Corporations aren't people; taxpayers are
Corporations are people? In a pig's eye. Corporations are people when Goldman Sachs, DuPont, Walmart and Pfizer serve in a remote outpost in Afghanistan with the Taliban breathing down their corporate necks.
Corporations are people when they risk their lives fighting house fires or are out in the dairy barn milking cows 365 days a year. Corporations are people when they raise and nurture children and struggle to maintain a household budget on too little money.
No, they're not people. People are better. People have a conscience. People are patriotic. People have higher loyalties than to shareholders.
America is hurting economically and way too many people are unemployed. Corporations are sitting on $2 trillion in cash and are in a great position to lead this country out of this recession. Are they doing that?
Hell no. Because they don't have to.
Many of these companies spend more on lobbying than they pay in taxes. They have become takers rather than givers.
Taxpayers pay for their security, both from foreign and domestic threats. Taxpayers pay for the education of the people they hire as workers.
Taxpayers pay for the infrastructure that provides them with roads and airport and seaports. Taxpayers even pay for the food stamps and Medicaid for those corporations that fail to pay their workers a living wage.
Should we expect more from these corporations? Should we expect some loyalty and patriotism from their boardrooms? I believe we should. I believe their business decisions should factor in what's best for our country and not just for their shareholders.
Profits are why they're in business, but they also have a responsibility to the country that supports them. It's time for them to shoulder that responsibility and to help lead America out of its economic doldrums.
Ken Empey
Richfield Springs
