NewsTrust - Corporate Governance - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Independent)

How Crazy Is Wall Street, New York Times?

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Daily Beast - By Edward Jay Epstein - May. 20 (Opinion) - The New York Times published an opinion piece on May 12, 2012, concerning the question of whether the rich, from a moral standpoint, are good or bad. The story reported, “A recent study found that 10 percent of people who work on Wall Street are ‘clinical psychopaths’ and that they exhibit an ‘unparalleled capacity for lying, fabrication, and manipulation.’ ” The vivid term “clinical psychopath” brings to mind the berserk buzz-saw-wielding investment banker played by Christian Bale in the film American Psycho. Since some 3.9 million people work in the financial-services industry, a clinically diagnosed horde of lunatics numbering almost 400,000 people would certainly be a matter of public concern, though it might only confirm some journalists’ view of American capitalism.

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Jamie Dimon Should Resign Over JPMorgan's $3B Lost Bet and Campaign Against Financial Regs

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Paul Krugman: Amy Goodman - May. 17 (Interview) - As the financial giant JPMorgan Chase continues to suffer major losses on its risky derivatives trades, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says bank chief Jamie Dimon should resign “precisely because he has been using his supposed wisdom as a way to campaign against reform and now it turns out he wasn't that wise after all. In fact, his bank was doing seriously bad stuff." Krugman says, "I think it would be better for everybody if he went." The Justice Department is now probing JPMorgan amid new calls for tougher regulation of Wall Street. "They are making these bets with your money because these are banks that are guaranteed. They have guaranteed deposits," Krugman says. "We are supposed to have a rule going into effect -- the Volcker Rule -- that says they can't do this kind of stuff, but they are continuing to do it. ... We can not trust the bankers to use this money safely." [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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3 Corporate Myths that Threaten the Wealth of the Nation

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By William Lazonick, Ken Jacobson, Lynn Parramore - Apr. 06 (Opinion) - We need to confront some powerful myths of corporate governance as part of a movement to make corporations work for the 99%. To start, we have to recognize these corporations for what they are not. • They are not “private enterprise.” • They should not be run to “maximize shareholder value.” • The mega-millions in remuneration paid to top corporate executives are not determined by the “market forces” of supply and demand.

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"Worker-Owners of America, Unite": Will Cooperative Workplaces Democratize U.S. Economy?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Dec. 15 (Interview) - As the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to protest record levels of wealth and income inequality, we turn to an author who says the U.S. economy might be becoming more democratic. Gar Alperovitz argues in an op-ed in today’s New York Times that we may be in the midst of a profound transition toward an economy characterized by more democratic structures of ownership. Alperovitz finds that 130 million Americans are members of some kind of cooperative, and 13 million Americans work in an employee-owned company. He says the United States may be heading toward something very different from both corporate-dominated capitalism and from traditional socialism. "I think we’re seeing a change in attitude, both increasing doubts about what’s now going on in the economy, deep doubts, very deep doubts—thanks to Occupation, it’s crystallized—but this other trend of saying, 'What do you want? Where are we going?' in some ways to democratize the economy in a very American way,"

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Occupy Honolulu: Hawaiian Musician Makana Performs Protest Song to World Leaders at APEC Summit

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Nov. 14 (Interview) - within the heavily guarded compound where the summit took place, renowned Hawaiian musician and guitarist Makana carried out his own act of protest. Makana had been invited to play instrumental music at the gala dinner Saturday night. At the dinner, Makana opened his jacket to reveal a t-shirt which read, "Occupy with Aloha." Then, instead of performing the background instrumental he was scheduled to play, he started to sing a protest song he had released earlier that day.

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“Deadly Monopolies”: Medical Ethicist Harriet Washington on How Firms Are Taking Over Life Itself

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Harriet Washington - Oct. 31 (Interview) - One of the major themes raised by the Occupy movement is the increasing power of large corporations over more and more aspects of our lives. We spend the hour looking into the issue of the corporate control of life itself. Our guest, Harriet Washington, is a medical ethicist and has just published a book that examines the extent to which what she calls the medical-industrial complex has come to control human life. In the past 30 years, more than 40,000 patents have been granted on genes alone — many more patents are pending. Washington argues that the biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies patenting these genes are more concerned with profit than with the health or medical needs of patients. Her new book is called, “Deadly Monopolies: The Shocking Corporate Takeover of Life Itself — And the Consequences for Your Health and Our Medical Future." [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Republic, Lost (my favorite version)

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

YouTube - By Lawrence Lessig - Oct. 26 (Opinion) - In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government—driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission—trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature.

