Thread: What do you think will happen when...

Maybe it's off topic, but what exactly is excessive corporate greed?

Originally Posted by honedright

Maybe it's off topic, but what exactly is excessive corporate greed?

That's a good question. I think there are two perspectives one can view commerce from.

There's the camp: "If laws are inadequate or the law allows for "unethical" behavior, piracy, suppression, collusion, etc, it's no fault of the oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc to behave in ways that most would view as unethical. If it isn't illegal, it isn't wrong.

Then there's the camp that believes that "ethical business practices" have an inherent factor which fosters healthy balanced commerce and "unethical" practices create an atmosphere which is detrimental to commerce and ultimately set the stage for the failure of capitalism.

You've heard the term "robber baron"? Fascinating stuff if you read about J.P. Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller, etc. I'm in the camp that believes that individuals such as they could not have amassed such staggeringly disproportionate wealth for their time without employing tactics that were, well, wrong.

Others view "robber baron" as an inaccurate term arguing that, again, the laws at the time either allowed or were changed or written to allow for their businesses to act in all the manners they saw fit so, what's the harm?

Chris L

Originally Posted by ChrisL

That's a good question. I think there are two perspectives one can view commerce from.

There's the camp: "If laws are inadequate or the law allows for "unethical" behavior, piracy, suppression, collusion, etc, it's no fault of the oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc to behave in ways that most would view as unethical. If it isn't illegal, it isn't wrong.

Then there's the camp that believes that "ethical business practices" have an inherent factor which fosters healthy balanced commerce and "unethical" practices create an atmosphere which is detrimental to commerce and ultimately set the stage for the failure of capitalism.

You've heard the term "robber baron"? Fascinating stuff if you read about J.P. Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller, etc. I'm in the camp that believes that individuals such as they could not have amassed such staggeringly disproportionate wealth for their time without employing tactics that were, well, wrong.

Others view "robber baron" as an inaccurate term arguing that, again, the laws at the time either allowed or were changed or written to allow for their businesses to act in all the manners they saw fit so, what's the harm?

Chris L

What comes to mind is "buyer beware." Why not let the well informed public pocketbook deal with unethical private business rather than government? When government gets involved, even ethical businesses are affected.

Originally Posted by honedright

Maybe it's off topic, but what exactly is excessive corporate greed?

I looked this up, and it said "see Oil Companies."

Originally Posted by avatar1999

I looked this up, and it said "see Oil Companies."

The definition has recently been amended to include U.S. Banks, specifically those that received TARP bail out money.

What I want to know is how will they enforce the mandatory insurance? If I'm in great health and don't need it and don't buy it and if I do rarely have to go to a doctor and when I do I just write a check how will they find me? Will M.Ds and Hospitals have to report people?

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

What I want to know is how will they enforce the mandatory insurance? If I'm in great health and don't need it and don't buy it and if I do rarely have to go to a doctor and when I do I just write a check how will they find me? Will M.Ds and Hospitals have to report people?

We have this nonsense in MA already.You have to report your insurance plan in tax return. They match that info against reports from ins. companies.