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Corporations Have No Rights

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General interest discussions, not necessarily related to depletion.

Do Corporations really have the right to exist?

Yes
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No
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Total votes : 21

Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Grifter » Wed 10 Oct 2007, 17:47:37

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
')What rights do corporations have that infringe on yours?


They have the right to lobby my parliament the same as me. They are not sentient beings like me with a moral code arrived at through individual thought.

They can afford to pay people to lobby parliament as a job. I cannot. That infringes my right to a say in what gets changed in my society.

They can make bad decisions but only have limited liability for those decisions. I do not.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby dex » Wed 10 Oct 2007, 18:52:40

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', 'W')hat rights do corporations have that you do not?
What rights do corporations have that infringe on yours?


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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Plantagenet » Wed 10 Oct 2007, 22:42:14

Some corporations are giant multi-national firms. Some are actually owned by governments, like the Russian and Chinese state-controlled firms.

In the US, we also have many small businesses and many many small family farms that are also incorporated, some as family "S" corporations.

You don't think families and dentists and realtors and lawyers and family farms and small businesses and sales clubs and small stores set up by small groups of people should be able to form businesses and corporations? Why not? 8)
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Plantagenet » Wed 10 Oct 2007, 22:47:13

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TBroedsgaard', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'W')e hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

--U.S. Declaration of Independence


And what if these rights are violated? I suppose our Creator will take action? Or did He just pass out rights and then end up not caring?

Ah, I don't know. But in the world where I live, a person's rights depend on the circumstances.


You clearly don't know what the word "unalienable" means. I defined it for you above, as I suspected that you wouldn't understand it, but you must have missed it. Learn what the word "unalienable" means and then perhaps you will be able to understand the meaning of this famous passage from the Declaration of Independence. 8)
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby 128shot » Wed 10 Oct 2007, 23:30:34

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Grifter', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
')What rights do corporations have that infringe on yours?


They have the right to lobby my parliament the same as me. They are not sentient beings like me with a moral code arrived at through individual thought.

They can afford to pay people to lobby parliament as a job. I cannot. That infringes my right to a say in what gets changed in my society.

They can make bad decisions but only have limited liability for those decisions. I do not.


Heh, perhaps.

Then again, is that true? up until a few years ago you could declare bankruptcy with limited liabilities left on your name. Can corporations kill a man and get away with it? No. Can you? Yes, actually. Assuming we're talking about the western world, anyway.

Should business interests not have a voice in government? Should you blame them for the common apathetic approach people take toward politics?

People complain about being "exploited" or "screwed" without recognizing they're part of the problem.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Specop_007 » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 10:33:44

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Grifter', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
')What rights do corporations have that infringe on yours?


They have the right to lobby my parliament the same as me. They are not sentient beings like me with a moral code arrived at through individual thought.

They can afford to pay people to lobby parliament as a job. I cannot. That infringes my right to a say in what gets changed in my society.

They can make bad decisions but only have limited liability for those decisions. I do not.


I suppose I should have prefaced my statement with a "based on your location".
Lobbying the government is NOT a "Right" as defined by our stated rights in America. Hell, a guy in Africa can write my politican if he wants. Additionally, any politican can choose not to recieve ANY communications from ANYONE. Lobbying government isnt a "Right", but rather a freedom.
Additionally, corporations cannot vote. You can. If anything you have more say what goes on in the government then the corporation.

The problem in your example (One which I agree with you one) is that the corporations can spend millions to influence the policies established by the politicians.

However, these are politicians YOU (and everyone else) vote into office. Dont want your local corporation influencing politicians? Vote in politicians who dont accept corporate bribes!

Your blaming the corporations for something that at its core is a failure of our politicians, not our political system.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Specop_007 » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 10:34:31

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dex', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', 'W')hat rights do corporations have that you do not?
What rights do corporations have that infringe on yours?


