A corporation does not exist to better the world or destroy the world. It exists to maximize profits for shareholders. It is irrelevant who runs the companies - if they suck at making profits, they are booted.
They are indeed run by fallible people - but that does not change the fact that profits for shareholders are what they work for. If it happens to make the world a better place, well great. However, history documents well the excesses of corporate entities and how the single-minded purpose of profit for the sake of profit has been significantly more detrimental to our world.
The bottom line is that the bottom line is the most important part of a company with shareholders. Only some cursory research and reading will bring you up to speed. I have no idea what a 'B' Corporation is. I'm assuming it's an American corporation with a specific set of rights and responsibilities. In rhetorically asking that, you basically reinforce the idea that there are specific obligations held by various flavours of corporate entities. For-profit companies exist for, wait for it, profits! This does not make them evil, but it does give them an out when it comes to being a good citizen of the world.
They "care" about profits because they are legally bound to try and make profits. And yes, if a corporation was a real person, sociopathic would be a perfect way to describe them.
You state that the mantra of maximizing profits for shareholders is a useful misconception. Then you state they have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize profits.
Contradicting yourself renders your comments to be invalid.
Mike,
When you said "...Keeping competing products from entering the market seems like the opposite of how you encourage innovation." you were joking, right? You of all people know that corporations are legally bound to maximize profits for shareholders. If this is what is required to do that, then it must happen.
The only way to start to fix this world is to legally re-define the role and responsibilities of a corporate entity.
Gov't regulators everywhere are directed by corporations which results in the rights of the Individual being trumped. When regular people protest, a la "Occupy Movement", those individuals are mocked by not only the mainstream media, but by ordinary citizens.
Here in the west, we have forgotten what it means to stand up for ourselves, and when we do, we are mocked for it. Signing online petitions is one thing, but it doesn't take courage to do, nor does it give you any sense of what is potentially lost.
This will continue for decades, I'm sure. The lure of campaign contributions will always dominate the actions of lawmakers.
I'm not a proponent of anarchy and chaos, but I do assert that until we gather in public and in real numbers, our blog posts and digital petitions will only have so much impact since we are essentially preaching to the converted.
We are allowing our rights to be taken from us day by day. The government, the police, you name it, have over-reaching power that should never have been authorized. We piss and moan about it, but that's about it.
Think about it - the day has come when you can be standing on your own property or on public property and the police can arrest you for the simple act of taking a photograph. Someone, anyone - tell me - am I wrong in this? I sure hope I am.
Big telecom et al., are running the Canadian government. Where in the hell has common sense gone? Well, it goes when politicians have obligations to corporations rather that their constituents.
And what do Canadians do about it? Massive rallies like in Europe? No. Phoning/writing to their Member of Parliament to ask them WTF is going on? No.
We Canadians whine and bitch about just about everything, but do nothing about it except, well, bitch and whine.
Bend over Canadians, you're getting exactly what you fcuking deserve! Damn it I just shake my head and wonder how we came to a place where government works for corporations and not constituents. Unbelievable. Our government is trying to send us back to the early 20th Century. And that's not a Good Thing™.
I read lots of comments that bitch and moan about all the crap handed to you by the TSA and your government, but that's it. It's not going to change until people start to actually do something about it.
We can all jump on the TSA and vilify them (rightly so IMO) but that's not going to make any changes. People have to do something, so get off the comment threads and start writing letters to your elected representatives. If that doesn't work, then you will have to organize rallies to demonstrate your collective disgust over what the TSA does. And you have to keep the protests real and under control. As soon as windows start breaking and the riot police show up, you've lost all credibility.
If only Alanis had this story in her head when she wrote her song.
I'm sure WB is so big that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and WB's legal department comes up with the crap they do to ensure their long-term survival.
If only the petards were some of the ignorant politicians and media writers whose lip service supports the big entertainment cause, we would be getting somewhere.
