Transitions Followup II
DrTony criticizes me for advocating more oversight of corporations in my Transitions post. I admit to having mixed emotions about this proposal. I worry that I am opening a can of worms that would lead to significantly more regulation. I used to believe, as DrTony does, that the marketplace would solve the problem, but I'm thinking about changing my mind and am trying to explore some options. At this point, however, utopia is not an option. There are a few people who run corporations who are not considerate of the community, the environment, or their employees. Most are, but Enron comes to mind.
My post was titled Transitions and attempts to raise the question of how we get from here to liberty. In that section on corporations, I said
Getting from here to liberty cannot be done in one bold move, much as many people might like. It's fun sometimes to make bold statements like "abolish the IRS", but it ain't gonna happen in one fell swoop. So, How Do We Get There without upsetting the applecart and creating chaos? I should also point out that there are likely to be many more steps than those mentioned above to complete the process. But you have to start somewhere.
Corporations were and are created by government. They have limited liability, which means, generally, that you can punish the corporation, but not the individuals who own or manage it. Usually the marketplace does a good job of punishing those that do not provide what their customers want. There is, in my opinion, more pressure to cut costs and turn a profit, than there is to do so without harming the environment, the community, or employees. It's part of a free market system. It seems, though, the larger the corporation, the less likely that anyone will pay the price for the harm they do.
There are at several questions to consider. 1) Are these issues part of the "general welfare" mentioned in the US Constitution? 2) Should we, as a society, attempt to raise the awareness of corporate owners and managers on these issues? 3) if we should, how should we do it? 4) are there other issues that we should consider first, like establishing property rights in the commons or doing a better job of defining and prosecuting trespass, etc?
If there are other steps which, if taken before imposing these new requirements on corporations, would remove the need for them, I would gladly withdraw my suggestion and substitute those other steps. If you have suggestions, please post a comment.
My post was titled Transitions and attempts to raise the question of how we get from here to liberty. In that section on corporations, I said
Change corporate governing documents to put the environment, community, and employees on an equal footing with shareholders. Eliminate corporate subsidies and the corporate income tax. Ask for a 10 percent reduction in prices to compensate. Rationale: Corporations are created by government, so government has the responsibility to see that they act in a responsible manner. Changing the corporate charter expresses that thought to the owners and managers. The corporate income tax is, in reality, paid by the people who purchase the corporation's products, so eliminating it and asking for a price reduction helps make products more affordable.
Getting from here to liberty cannot be done in one bold move, much as many people might like. It's fun sometimes to make bold statements like "abolish the IRS", but it ain't gonna happen in one fell swoop. So, How Do We Get There without upsetting the applecart and creating chaos? I should also point out that there are likely to be many more steps than those mentioned above to complete the process. But you have to start somewhere.
Corporations were and are created by government. They have limited liability, which means, generally, that you can punish the corporation, but not the individuals who own or manage it. Usually the marketplace does a good job of punishing those that do not provide what their customers want. There is, in my opinion, more pressure to cut costs and turn a profit, than there is to do so without harming the environment, the community, or employees. It's part of a free market system. It seems, though, the larger the corporation, the less likely that anyone will pay the price for the harm they do.
There are at several questions to consider. 1) Are these issues part of the "general welfare" mentioned in the US Constitution? 2) Should we, as a society, attempt to raise the awareness of corporate owners and managers on these issues? 3) if we should, how should we do it? 4) are there other issues that we should consider first, like establishing property rights in the commons or doing a better job of defining and prosecuting trespass, etc?
If there are other steps which, if taken before imposing these new requirements on corporations, would remove the need for them, I would gladly withdraw my suggestion and substitute those other steps. If you have suggestions, please post a comment.
posted by David Aitken | 9:28 PM
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