It was also established as a nation, by, for, and of The People. Nothing about big buisiness, lobbyists, campaign contributors, etc. Sure they do, they control him through their pet politicians. What self-monitoring mechanism? Are you suggesting that foreign outsourcing, bloated CEO salaries and bonuses, and lower taxes for the wealthy are not real issues? WMD intelligence failure, Iraq occupation failure, failure to privatize social security, fiscal failure to balance budget, emergency management failure during Katrina relief, failure to prevent North Korean nukes, failure to maintain an adequate military, global warming failure, human rights failure at Abu Gharaib and CIA secret prisons, etc., etc. . . . Bush and his party have not only blundered badly on every one of these issues, they have also displayed a defining weakness -- an unswerving adherence to a simplistic ideology. They believe that any deviation from dogma is heretical, which obstructs any sensible adjustment to changing realities or any compromises with democrats to achieve success.
Businesses are owned & controlled by The People. I am also against lobbyists & campaign contributors. I did not bold lower taxes for the wealthy. CEO salaries are a function of supply & demand, and foreign outsourcing good for all parties. We get cheaper products, they get jobs. Have you never heard of the invisibile hand theory? These are the failures of one person & his group, maybe even of the entire republican party - but not of their ideology (at least not the one their party used to stand by).
Owned, yes. Controlled, no. Stockholders have little voice in corporate operations. Furthermore Corporate boards are are cherrypicked by CEO's and are not doing their job in controlling executive excesses. I disagree that this is good for all. Americans lose jobs, while our trade deficit grows exponentially. And of course, the executives get richer while investor dividends shrink. Sure, I just don't agree with it . It is a metaphor for the argument against government protectionism. I believe that total protectionism is bad as is total deregulation. A proper balance between protecting our markets, labor, and economic interests and allowing the free market to generate corporate profits is the ideal situation. These are the failures of the government now in power and the party supporting him and running new candidates for office. It is very much a failure of the neo-con republican ideology. And I agree very much--this is NOT Ronald Reagan's Republican party. It's much, much worse.
Took the words right out of my mouth. He's conveniently dismissing the fact that big businesses influence politics in a number of ways, and on a number of levels.
Then blame the politicians. Big Business is all about making as much money as possible. The politicians want that money and they court BB to get their filthy hands on it.
Oh, believe me, I do. I blame both of them equally. I understand that big business is about making as much money as possible. And of course, I have no problem with that. But I do when they use their money and clout to influence governmental policies which have an impact on the people of the United States. Just because it is the fault of the politicians for catering to big business doesn't mean that they don't shoulder any of the blame. The ends don't justify the means.
This is only possible in situations where a company is privatively held and the CEO owns or controls over 50% of the voting shares. Corporate boards are elected by stockholders for oversight over CEO's and management.
The company I work for ("We Know Money") has, literally, a trillion dollars in assets, regularly earns quarterly profits in the billions and employs well over 100,000 people worldwide. Since it's a financial giant, I'm sure there are more than a few lobbyists courting legislators, but I've never felt that my employer was only looking out for the senior executives and let the public be damned. Billions are spent annually in philanthropic endeavors including numerous foundations geared toward assisting poverty stricken areas both here and abroad, AIDS research and environmental issues, to name a few. Just this week they donated $250,000 to the Junior Achievement program in Delaware, just because they were asked to. Lets not paint "Big Business" with such a broad brush. Just like politicians, they are not all crooks.
Good one...point well made. GD liberals are going to ruin this country, and BTW they're doing a good job of it. Like Rush, have'nt listened to him in a while though, May start again. Thanks:thumb::usaflagwa