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Is protest in America at a turning point?

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Nieman Journalism Lab - By John Hanrahan - Oct. 05 (Opinion) - Tea Party aside, activism slowed almost to a halt after Democrats took the House and Senate and Obama was elected. Now antiwar, anti-corporate, anti-big bank protests have started up in Washington and on Wall Street, and they are spreading elsewhere. Two main questions: Will they grow to be a serious force in America, and how long will the mainstream media give them the silent treatment?

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Three Things That Must Happen for Us to Rise Up and Defeat the Corporatocracy

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

truth-out.org - By Bruce E. Levine - Aug. 27 (Opinion) - Transforming the United States into something closer to a democracy requires: 1) knowledge of how we are getting screwed; 2) pragmatic tactics, strategies, and solutions; and 3) the “energy to do battle.” The majority of Americans oppose the corporatocracy (rule by giant corporations, the extremely wealthy elite, and corporate-collaborator government officials); however, many of us have given up hope that this tyranny can be defeated.

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"Guess Which 10 Companies Aren't Paying Their Share"

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Bernie Sanders - Aug. 22 (Press Release) - Bernie's calling out the corporations that paid no tax, those that received tax refunds on top of that and others.

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Brainwashing the Corporate Way

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By John Pilger - Jun. 24 (Opinion) - Professionals are said to be meritorious and non-ideological. Yet, in spite of their education, writes Schmidt, they think less independently than non-professionals. They use corporate jargon - "model," "performance," "targets...

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Comcast's Revenge for Tweet: Today's Outrage

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

TheStreet.com - By Marc Levy - May. 20 (Opinion) - kipp's exactly the kind of vice president of communications you want...especially.. ..reacting..to a hire that stinks so much it can be smelled from space.

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Corporate Power and Today’s Humanist

Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

thehumanist.org - By David Niose - May. 01 (Opinion) - If corporations are legally people ... , we should understand that they could correctly be described as pathological and psychotic people. They are completely removed from the reality of real human interests, devoted only to their own self-interest, with the singular goal of profit. Moreover, they pursue this goal from a completely amoral standpoint, with no innate impulses toward compassion or ethics. The corporation itself has no conscience, of course, and knows no right from wrong. ... While one could argue that the real people who run corporations have the moral and other human traits that corporations lack, this means little when we realize that corporate officers and directors are duty-bound to do one thing—make money for the corporation. This fiduciary duty requires them to put ethics aside, so long as they can operate within the law. And of course, since corporations have immense wealth, they can afford lawyers and lobbyists to shape the law to their liking and defend their legal interests most zealously when necessary. This ability is hugely significant, and has had enormous negative ramifications in American society and government.

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Google's Larry Page Does Exactly The Right Thing: Says "Whatever" To Wall Street

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Business Insider - By Henry Blodget - Apr. 17 (Opinion) - In some people's minds, Google's Larry Page just committed the cardinal sin: He offended Wall Street. Wall Street has reacted to the first quarter in the Page regime by tossing the stock overboard. Larry Page is spending way too much, Wall Street says. Larry Page isn't communicating well enough. Larry Page couldn't even be bothered to spend more than a couple of minutes on the earnings call with Wall Street last night. So to hell with him! Lost under the outrage, of course, is that Larry Page may be doing exactly the right thing: Focusing on Google and Google's products and users, instead of Wall Street.

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The Washington Post's dependence on the government it covers

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Apr. 10 (Opinion) - The Washington Post this morning published a lengthy article detailing the fortune -- and now the trouble -- generated for its parent company, The Washington Post Co., as a result of its acquisition of Kaplan Higher Ed. While The Post continues to lose money, Kaplan -- particularly its sprawling network of for-profit "universities" which the company began building in 2000 -- generates huge profits for the company, profits on which the Post Co. depends almost completely for its sustainability.

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The top four victories handed to corporate America by today's Supreme Court--so far

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Hightower Lowdown - By Jim Hightower - Feb. 17 (Opinion) - this slim majority of five unelected, unaccountable government officials with lifelong tenure has been hurling bombs at our democracy. They've hit us with decision after decision enhancing the power of corporations at the direct expense of workers, consumers, local communities, our air and water, voters, the elderly, and... well, anyone and everyone who stands up in court to resist the rise of corporate hegemony in America.

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Vision: Everyday Brits Are in Revolt Against Wealthy Tax Cheats -- Can We Do That Here?

