What’s good for business isn’t good for America

It's interesting how much people on the left hate business. It's because they don't understand the purpose of a business. A business' primary responsibility is not to employ people. A business' primary responsibility is to it's stockholders. No one is entitled to a job. A person has to add value for the business to desire to hire them. I've never hired a person who did not explain in the interview what value they perceived they would add to the organization.

The only reason we need jobs in the first place is because we have been kicked off the land...we have no means of self production and self sustenance...we have allowed capitalists to take over everything. We are all strangers in a strange land.

Alright, I agree that not EVERYTHING that's good for business is good for America, but realistically, most things are mutually beneficial if you think about it. For example, if business doesn't do well, where do our jobs come from? And if people/business didn't earn money, where would the government's revenue stream come from? If Business didn't do well, the supply of goods would decrease and prices will be inflated.

In addition, does the logical inverse of that statement make sense? As in: "What's bad for business is good for America"? Obviously not. Therefor we must determine that SOME BUT NOT ALL of what's good for business is good for America. It's the only answer and the blatantly obvious one. Clearly corporate thieving is NOT good, but on the other hand, I for one value having a job and so do most Americans, so what's good for the business's that we work for is in turn good for us. Seems pretty obvious to me.

It comes down to fat cat American business.Moderate profits are passe`,if there are more profits to be made they go where they will make more $.Business is profit driven,not benefit of country /society driven.When corporations were first allowed in the US.They were dissolved after less than 10 years.They also had to show they had a positive effect on communities.How far we've come.Now corporations run government form tax policy(tax breaks to offshore jobs),and have "personhood",a subversion of the ruling the SCOTUS by a clerk recording the decision.He had interests in the decision regarding a railroad.

My hope is that the uprising in Egypt spreads to the other potentates in the region,and gives an example to others around the world to throw off the yoke of corporate servitude.The US included.

Taxes and regulation, both of which contribute to the high cost of doing business, are only two reasons why businesses leave. We see examples of this in California and New York. Business IS good for America. We cannot exist as a country which only employs people at the government level. Government produces nothing, businesses do. No one wants to operate a company in an environment which is hostile to the concept of private enterprise or so uncertain as to the future that strategic planning cannot be accomplished. We have both. The United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. If we wish to bring businesses back here we need to make it a more business friendly place.

We have companies destroying our natural, organic foods. We have companies destroying our media outlets, and spewing poisonious mis-information to the masses under the guise, "Fair and Balanced," "The Most Trusted Name in News," and "Lean Forward." We have banks swindling our soldiers, and bankrupting our elderly.

It is my hope that media outlets like CurrentTV can act as a remedy on some of these issues. The more educated the population is, the quicker we will be able to address these issues in a serious manner.

One solution I see is to increase the Corporate Profits taxes, making it better for a company to reinvest its money, thus hiring more people for new jobs. The executives and the board members are already well paid by base salaries; corporations that post gigantic profits are merely, "just doing the bear minimum," as opposed to being pioneers in their respective markets.

The tax I am talking about is not Corporate Income Tax, but rather, a Corporate Earnings and Profits Tax:

Earnings and profits

U.S. corporations are permitted to distribute amounts in excess of earnings under the laws of most states under which they may be organized. A distribution by a corporation to shareholders is treated as a dividend to the extent of earnings and profits (E&P), a tax concept similar to retained earnings. E&P is current taxable income, with significant adjustments, plus prior E&P reduced by distributions of E&P. Adjustments include depreciation differences under MACRS, add-back of most tax exempt income, and deduction of many non-deductible expenses (e.g., 50% of meals and entertainment).[1] Corporate distributions in excess of E&P are generally treated as a return of capital to the shareholders.[2]

Most companies do not pay dividends to their Shareholders; however larger banks, and big businesses do. Republicans argue that these taxes should be decreased to increase hiring; but this would actually have the opposite effect. If the Government were to decrease the E&P taxes, Corporations will have incentives to reduce the amount of income reinvested into the company; therefore, lowering costs which almost always means letting go of some workers. If you increase the E&P tax, you would encourage Corporations to reinvest the money into the company; therefore increase ingenuity, R&D, which in turns means more hiring and new jobs.

1. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00000312----000-.html

2. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00000301----000-.html

Well then, it comes down to us, doesn't it? If we don't take a stand against business interests for the sake of our own interests, who will? And if we don't take a stand, why should anyone else? The founding fathers knew that the system they devised was not perfect, but rather, it was merely the best that they could achieve at the time.

While it can be argued that business preferential legislation was necessary at one time, for American business to thrive, it has taken on life and means unto itself at great expense to the public. The legislative pendulum has swung way to far in favor of business, and it seems to be stuck there. However, only we, en masse, can sufficiently mobilize to free the pendulum and swing it back towards a center, a balance. But it won't be easy, everyone and everything is loathe to give up whatever advantage they have gained. In fact, it will require a struggle. Do you want a return to fairness, reform and accountability to the people? Are you prepared to work for it?

COMMONSENSEFORCOMMONGOOD.COM

American companies need to be able to compete globally and to do that they need help.

We can either work for these companies for less money than we do now or we can give them huge tax breaks.

That being said if a company moves even one factory or office to another country they should lose those tax breaks and an extra tax assessed on them for whatever goods they produce overseas.

the most "business-chaffing" times in history turned out to be the best, we advanced in leaps and bounds in short times. economically and in terms of society-- but the stock market didn't like the president or the progressive times.

so fuck business, what's bad for them is great for the country.

i'm sickened by the businesses that are proud of their shrewed moves when it comes to business and last night i started to try and find the biggest comapanies that outsource, thinking i'll try and not buy and maybe i can start telling people to boycott them or something-- i found a website where they listed the "best of 2009" (yes outdated) ...these assholes were proud of the fact that they were sending jobs overseas.

and then they financially back politicians who get mad at people for not working-- for "getting money for nothing"

why'd you post this story? why'd i read it? it all makes me so mad. grrr.

It's about Social Justice vs. the Elite and the elite have no loyalty to any country or political system with the Elite only caring about profits over people and the power needed to obtain more profit! as long as the Elite are in charge via their political puppets nothing will change for the better and we the people are nothing more then meat for the grist mill of corporate power and profit! not only do the Elite own the political system in this country,they own the military and law enforcement as well!

I love Pepe Escobar. He is a very knowledgeable journalist.

We must find the balance between what is good for business and what is good for the people. If we always put the people first it wont work out because then we will have communism and lets face it communism so far has never worked. But if we always put business first then we just have a completely corrupt government and the people will eventually revolt, that is one of the factors in the fall of Rome, they made business and profit more important than anything else, next thing you know here come the goths and no one cares enough about the community to do anything but preserve themselves. We must work together business and people to create the best possibility's for both.