Taming the giant corporation

by Joel Seligman, Ralph Nader, Mark Green, et al.

Book Overview

Five years in the preparation, Taming the Giant Corporation is the culminating product of Ralph Nader's examination of governmental and business irresponsibility. It explains in readable detail not... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393087530
• ISBN13: 9780393087536
• Release Date: January 1976
• Publisher: Norton
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Corporations, a device for concentrating wealth

The individual investor believes in short term profits. The individual investor takes money and invests this capital into corporations. The super rich investors pick the pockets of the smaller investors and maintain their dominance. The super rich own 70 percent of the stock market and realize 40 percent returns on their investments. The individual investor believes in the business cycle believing he will profit during booms and withdraw during busts. The super rich are only concerned about capital gains. A plunge in the market represents the individual anxiety about a slowing economic caused by environmental factors like higher oil prices and smaller corporation profits. The security analyst type, individual investor rewards corporations for profits. Corporations are often wasteful with individual investor money but are forgiven when profits remain within expectations of the individual investor. Pullbacks into Market capitalization are sharp when consumer confidence drops. The measurement of consumer confidence is complex and has unpredictable impacts on the individual investor. Panic can overcome with fear the individual investor expectation about future earnings of the corporation. Investors fleeing for safety from emerging market withdrawing 10s of billions of dollars in hot money. The withdrawal wipes out billions of dollars in market capitalization almost immediately and destabilizes these economies. Corporations continue appealing too the interests of the individual investor luring them to reenter the market and help create the next economic boom. The global markets worry about the potential for higher interest rates and lower growth and are not enthused about the supplier nations capability as much as the consumer countries capacity to spend. Small shifts in the potential direction of consumer consumption by the US send massive shock waves through emerging markets. Corporations have to rely on cash heavy reserves, access to liquid bank funds, and political financialization too survive. Survival means producing capital gains for the investor. The corporation beast cannot be tamed without a return to morality. Corporations are allowed to grow to unlimited size. James Dill in 1896 helped pass the General Revision Act said, "Any corporation may purchase, hold, sell, assign, transfer, mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of shares...or any bonds, securities, or evidences of in depth ness created by any other corporation or corporations". Corporations provided the super rich the perfect device to amass great amounts of wealth: 1. No time limit and destroyed the 50 year limitation 2. Corporations could be formed for any purpose 3. Corporations received equivalent rights and privileges reserved for citizens 4. Corporations can merge or consolidate on will and thereafter the consolidated company can sell, mortgage, lease, or franchise any property so obtained 5. Corporations have no amount limit on their concentra