John Edwards: My Plan To Stop Corporate Abuses

Yes, it would upset their contributors. Then they wouldn't get on TV or in the newspapers. Sound impossible? It happens! Start talking about decent wages, healthcare, jobs going overseas, or the wars and they will punish you like a red haired stepchild.

Corperations are in buisness to make a profit! The problem is is that we now have a generation of corperate big wigs who think that they should have their owm Monaco in their back yard. They are at this time driving their customer base into the ground to make insane profits, and not for the stockholders but for the indivigual CEO's.

Thanks for posting this. Edwards is the only of the 3 who really understands the problems with corporate power in this country. Not coincidentally, he's almost always ignored by popular media....

I read one of the major news media crawls late last night after watching Edwards on Letterman and it read, "Bank of America reporting big loss only making 268 million dollars amounting to only 5 cents per share" for its stock holders. I laughed. How many shares did they sell that 268 million isn't enough? And now I read that the proposed economic stimulus package will allow larger companies like this to claim these so called losses not just against this tax year, but the next few to come. Outrageous.

Yes, Bush doesn't pass anything without it benefitting coporations... then he will throw us a small bone as if that is supposed to make everything better. He did that in the beginning of his stolen term when we all got checks, and we then had to report them as income on our tax returns even though it was already taxed money and I actually used it to pay a bill. It is all smoke and mirrors.

This is one of John Edwards quotes from the link above. "Third, our companies should be run for the benefit of workers and shareholders as well as insiders. Today, too many companies in America are putting far too much of their earnings into excessive CEO and executive pay, when this money could be going to increased worker salaries, better benefits and investments in plants and equipment." This is pure and simple anti-capitalism. Businesses are in business to make money, they are not there to make each employee rich. The beauty of America is that if I think I am under paid or not being treated fairly I can go out and start my own company. Edwards statement is pandering to thoes that feel victimized. Oh its corporate greed, its not fair, I should get paid more. Hogwash. Everyone sells their skills to the highest bidder. If you want more money or a different job then be pro-active and do something about it. Business CEO's are not to blame. Try running a business for a few years and see if you tune changes.

tommytupa, So you think it's great that the Walmart heirs are in the top ten richest people in the world? They pay their help starvation wages and provide little or no benefits. They give classes on how to apply for Medicaid for their employees. This is fine with you? You like helping to support them while their employers wallow in money?

Marilynn, I don't see anything wrong with the Walmart heirs being some of the richest people on the planet. That is capitalism. Their dad was a great businessman. I personally do not shop at Walmart for the exact reason you state. They pay poverty wages. But obviously there are alot of people that don't care and shop there all the time. You shouldn't blame a company for playing by the rules. Blame the people for shopping their.

Sorry, I don't like subsidizing Walmart. I do blame the company.

It sounds like you take the stance of the victim. That's not very empowering.

It sounds like you are full of macaroni.

yo tupa,
you're right that we shouldn't blame the company for playing by the rules. i mean, who doesn't want billions of dollars at the expense of the little people? well...someone with a conscience i suppose. but in any case, we should be blaming the government for allowing the corporations to get away with so much. right now, corporations are treated as individuals with all the constitutional rights and freedoms that are granted to us humans. only a corporation is not a human, it is a group of people who, acting together, can make selfish, often disastrous, decisions that affect millions of people. unfortunately, the government and justice system hardly ever holds the company, or its employees, accountable for the type of insane and inhumane behavior that us, as human individuals, would be held accountable for (like destroying the environment, exploiting workers, etc.). instead they issue corporate welfare in the form of tax loopholes, bailouts, and subsidies, to name a few. lobbyists overwhelmingly represent corporate interests, and powerful executives have our weak politicians in their back pockets. edwards at least understands that it's the responsibility of the government to stop group-greed from getting out of control. the others keep fattening their wallets.

but i suppose we're all commies or terrorists for defying a capitalist system which has been spoiled by political corruption. sounds like this american dream has been a real breeze for you...but how about the other people who also had the same american dream? who owned their own company, only to have it be wiped out when wal-mart came to town and, by providing cheap products due to thrifty spending and cutting corners, took all their business? what can they do next? i guess just get a job at wal-mart...i mean, how can you really compete as a small business in a small town against a large corporation?

i'm an independent contractor...and i do run my own business. if nothing else it has taught me to support people like edwards (who i don't even like that much, but think he has much more integrity than obama and clinton), who are willing to stand up to the corporate bullies so that i, too, can have health care (which i don't have now) instead of selling my soul to the corporate world for some benefits i should have anyway as a regular working citizen.

i'm not sure what this american dream is that you have where a few priviledged men have a ton of power and money while millions of others suffer at the bottom...maybe you'd like brazil? or maybe you should get out in the world "for a few years and see if you [sic] tune changes".

tommytupa: What you may not be thinking about is that big monied corporations have been deciding your laws and regulations for years. They lobby our representatives, they pour large sums of cash into candidates they know will owe them a favor when it comes time to vote. There's nothing wrong with capitalism as long as they don't get to rule over the rest of us just because their money says they can.

mayalynn, it's most interesting that you assume I'm just some rich that has no worries. Like you I run a small business so I know full well the difficulties of surviving in a competitive world where big corporations dominate. But if you actually took the time to read this quote, its pure pandering. Lets take another look at what he said "Third, our companies should be run for the benefit of workers and shareholders as well as insiders. Today, too many companies in America are putting far too much of their earnings into excessive CEO and executive pay, when this money could be going to increased worker salaries, better benefits and investments in plants and equipment." He said corporations should be run for the "benefit of workers". Who gets to decide what that is? You? Me? Edwards? Its gobblygook desigend to illict a vote. So what your saying is that since the government won't hold corportions accountable for some of there selfish and disastorous decisions that I should have to pay for it. You make it sound like all big corporations are bad and just take, take, take. I think if you looked at most corporations they act in a reasonably honorable fashion, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Boeing just to name a few are places where people work and make a decent wage. Of course there are some bad apples and those are the ones we hear about. Don't condem all businesses because some are run by crooks. Lets enforce the laws we have and boycott the companies (like Walmart) that opperate in a distastful way.

remember that many employees are vested owners inthe corperations that they work for. if corperat entities are not in buisness to make everyone a little better off they should not offer to sell stock so that every one has a chance to become a partner in said corperation.

True, but that represents a very small percentage of workers in this country. And, unfortunately, sometimes the corporation goes under and only the CEO's leave with anything to show for it. We're not really arguing that capitalism benefits many in this country, just that when big money lobbies and decide issues we have no voice in.