Losses can't be quantified in dollars personally. For me, losses are all about missed opportunities - to enjoy an event with my spouse or kids, or to read something or listen to something in the fashion that suits me best at a particular place and time.
I have a lot more disposable income now, b/c I don't buy anything...nor do I pirate it anymore either. Can't be bothered, so I'm saving money and making plans to travel.
To hell with the companies and ignorant politicians.
Just like JimShahsha said, it's all about control. Shaw, Rogers, Telus, Bell...they want to own everything: internet access, phone/data, cable, satellite et cetera.
We are gouged and gouged and gouged and we have yet to elect a government with any balls to stand up to these companies and enforce real competition. But, as we Canadians are apt to do, we bitch a lot about it, but we still buy the services. We don't have any real choices.
Dear TD - you forgot a button to go with the comments; my suggestion: "Batshit Stupid". Or how about "Lobotomized" or even "Dumbest Fucking Thing I Have Ever Read"?
Up here in Canuckistan, we finally have access to Netflix via the Wii and PS3. Today Netflix tells me that I can now use my Xbox so I'm in Netflix heaven...
Until I see that I have to buy a Gold Membership on Xbox Live in order to access Netflix. It's free to get Netflix on the PS3 and Wii, so it's pretty obvious I won't be using my Xbox, which, incidentally, was always my first choice.
Everybody wants their kilo of flesh from the consumer, don't they?
"COPYRIGHT 2010 - NORTH COUNTRY GAZETTE All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of the publisher." - so before I click on the three links that they provide to add the post to Delicious, Meneame and Digg, I have to get their express written permission?
I SO CONFOOSED!
By the way, I've been 'reading' as many articles I can before boredom hits OH WAIT...boredom has arrived. :)
What about a spot for CBers to put up or shut up once in a while? Specifically, someone might have the brass monkeys to actually write up something TechDirtish. Let them publish and have the rest of the CBers have a go at them. Let them demo their writing chops and also have a chance to feel the wrath of TAM in the process.
One step further, allowing CBers a chance to write on topics pertaining to this site and have them published as a regular article.
By the time all of these traditional media companies "figure it out" the real world will have left them behind. For the first time in my life, I revel at the idea at something going extinct. Let's start with the music industry and then the movie industry...newspapers and magazines shouldn't be too far behind.
Lego bricks are a premium toy, and as such are very expensive. Maybe if they quit the fcuking litigating their prices could drop a bit. (This is the sound of me holding my breath.) But what lawyer is going to talk her boss into NOT litigating? It's called job security, right?
Lego NEEDS the competition to evolve, so they should just focus on the people that do buy their kits and not worry what anyone else does. You only have to use those cheap knock-off versions of Lego bricks to realize that Lego has the superior product. Besides, Lego builders all over the world have more ideas than all of the engineers at Lego. Connect with them and you'll do just fine.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Don't shoot the messenger
They are indeed run by fallible people - but that does not change the fact that profits for shareholders are what they work for. If it happens to make the world a better place, well great. However, history documents well the excesses of corporate entities and how the single-minded purpose of profit for the sake of profit has been significantly more detrimental to our world.
The bottom line is that the bottom line is the most important part of a company with shareholders. Only some cursory research and reading will bring you up to speed. I have no idea what a 'B' Corporation is. I'm assuming it's an American corporation with a specific set of rights and responsibilities. In rhetorically asking that, you basically reinforce the idea that there are specific obligations held by various flavours of corporate entities. For-profit companies exist for, wait for it, profits! This does not make them evil, but it does give them an out when it comes to being a good citizen of the world.
Re: Re: Re: Don't shoot the messenger
Re:
Re: Re: Don't shoot the messenger
Contradicting yourself renders your comments to be invalid.
Competition and innovation
When you said "...Keeping competing products from entering the market seems like the opposite of how you encourage innovation." you were joking, right? You of all people know that corporations are legally bound to maximize profits for shareholders. If this is what is required to do that, then it must happen.