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - Feb. 08 (Opinion) - Instead of the fake populism of the Tea Party, there is a movement based on real populism. It shows that there is an alternative to making the poor and the middle class pay for a crisis caused by the rich. It shifts the national conversation. Instead of letting the government cut our services and increase our taxes, the people demand that it cut the endless and lavish aid for the rich and make them pay the massive sums they dodge in taxes

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The End of New Deal Liberalism

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Nation - By William Greider - Jan. 05 (Comment) - Society faces dreadful prospects and profound transformation. When both parties are aligned with corporate power, who will stand up for the people? Who will protect them from the insatiable appetites of capitalist enterprise and help them get through the hard passage ahead? One thing we know for sure from history: there is no natural limit to what capitalism will seek in terms of power and profit. If government does not stand up and apply the brakes, society is defenseless.

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The Most Important Free Speech Issue of Our Time

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Al Franken - Dec. 20 (Opinion) - This Tuesday is an important day in the fight to save the Internet. As a source of innovation, an engine of our economy, and a forum for our political discourse, the Internet can only work if it's a truly level playing field. Small businesses should have the same ability to reach customers as powerful corporations. A blogger should have the same ability to find an audience as a media conglomerate. This principle is called "net neutrality" -- and it's under attack. Internet service giants like Comcast and Verizon want to offer premium and privileged access to the Internet for corporations who can afford to pay for it. The good news is that the Federal Communications Commission has the power to issue regulations that protect net neutrality. The bad news is that draft regulations written by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski don't do that at all. They're worse than nothing. That's why Tuesday is such an important day. The FCC will be meeting to discuss those regulations, and we must make sure that its members understand that allowing corporations to control the Internet is simply unacceptable.

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Overturn Citizens United -- Demand Fair Elections and a Fair Economy

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

majorityrules.org - By Craig Salins - Dec. 08 (Opinion) - We need a broad movement to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling (January, 2010). Without that, nearly everything we do to stop or rein in the corporate takeover of our country is unlikely to make headway - because of the two-sides-of-a-coin relationship between spending on elections and lobbying, and public policy lawmaking.

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WikiLeaks Puts Corporations on Red Alert. First Responders: The Lawyers

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

BNET - By Nell Minow - Dec. 03 (Opinion) - There may be celebrations in some corner offices as executives watch Julian Assange and his supporters struggle to keep WikiLeaks online and its founder out of custody. But companies are plenty scared of the rising threat–not just from Assange–to the secrets they keep. And they’re gearing to fight back. First responders: the lawyers. Bank of America is apparently — and predictably — assembling a SWAT team of legal talent to try to stop the release of a reported 5GB of internal documents from the bank. Its stock may have recovered from the 3.2% dive it took when news first broke of the WikiLeaks assault. But that’s not much comfort.

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Nobel Prize Winner Joseph Stiglitz Calls for Jail Time for Corporate Crooks

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

dailyfinance.com - By Sam Gustin - Nov. 12 (Interview) - An institutionalized system of skewed incentives allowed Wall Street bankers and other corporate executives to gamble with America's wealth and then get away largely scot-free after the house of cards came tumbling down, plunging the U.S. into the worst economic crisis in decades and destroying trillions of dollars of wealth worldwide. That's the analysis of Joseph Stiglitz, an internationally renowned economist and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics. (His latest book, Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy, is just out in paperback.) See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/c4QeuD

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Exclusive: British Novelist John le Carré on the Iraq War, Corporate Power, the Exploitation of Africa and His New Novel, "Our Kind Of Traitor"

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By John le Carré , Amy Goodman - Oct. 11 (Interview) - Exclusive: British Novelist John le Carré on the Iraq War, Corporate Power, the Exploitation of Africa and His New Novel, "Our Kind Of Traitor"

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After Summers, Which Path Will the President Take?

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

OurFuture.org - By Richard Eskow - Sep. 22 (Opinion) - Now that Larry Summers is leaving, the President has a decision to make. His choice of a replacement will send a signal about the next two years of economic policy. That signal can restore consumer confidence and reinvigorate the electorate, or it can lead to even more discouragement and despair. Today unnamed Administration officials floated the idea of naming a corporate executive to the position. That's a trial balloon that should be punctured immediately.

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Do Not Pity the Democrats

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

truth-out.org - By Chris Hedges - Sep. 14 (Opinion) - There are no longer any major institutions in American society, including the press, the educational system, the financial sector, labor unions, the arts, religious institutions and our dysfunctional political parties, which can be considered democratic. The intent, design and function of these institutions, controlled by corporate money, are to bolster the hierarchical and anti-democratic power of the corporate state. These institutions, often mouthing liberal values, abet and perpetuate mounting inequality. They operate increasingly in secrecy. They ignore suffering or sacrifice human lives for profit. They control and manipulate all levers of power and mass communication.

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