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Addressed by 128 above.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby jboogy » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 14:01:04

When the former CEO of an oil services corp . can become vice-president and instigate a major war over false pretenses which will cost me and my descendants thousands of dollars in taxes plus expose me and mine to potentially violent repercussions in response to this war of choice , I’d say that infringes on my right to life and pursuit of happiness . When this same corp. receives a billion dollars in federal contracts , tax money that could go towards providing my children better books , better healthcare , better police and fire protection , a better opportunity at higher education , I’d say that corp. is infringing on my children’s rights .
Did union carbide infringe on the people of Bhopals rights to life ?
Did Exxon infringe on the fisherman’s rights when they let a captain with drinking problems offload a couple million gallons of crude at the wrong port ?
When corporations can hire former politicians ( lobbyists ) to wine and dine current politicians to get favorable legislation at the expense of the common good that infringes on everyone’s rights . It may be currently legal but that doesn’t mean it’s right . Individuals don’t have the time or resources to compete with a corp. for influence . Your right Specop in that it’s as much voter apathy as anything that’s responsible for this but TPTB have gradually been tilting the playing field in their favor for years and years . They over reached though and now their greed is coming back to bite them .Our system is broken and more and more Americans everyday are starting to wake up to that fact and they are starting to get involved . Examples are everywhere , despite a massive , concerted media effort to tow the administration line and manufacture consent 70% of the country is against the Iraqi disaster , ( who you gonna believe ? Bushes rosy bullshit and the MSM’s sanitized “news” , or 4000 dead soldiers and a country in chaos ) , in spite of the MSM’s constant regurgitation of how great and strong the economy is , people know they’re working harder and have less to show for it than ever before , negative savings rate , foreclosure’s up , bankruptcies up , widest gap between rich and poor since the depression , people saw this and swapped demo’s for repubs . Too bad they haven’t evolved to the point of realizing they’re practically one and the same , but they’re waking up to that too ,gradually .Our system is broken and the corporations ,and unfettered , unregulated capitalism is responsible . For the record I think capitalism is the best form of government , history has bore this out . However ,a melding of corporation and government inevitably leads to fascism , history has also proven this . There must be a solid wall of separation between the corporation and our elected representatives . When an attorney gets elected , works to get favorable legislation passed for a corp. because a former rep. buys him beers and puts 2 grand in his re-election kitty , then loses an election or retires and goes to work for either a corp. he helped or goes to work on K-street for his drinking buddy , something is seriously wrong with the system .This economy and country are headed for a fall , PO assures this , there is mounting evidence that we would collapse even without PO , and possibly quite soon . The backbone of the country has been hollowed out , the middle class is disappearing under a crushing burden of debt ,ignorance and fatigue . The bread and circuses have turned into smoke and mirrors and more and more can see the man behind the curtain . You Plantain and Specop are nothing more than classic toadies . You are or believe you will be among the moneyed elite some day . If you’re already there then your arguments are nothing more than a transparent attempt to maintain your wealth , position and the status quo , if your not there yet you’re simply delusional , it has become increasingly difficult to BECOME wealthy in this country and neither of you seems to have the required qualities to amass wealth through your own efforts .
Perhaps the population would be less swayed to socialism if we had fewer examples of socialism from our "Free Market Capitalists". -----fiddler dave
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby TBroedsgaard » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 14:46:54

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TBroedsgaard', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'W')e hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

--U.S. Declaration of Independence


And what if these rights are violated? I suppose our Creator will take action? Or did He just pass out rights and then end up not caring?

Ah, I don't know. But in the world where I live, a person's rights depend on the circumstances.


You clearly don't know what the word "unalienable" means. I defined it for you above, as I suspected that you wouldn't understand it, but you must have missed it. Learn what the word "unalienable" means and then perhaps you will be able to understand the meaning of this famous passage from the Declaration of Independence. 8)


"that cannot be taken away" according to my Oxford dictionary (actually that's inalienable as there was no entry for unalienable, but according to Wikipedia it should be the same).

