Martin Donohoe
Corporations“The [only] social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.”
- Milton Friedman
Corporations“Corporations [have] no moral conscience. [They] are designed by law, to be concerned only for their stockholders, and not, say, what are sometimes called their stakeholders, like the community or the work force…”
-Noam Chomsky
OutlineCorporate Domination of World Economy
Corporate TaxationCorporate CrimeCorporations and EducationCorporations and the Media
OutlineInternational Non-Cooperation and Isolationism
Case StudiesSolutionsDiscussion
Corporations Dominate the Global Economy
Almost 6 million corporations90% of transnational corporations headquartered in Northern Hemisphere
500 companies control 70% of world trade
Corporations Dominate the Global Economy53 of the world’s 100 largest economies are private corporations; 47 are countriesWal-Mart is larger than Israel and Greece
ATT is larger than Ireland
The Stock MarketThe top 1% of Americans owns 51% of all
stocks, bonds, and mutual fund assetsConsequences of Differential Stock
OwnershipCorporations are answerable to their
shareholdersGovernments are answerable (at least in
theory) to their citizens (either through elections or revolutions)
CorporationsInternalize profits
Externalize health and environmental costs
Corporate TaxationCorporations shouldered over 30% of the nation’s tax burden in 1950 vs. 8% today
Nearly 1/3 of all large U.S. corporations pay no annual tax
Reasons for Inadequate Corporate TaxationCorporate tax breaks/loopholes
Corporate welfareCheating and under-payment common
Offshore tax havens shelter capital
“White Collar” (Corporate) Crime vs. “Blue Collar” (Street) Crime”Each year in America, we lose;$3.8 billion to burglary and robbery
Hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars to white collar crime
Why So Much Corporate CrimeFines meager, often considered a cost of
doing businessCorporate crime under-prosecuted,
prosecutors under-fundedConfidential legal settlements keep
important public health and safety information secretMay delay governmental intervention,
cause unnecessary morbidity and mortality
Consequences of CorporatizationInflation
Rising unemployment
Increasing industry consolidation/mergers
Consequences of CorporatizationRise of the “permatemp”
Expatriation of jobsOverseas factories often lack adequate
occupational health and safety and environmental standards
Decline in labor union membership
Exorbitant CEO PayCEO salaries up 500% since 1980The average CEO makes 350-400X the salary of the average U.S. worker (1960 - 41X)Mexico 45:1Britain 25:1Japan 10:1
Corporate Involvement in
Education
Public Education in DisarrayU.S. Schools ranked lowest among western nations
Widespread ignorance, superstition
Excessive television:Average American youth spends
900 hrs/yr in school, 1,500 hrs/yr watching TV
Corporate PR TacticsAdvertising
Astroturf - artificially-created grassroots coalitions
Corporate front groups
Corporate PR tacticsInvoke poor people as beneficiaries
Characterize opposition as “technophobic,” anti-science,” and “against progress”
Portray their products as environmentally beneficial despite evidence to the contrary
Sponsored Environmental Education Materials (Examples)International Paper
-“Clearcutting promotes growth of trees that require full sunlight and allows efficient site preparation for the next crop”
Exxon’s “Energy Cube”-“Gasoline is simply solar power hidden in decayed matter”-“Offshore drilling creates reefs for fish”
Academics/Professional Organizations Affected
Increasing corporatization of academia↑Private commercial funding of university research:
Secrecy/Gag Clauses
Media Consolidation5 corporations control majority of US media (down from 50 in 1983)
Doubt and misinformation are corporations’ products
Global Warming: Controversial?Of 928 articles in peer-reviewed scientific
journals, none were in doubt as to the existence or cause of global warming
Of 636 articles in the popular press (NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, WSJ), 53% expressed doubt as to the existence (and primary cause) of global warming
Science 2004;306:1686-7(Study covers 1993-2003)
LobbyingOver 15,000 full-time lobbyists
Estimates of return on lobbying range from $28 to $100 for every $1 spent
LobbyingLobbying groups spent 3.5 billion in 2009 (federal lobbying, a record)
All single issue ideological groups combined (e.g., pro-choice, anti-abortion, feminist and consumer organizations, senior citizens, etc.) spent less than $100 million
LobbyingFinancial sector spent over $1.7 billion on campaign contributions for federal elections from 1998-2008Bailout dollars a huge return on investment
The Decline of DemocracyTrue democracy demands an informed citizenry (education), freedom of the press (media), and involvement (will, time, money)
Democracy is critical to the success of public health
Corporations and International AgreementsCorporations attempt to influence
writing and acceptance/rejection of international agreementsThrough misinformation, lobbyists, revolving door between industry and government
Large behind the scenes role
International Non-Cooperation/IsolationismFailure to sign or approve:
Kyoto Protocol on Climate ChangeInternational Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Land Mines
International Non-Cooperation/IsolationismFailure to sign or approve:
Convention on the Rights of the ChildConvention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
Case StudiesGE Medical Systems - NY-Presbyterian Hospital Agreement
American Council on Science and Health (ACSH)
WHO Tobacco TreatyMedical Technologies (CT scans/scams)
Case StudiesCorporate agribusiness (GMOs,
labeling)Luxury care consortia and clinics,
health care tourismFor-profit prison construction,
management, and health careChemicals industry (Chisso,
Minimata Disease)
Health Insurance IndustryDubious practices:
DelistingCherry pickingPre-existing conditions
Often lower quality of careHigh administrative costs
15-30% (vs. 2-3% for Medicare and Medicaid)
Health Insurance IndustryLarge profit margins
Loyalty: shareholders (not patients)
Corruption
Pharmaceutical IndustryInfluence over physicians through control of CME, gifts, research funding
Conduct seeding trials to alter prescribing patterns
Secrecy, statistical torturing of data sets, selective publication
Pharmaceutical IndustryEffectively lobbied and threatened trade sanctions against developing countries in order to prevent production and importation of much cheaper, generic versions of life-saving anti-AIDS drugs
SolutionsRestructure tax systemPunish corporate scofflaws with
large fines and jail timeIncrease enforcement budgets to
combat corporate crimeEliminate confidential legal
settlements relevant to public health and safety
SolutionsWork with corporations
Healthy PRShareholder activismRisks/benefits
SolutionsActivism / Letter writing / Protesting / Whistleblowing
Community groupsLobby legislatorsRun for office
SolutionsIncrease funding of public education
Independent scientific review of school curricula
Prohibit use of sponsored curricula
SolutionsEstablish safeguards re corporate involvement in academic research
Higher standards of journalism
Support alternative media
“All men are created equal”Declaration of Independence
“Some people are more equal than others”George Orwell
Hudson River, 2009
Günter Grass
“The first job of a citizen is to keep your mouth open.”
Anita Roddick"If you think you are too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in your tent"
Contact Information and References
Public Health and Social Justice Website
http://www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org
http://[email protected]
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