The only way to start to fix this world is to legally re-define the role and responsibilities of a corporate entity.
Good luck with that one, right?
Corporatocracy
Here in the west, we have forgotten what it means to stand up for ourselves, and when we do, we are mocked for it. Signing online petitions is one thing, but it doesn't take courage to do, nor does it give you any sense of what is potentially lost.
This will continue for decades, I'm sure. The lure of campaign contributions will always dominate the actions of lawmakers.
I'm not a proponent of anarchy and chaos, but I do assert that until we gather in public and in real numbers, our blog posts and digital petitions will only have so much impact since we are essentially preaching to the converted.
We are allowing our rights to be taken from us day by day. The government, the police, you name it, have over-reaching power that should never have been authorized. We piss and moan about it, but that's about it.
Think about it - the day has come when you can be standing on your own property or on public property and the police can arrest you for the simple act of taking a photograph. Someone, anyone - tell me - am I wrong in this? I sure hope I am.
Lobbyists are running the Cdn government
And what do Canadians do about it? Massive rallies like in Europe? No. Phoning/writing to their Member of Parliament to ask them WTF is going on? No.
We Canadians whine and bitch about just about everything, but do nothing about it except, well, bitch and whine.
Bend over Canadians, you're getting exactly what you fcuking deserve! Damn it I just shake my head and wonder how we came to a place where government works for corporations and not constituents. Unbelievable. Our government is trying to send us back to the early 20th Century. And that's not a Good Thing™.
Somebody bitch-slap us and wake us up...PLEASE!
Talk is cheap
We can all jump on the TSA and vilify them (rightly so IMO) but that's not going to make any changes. People have to do something, so get off the comment threads and start writing letters to your elected representatives. If that doesn't work, then you will have to organize rallies to demonstrate your collective disgust over what the TSA does. And you have to keep the protests real and under control. As soon as windows start breaking and the riot police show up, you've lost all credibility.
Bottom line is put up or shut up.
Isn't it ironic, don't you think?
I'm sure WB is so big that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and WB's legal department comes up with the crap they do to ensure their long-term survival.
If only the petards were some of the ignorant politicians and media writers whose lip service supports the big entertainment cause, we would be getting somewhere.
Does not compute
I have a lot more disposable income now, b/c I don't buy anything...nor do I pirate it anymore either. Can't be bothered, so I'm saving money and making plans to travel.
To hell with the companies and ignorant politicians.
The irony
S-H-A-W spells MONOPOLY
We are gouged and gouged and gouged and we have yet to elect a government with any balls to stand up to these companies and enforce real competition. But, as we Canadians are apt to do, we bitch a lot about it, but we still buy the services. We don't have any real choices.
Insightful - Funny - Report
Just sayin'.
Fcuking Microsoft Greed
Until I see that I have to buy a Gold Membership on Xbox Live in order to access Netflix. It's free to get Netflix on the PS3 and Wii, so it's pretty obvious I won't be using my Xbox, which, incidentally, was always my first choice.
Everybody wants their kilo of flesh from the consumer, don't they?
They claim full copyright but...
I SO CONFOOSED!
By the way, I've been 'reading' as many articles I can before boredom hits OH WAIT...boredom has arrived. :)
Crystal-ballers-only
One step further, allowing CBers a chance to write on topics pertaining to this site and have them published as a regular article.
Just tossin' out some ideas!
Re:
The Neanderthals of the Digital Age
Internet is shut down and the Neo-neolithic Age begins
Lego litigation and product pricing
Lego NEEDS the competition to evolve, so they should just focus on the people that do buy their kits and not worry what anyone else does. You only have to use those cheap knock-off versions of Lego bricks to realize that Lego has the superior product. Besides, Lego builders all over the world have more ideas than all of the engineers at Lego. Connect with them and you'll do just fine.
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