So let's take an example: I read the article called "Everything I Want to Do is Illegal" some time ago, and it seems to be that he is unable to excercise his inalienable rights. A quote:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') want to dress my beef and pork on the farm where I’ve coddled and raised it. But zoning laws prohibit slaughterhouses on agricultural land.


Another example - Iraqi refugees have been (and are) contained in refugee camps for 5 years on average here in Denmark. Their pledges for asylum have been turned down. Several studies show that this is having a very negative effect on the mental health of the refugees - especially the children. The government will not grant temporary asylum however, and is dead-set on sending them back to Iraq.

Are their rights not being infringed? No-one is going to step up for them - at least not enough to effect the situation. In situations like these, factual power mean more than the precious inalianble rights.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Specop_007 » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 15:01:50

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jboogy', 'W')hen the former CEO of an oil services corp . can become vice-president and instigate a major war over false pretenses which will cost me and my descendants thousands of dollars in taxes plus expose me and mine to potentially violent repercussions in response to this war of choice , I’d say that infringes on my right to life and pursuit of happiness . When this same corp. receives a billion dollars in federal contracts , tax money that could go towards providing my children better books , better healthcare , better police and fire protection , a better opportunity at higher education , I’d say that corp. is infringing on my children’s rights .


Well, paying taxes to support shit bags who squeeze out kids infringes on my right to pursuit of happiness.....So thats relative.

As for better books, bettter healthcare, etc etc none of those are rights.

Your letting your moral compass cloud your judgements of rights. Education and healthcare are not rights.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Plantagenet » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 15:03:17

You are the little toadie, boog. Nontheless, lets see if we can agree on a very simple point.

Of course governments and corporations and even individuals can infringe on the rights of other people.

For instance, more than 100 million people were killed by leftist totalitarians using their control of state power to murder their own citizens within their own countries in the 20th century in their failed efforts to build "socialism." Do you agree that the victims' rights were seriously infringed upon when they were murdered?
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Grifter » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 17:33:29

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('128shot', '
')Heh, perhaps.

Then again, is that true? up until a few years ago you could declare bankruptcy with limited liabilities left on your name. Can corporations kill a man and get away with it? No. Can you? Yes, actually. Assuming we're talking about the western world, anyway.


Could you elaborate on that? Not sure what you mean. A corporation cannot kill a man on purpose and get away with it and neither can I, but they can kill a man accidentally and no particular person pays the price. That most probably wouldn't happen if it were me who had caused the incident.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('128shot', '
')Should business interests not have a voice in government? Should you blame them for the common apathetic approach people take toward politics?


I don't blame them. How can I place blame on an entity that is incapable of moral judgement?

However, business interests shouldn't need such massive involvement. If the government make conditions less favourable to business then business will leave, if it is favourable then business will stay and perhaps thrive.

I question the motivation for making such an investment for these centres of power we call corporations. I think it would be better if they did not have the voice ordinary people have.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('128shot', '
')People complain about being "exploited" or "screwed" without recognizing they're part of the problem.


It is peoples fault. I agree.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Plantagenet » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 19:56:40

[/quote=]
A corporation cannot kill a man on purpose and get away with it and neither can I, but they can kill a man accidentally and no particular person pays the price. That most probably wouldn't happen if it were me who had caused the incident.[/quote]

Thats not true.

Accidental death is ruled as the cause of death in accidents involving individual all the time, Grifter. Its by far the most common finding. For instance, there are tens of thousands of accidental deaths in car accidents EACH YEAR, and virtually all of them are ruled the result of accident....murder or manslaughter chargers are only brought when there was negligence (speeding, drunken driving etc.) that directly cuased the fatality and then only in very extreme cases. :!:
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby 128shot » Thu 11 Oct 2007, 20:18:56

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '[')/quote=]
A corporation cannot kill a man on purpose and get away with it and neither can I, but they can kill a man accidentally and no particular person pays the price. That most probably wouldn't happen if it were me who had caused the incident.


