Point of order: The US govt doesn’t “think”.

Cheers

Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, NY (BRAC 93; closed Sep 95) – More than 1,175 new jobs have been created at the former Griffiss Air Force Base since 1995 — an employment base that is both diverse and expanding. A Defense Finance and Accounting Service center has 393 employees. Orion Bus Industries leases space to modify buses to comply with environmental emissions regulations. Orion and the General Electric Capital Test Equipment Management Service Company together employ 122 people. Baker Electromotive, a manufacturer of electric and alternative fuel vehicles, will soon lease 50,000 square feet of space and create 100 new jobs. Located in Oneida County, the base is home to the renowned Rome Laboratories and the New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation, which finances and invests in technology transfer within the region. The county has acquired half of the site, approximately 1,500 acres, via an Economic Development Conveyance and plans to consolidate and expand its airport operations at the former air facility. Griffiss will play host to Woodstock 1999, a music extravaganza expected to bring more than 250,000 visitors to upstate New York in July.

They who ?

Tell that to my neighbors up the road in Rome, NY, once the home of Griffiss Air force Base. They would laugh you out of the state.

The reasons many large corporations leave the U.S. is to escape the regulatory burdens of doing business here. And yes, the courst system is just as screwed up as the rest of this government when it allows these things to drag on for decades..

Seriously you think that the corporations have our best interests in mind? Seriously? By law they only have one thing in mind and that is to make money for themselves and their shareholders.

And you are talking about fair treatment for all concerned? ROTFLMAO. How can it be fair for people vs corporations when a person can maybe spend a thousands on lawyers, while corporations can spend millions, and fight people in courts for decades.

In general I have no problem with corporations making an honest buck, but as they grow larger and larger the “honest” part seems to fade away.

As far as looking around and seeing all the things that come from corporations? Those things are completely meaningless if we, can no longer breath the air, drink the water, or have a functioning ecosystem. Humans have existed for several hundred thousand years with out corporations. I will guarantee we will not survive that same amount of time with them.

Also to all here, please provide some proof that BP was “shaken down” by the government. The only “proof” I’ve seen is in the form of a comment made by a Texas Representative that has received almost $1.5 million dollars from the oil and gas industry. As far as I can see Mr. Barton is just looking out for his true constituents, and those constituents aint the good folks of Texas.

If only such were the case in terms of countries (e.g., China) that institutionalize such human and envirinmental destruction, apparently without regard.

My hope is that BP learns – changes its ways – and thrives – so that those who have been damaged reap their just compensation.

Your post said corporations are “nothing more than entities created by man to serve man’s needs” and I agree; however, you seem to think there is something magical about them where no humans are actually involved or at the helm… mere bogeymen entities on the prowl to suck up innocent human prey. Businesses, even corporations, function only by the efforts of the people that guide them, work for them, reap their products, etc.

Another of my points was that society has evolved to create a market system in which very few people are self-sufficient, i.e., corporations have become essentially responsible for providing almost every material thing we use in life, not to mention many of the services we obtain. Which of the corporations that provide you with stuff would you do away with? How do you choose which ones to patronize and which ones not to? It’s not even possible to paint them with the broad “corporate” brush.

Another point of contention to be understood is the fact that corporations “serve the public good” only by providing goods and services (philanthropy aside), not by being some sort of “societal clearinghouse” operating in the general public interest. (That would be govt, if we’re lucky.) The distinction between private and public corporations really only relates to the person or persons who obtain the profits from such business endeavors, and it is clear that any corporation bereft of, or denied, profits must cease to exist. Only where govt steps in, such as in the case of GM, can such a corporation (or any business model) continue to function, but as in the case of GM, all the stockholders (individuals, pension plans, etc.) who have invested in expectation of profitable returns get stiffed, when the bankruptcy is forced on it, and in the GM case the govt set it up so that taxpayers take the hit on the so-called bailout. We all got screwed. Was it any more fair for those GM stockholders to have their shares made worthless by govt fiat instead of by GM? The problem with your approach is that there are no moral scruples to the system when “society” – even using its govt mechanism – gets to pick the winners and losers, or even decide which types of business entities the people need to have serve them.

As I said in my first post above, no one – especially I – said anything about escaping responsibility. What I have said is that just because you have some problem – even attributable to corporate malfeasance – there can be no room for mob rule as a replacement for the law. The pledge of allegiance says it best… “with liberty and justice for ALL.”

In your hypothetical, not paying for services rendered is against the law, fair treatment I believe you like to call it.

If however, while providing that service (or goods) that you desire, I happen to have a leak in one of my large storage vats and happen to paint the local community green, then I should most surely be liable for those damages.

If later on, that green goo that I leaked from my vats begins to kill people, and render the environment destroyed and unuseable, then maybe it would be necessary for the government to step in and represent the peoples interests. This is especially true if I’m operating my business in a country not of my own and there is the potential for me to try and “skip” out with less immediate remedy than I should otherwise provide.

I personally don’t see the “political grandstanding” in expecting a business to be accountable for the results of its actions or to the immediate society that it is a part of.