 PM
There's a simple formula to resolve the problem of "us" verses "them" in business whereby unions would become a thing of the past. It is called "Profit Sharing". This of course would be seen as a Socialist Conspiracy by the hard-core Capitalists.
What I propose would work like this:
Take any industry and divvy up the profits based upon set percentages. Wage earners would get a predetermined %. This number would include retirement, health care, insurance, etc. Once a decent and fair amount is agreed upon this would become the "Industry Standard" across the nation for that type of business. Along these same lines the rest of the earnings would be divided sensibly as well, operating costs, overhead, new equipment, etc. etc. Once these are hammered out and instituted by law the whole endeavor then becomes a "Fair Market Playing Field" whereby all similar industries would compete for "gross profits only"(Capitalist should jump for joy on this point). All things now being equal(percent earnings for the Capitalists, percentage going toward taxes, percentage paid to workers, etc.) there would be no need to move capital out of one area unto another. . unless one area happens to have better workers who kick-ass and maximize the overall gross profits. There would be differences on gross amounts and net amounts, but yet the percentages would remain the same, meaning dependable, secure and forcastible profit margins... as if they were set in stone almost. Other variations would include a percentage placed into a general savings account for that industry(and maybe combined with various similar or associated industries) where all the workers would participate making use of it for mortgage loans, auto loans, insurance, retirement accounts and the like. I know that corruption would try to rear its ugly head in anything of value so the DEATH PENALTY would have to hang over the head of ALL THE MONEY MANAGERS to keep them honest and scrupulous in their workings. Another plus is that no profits would be gleaned from this account by any middleman. The managers over these type accounts would be guaranteed a percentage of profits only. In this way the only way they could increase their own wellbeing is by increasing the wellbeing of others. Another idea: The first seven years of any new business would be exempt from taxation altogether. This would increase the amount of monies available to pay the other percentages and help the new business to succeed. We could look at having special percentages developed specifically for the first seven years of any new business... letting the workers claim a larger portion if necessary. In this way the minimum wage law would become a thing of the past and businesses could legally hire fulltime employees with benefits. I know this couldn't work EXACTLY as proposed. It is a simplistic idea, but I am sure that it could be masterminded into a working model. And it could be retrofitted onto just about any business there is.
-M-
|
|
never never band
|
2/23/2009 7:34:27 PM
other than the "Death Penalty" nonsense I think you have a good view of how the global attitude and policy towards corporate activity will need to go...
I'm completely opposed to capital punishment for any reason, period...ever.
there is no need for the state to kill, we are plenty capable of removing Economic Sociopaths from society without killing them.
If we quit incarcerating people for Pot..or for Poverty, we'll have plenty of room for the real criminals. I'm certain that "greed" elevated to the point where a man steals billions from his fellow man is abnormal, meaning it's mental illness. Such people need to be removed from civil society, but state sanctioned murder is foolishness.
|
|
The Man With No Band
|
2/23/2009 8:00:12 PM
Mortamor ... it looks good on paper ... and I hate to put a damper on your good intentions ... but it is funny that your words lead me to yet another "personal" story ... You are right about one thing for sure ... the corruption issue has to be dealt with first and foremost for something like this to work ...
Case in point:
During the 1990's, in order for the workers at Boeing to take concessions and pay cuts etc. etc. (for the good of us all), the company and the Union hammered out a "good" deal that included profit sharing ... We were told if we worked harder and more efficiently and gave our souls to the Company, that in return we would get a slice of the pie ... (profit sharing)
The Company would set up two funds and we would be paid our percent (can't remember exactly what the percent was but it sure sounded good) every two years, so each fund only paid every 4 years on an alternating basis ... the first fund had to sit and be funded for four years before we started getting paid ... so the second fund actually set for six years before payments started ...
The way it was set up was it was based on the price of Boeing Stock ... every other July we would get a check based on the Price of Boeing Stock on June 1st ... There was a threshold that it had to rise above for us to get paid ... the threshold was based on what they paid for the Stock when the funds were set up ... The funds (several million dollars) were put in by the corporation and for us to show good measure, a small percent of our union dues also went into the fund ... (of course the union didn't want to give up their money so they really just raised our dues to compensate for the loss of revenue ...
After waiting four years for our first check, we were all excited, as it looked like as of March we would get a few thousand dollars apiece ... then the Company released it's first quarter profits in April or May ... and it showed a major loss ... the price of the stock plummeted and we watched our "few thousand dollars apiece" dwindle down to a few hundred and finally two days before June 1st the price fell below the threshold and we got nothing ...
In July the Company came out and said it had made a "mistake" in it's bookkeeping and had actually made quite a good profit the first quarter ... and the price of the Stock shot right back up to where it was before we got screwed ... and we got nothing ...
It seemed that every two years we went through a similar scenario ... and for 8 years (after our original 4 yrs. so actually 12 years) we got nothing ... they started being "investigated" for the practices ... but were found to be not guilty of any wrong doing ...
During the next 2 year phase everything was booming ... and record profits were being recorded ... the Stock shot through the roof ... We were looking at a payout that year of around 5 to 6 thousand dollars apiece ... the company bought McDonald Douglass. our largest competitor, and we thought we were sailing high ...