Thats not true.

Accidental death is ruled as the cause of death in accidents involving individual all the time, Grifter. Its by far the most common finding. For instance, there are tens of thousands of accidental deaths in car accidents EACH YEAR, and virtually all of them are ruled the result of accident....murder or manslaughter chargers are only brought when there was negligence (speeding, drunken driving etc.) that directly cuased the fatality and then only in very extreme cases. :!:[/quote]

Accidental death happens. Thats frankly not what I'm talking about.

I'm only illustrating the freedoms you have vs the freedoms a corporation has. When you compare the two on any level, the corporation isn't given the same legal identity as a human.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Plantagenet » Fri 12 Oct 2007, 02:23:08

Traffic accidents in LA caused by extreme street racing

"shooting the gap"

In a video game you can just push the reset button.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby jboogy » Fri 12 Oct 2007, 02:46:13

I have no respect for people who race in traffic or even streets with a lot of houses on them . We had a saying when I was young , if you died alone when racing you were a hero , if you took someone with you, you were an asshole. We almost always raced late at night on Bergey rd. , nothing but manufacturing and no traffic . I admit though that occassionally something impromptu would happen at the wrong time on the wrong road, I'm thankfull that no one ever got hurt .Funny how you don't think of the possible consequences of your actions when your young.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Specop_007 » Fri 12 Oct 2007, 08:16:43

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '
')Thats not true.

Accidental death is ruled as the cause of death in accidents involving individual all the time, Grifter. Its by far the most common finding. For instance, there are tens of thousands of accidental deaths in car accidents EACH YEAR, and virtually all of them are ruled the result of accident....murder or manslaughter chargers are only brought when there was negligence (speeding, drunken driving etc.) that directly cuased the fatality and then only in very extreme cases. :!:


Wait, your saying accidental death is really the fault of the corporations?!
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Grifter » Fri 12 Oct 2007, 09:25:37

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
')
Wait, your saying accidental death is really the fault of the corporations?!


No I think he's saying that corporations are more likely to be found guilty of manslaughter than individuals, which I agree with.

However, when a corporation is guilty of manslaughter, even if it is largely the fault of bad managers/executives then there is rarely an individual who is held accountable.

In the case of individuals there is always someone to blame and face the law.

I'm not saying this is necessarily wrong btw, just a point that execs have protection where individuals don't. I still think corporations should have restricted access to the political process. Any politician that suggests this will not be voted in becuase he will face accusations in the press of meddling with "freedom" or free speech/press.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Specop_007 » Fri 12 Oct 2007, 09:38:30

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Grifter', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
')
Wait, your saying accidental death is really the fault of the corporations?!


No I think he's saying that corporations are more likely to be found guilty of manslaughter than individuals, which I agree with.

However, when a corporation is guilty of manslaughter, even if it is largely the fault of bad managers/executives then there is rarely an individual who is held accountable.

In the case of individuals there is always someone to blame and face the law.

I'm not saying this is necessarily wrong btw, just a point that execs have protection where individuals don't. I still think corporations should have restricted access to the political process. Any politician that suggests this will not be voted in becuase he will face accusations in the press of meddling with "freedom" or free speech/press.


Hmmm. Well call me ignorant, because I cant think of the last time a corporation was found guilty of manslaughter.
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Re: Corporations Have No Rights

Unread postby Grifter » Fri 12 Oct 2007, 10:07:16

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
')
Hmmm. Well call me ignorant, because I cant think of the last time a corporation was found guilty of manslaughter.


I can't remember the outcome but I believe a company got charged with corporate manslaughter over here due to poor maintenance of the rail tracks at Potters Bar, leading to a disaster where loads of people died.

Like I said I can't remember the outcome but there was deffinately a charge.
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