Then a leak to the press a few weeks before we were to be paid ... it seems that the CEO of Boeing and his cronies had started dumping MILLIONS of dollars of Boeing stock ... this at a time when it was at a record high ... and the profit margins were supposed to be massive ... the price plummeted and again we got nothing ... This time the Federal Government launched "a full scale investigation" against the top Boeing Brass ... they were brought before congress, where they played dumb, and after a huge investigation that lasted several months, costing the tax payers a LOT of money, they ruled there had been NO WRONG DOING by Boeing's elite ...
Incidentally we were also given assurances that for our concessions that we would have job security ... The agreement was that the Company could only outsource 15% of any areas work ... they agreed that if they went over this, that they could not lay anyone off in that department ... they either had to give them a new job inside the company or keep the work at the plant ... So ... right before we were all axed they tried to lay us off ... but per written agreement they could not ... so ... they got around it by just selling the plant ! ...
|
|
SILVERWOODSTUDIO
|
2/23/2009 9:43:06 PM
we all know this stuff is going down all over-----the local bodies do a smaller version!!!
-----local bodies (councils) which now act as businesses and use ratepayers money to run sub divisions of land, buy shares, build shops, etc and do almost anything except their core functions---sewage, water roads etc
This is a trickle down theory of ripping off the public,---- by using their own collective money (rates) to compete with businesses ---when the council holds the power to grant or refuse building site applications etc
this has got so out of hand in New Zealand that a regional council spent millions of taxpayer dollars bringing "David Beckams Football team" to Auckland!!
They lost millions!!!
good grief!!!
|
|
Psyche's Muse
|
2/25/2009 4:40:35 PM
Man With No Band... The story you relate is a terrible travesty of justice. It should NEVER be able to happen that way! The same goes for you too, SILVERWOOD. And just because it did happen that way and does happen that way doesn't mean it is inevitable that it will always that way be. For if you know that Change is needed, have faith in the fact that Change is possible... Ask daily, verbally(out loud) for that Change and the Change will come.
Although the "Death Penalty" might sound harsh, people die and are killed every single day, most times for no good reason... accidents, mistakes, chance, nature... Death has VALUE when it is meaningful. Death is meaningful when it serves a Purpose. And there is no greater purpose than JUSTICE! For only when Justice is TRULY meted out will Justice prevail! Remember: TRUTH and JUSTICE are the American Way!
What we need is Superman! An all-powerful Dictator to do battle against the evil geniuses who've been plotting against society! Those Dark and Powerful Beasts that plague mankind! Causing and tempting others to participate in their wicked deeds! They must be defeated! Those that hide in the shadows have caused what we are now witnessing economically around the world. They manipulate and control from the Darkness through the power of money. And their days shall be numbered!
-M-
|
|
never never band
|
2/26/2009 3:23:22 AM
eeew..
if ya poke around long enough you eventually scare up the spiders!
:-)
There is a huge difference between people dying in wars, accidents, drug deals..etc, and people being murdered by the state ....
We dont need a superman, and there is no such thing as superman, thats childish.
We are all made of the same stuff, we are neurologically identical, there's isn't "people who deserve to live " and "people who dont".
What we need is what we have, we have the government we earned, and the change thats happening is the change we earned, if it's not enough, if we are failed state then it's our fault....It was always within our grasp to boycott business or just show up to vote or walk out of the work place or what have you. It's always been our civic duty to debate, to persuade, to be involved with the creation of an egalitarian society.
It's not supermans job....it's your job.
|
|
The Man With No Band
|
2/27/2009 7:21:41 PM
Sterling ... READ the TRUTH !!!!!!!!!!! ... You'll find in the words in the first post by Frater
THAT is what happened to FREE markets ... they were NEVER designed to be without regulation ... and THEY have destroyed our Country ... not the Welfare moms
|
|
never never band
|
2/27/2009 8:26:29 PM
Sam,
psyches Muse is not "Sterling".
Ol Greg (sterling) has stayed out of this discussion so far.
If you check Psyches link you'll see that here is a guy with a pretty consistent philosophy and a great creative mind!
even if I do have some fundamental disagreements. I really appreciate his contributions.
The Capital Punishment thing is a subject that is dear to me, and I get emotional about it because I think it's so central to Civics and Ethics and all it mean to be Human (humane)...
so I get sarcastic, like the "spiders" comment..
But I mean it in way too, there is a core moral compass that I believe is essential to egalitarian society and our sense of compassion and self worth. Capital Punishment undermines the very foundation of all of it.
|
|
The Man With No Band
|
2/27/2009 8:28:46 PM
---- Updated 2/27/2009 8:31:16 PM
Yeah .. I know Mortamor is not Sterling ... Ha ! ...
Mortamor's one of my favorite people on philosophy !
I was trying to lure Sterling in here so he could get educated ... :)
... and I'm definitely not a fan of capital punishment either ...
|
|
| |
�2015-16 IndieMusicPeople.com All Rights
Reserved
| |
|