Do Corporations need regulations?

1252 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Power and corruption

?gI hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country.?h
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US president 1801-1809

During the eighteenth century, corporations had fewer powers that we do now. They did not have limited liability. They were chartered for a limited period of time, (10 or 20 years), and for a specific public purpose only, such as building a bridge. Corporations were viewed differently in early times. They were thought to be good ways to serve the public good. But over the time, people forgot that corporations are starting to get so powerful and that they need to be strongly controlled. Also, corporations began to gain more power than the wealthy elite. Corporations like the East India Company and the Hudson Bay Company had been the rulers of America. So when the constitution was written, corporations were left out of the Constitution. From the past, corporations had been looking for a way to control state regulation and taxation. They did, by being able to control it by having the federal government say you can't discriminate, when discrimination meant any rule that applied just to corporations, such as railroads. Because Corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.

Whenever we fight for clean drinking water, or clean air, or a safe workplace, we are likely to find a corporation on the other side of the issue. The goal of a corporation is, first, to survive, and, second, to return a profit to its shareholders, not to mention for money and if the air has to be fouled to accomplish these goals, then the air will be fouled. Meaning, the corporations will do anything to keep these goals even if it means that they have to cause pollution or some issues. Pollution is one of the problems by the corporations that affect us. The Business Council for Sustainable Development thinks of this as ?gToday, for instance, the earth's atmosphere is providing the valuable service of acting as a dump for pollutants; those enjoying this service rarely pay a reasonable price for it,". This is an example of corporations ?gexternalizing?h their costs. By using the air as a free dump, corporations are able to get away with paying the costs for waste disposal to the people while they prof...

... middle of paper ...

...hose that appear to cover everything. Therefore these corporations cannot be trusted voluntarily. Regulations were supposed to make these corporations accountable but instead the corporations have used these regulations as a shield against accountability.
So according to the characteristics of a ?gglobal issue?h the problem of corporations abusing power and needing regulation is indeed a ?gglobal issue?h. It affects a lot of people, it affects other issues (pollution etc...), it happens all over the world, and this problem is persistent and can?ft be solved alone. However, are the corporations totally bad? After all, we created the corporations to help us and it is our public interest that have gone wild because of our democratic freedom and changed into some international monsters of greed that now dominate the world. The corporations we see are the result of building convenience to the people. These corporations are simply one of the steps to grow. The corporation is not responsible for all this harm. The corporations are main things that will improve economy for better or worse.
Corporations have taken over the government and turned it against its own people."
Ralph Nader

Show More
Related

  • Gilded Age Dbq Essay

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    The growth of large corporations had impacted American politics by causing governmental corruption because of the power some industries had in society. Since the government had used laissez faire in the late 1800s for the big businesses to...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Andrew Revkin's Carbon-Neutral Is Hip, But Is It Green?

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    This rhetorical analysis essay describes how reducing carbon emissions that cause pollution and other harmful effects on the environment and the lives of the people can attain a clean environment. It is based on Andrew C. Revkin’s article Carbon-Neutral is Hip, but is it Green? This article explains how carbon-neutral companies reduce carbon emissions. The companies’ work is to estimate the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced by different bodies like big businesses, international banks and transportation sectors. The effects are then sold to these emitting parties who pay for projects such as algae fertilization and tree plantation that could absorb the emitted gases. The argument of the author of this article is in agreement with what most environmentalists claim.

    Read More

  • Robber Barons Research Paper

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States of America, after having been endured the Civil War, had a new adversary that threatened to divide the nation, once again, into the upper-class and the working class. This new adversary were the million-billion corporations that ruled the economy of America. These corporations grew significantly in size and influence after the railroad industry skyrocketed. The men behind these companies, notably, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Rockefeller, were titled “robber barons”, by a majority, and “captains of industry” by some. The impacts of these big businesses were incredibly large, economically and politically, and naturally, Americans responded to these changes in various ways, predominantly battling these so-called “robber barons”

    Read More

  • Superfund Tax Reinstated: A Case Study

    413 Words  | 1 Pages

    Without corporate fees to replenished superfunds, there would not be enough money to do the critical job of cleaning up waste (Easton, 2014). Furthermore, Fortune 500 corporations are declaring bankruptcy and avoiding the cost of cleaning up, leaving taxpayers to make up for allthe cost (Easton,

    Read More

  • Issues for Stakeholders and Company

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...the requirements decreasing the risk of the company being sued by private citizens or the EPA.

    Read More

  • Big Box Retailers

    2276 Words  | 5 Pages

    Pollution has always been a big concern for anyone who has seen films or pictures from some of the Southeast Asian countries, where smog sometimes fills the whole sky of cities. Indeed, pollution is a terrible thing, but unfortunately it is a real concern for our modern times. There is always a price to pay for advancing, and in many cases that price is the creation of harmful substances to the environment around us, and sometimes even to us. One shocking example of this happened not so long ago right here in the United States, when one of the five great lakes, Lake Erie, was so full of pollution around Cleveland that almost all of the wildlife died and people could literally walk across the top of the pollution on the lake. Obviously, nobody wants anything like this to ever happen again. Fortunately, the lake was eventually cleaned up, but the damage was done, both to the environment and to the psyche and mindset of the American people. Some people see big box retailers as a cause of much pollution, and for some people that’s all they need to hear in order to be eternally opposed against big box retailers.

    Read More

  • Gilded Age Dbq Analysis

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is well pictured in document three, which depicts big businesses as big, fat businessmen sitting in the back of the Senate. Above the businessmen there is a sign that reads “This is a Senate of the monopolists and for the monopolists.” This was mostly true. For instance, the little regulation railroad companies faced despite the lower class begging for management due to the high shipping costs is a clear example of when the government was paid off. Big businesses also controlled the law. They could postpone trials, and even pardon corrupt criminals. This is thoroughly mentioned in document 1, in which McNeill states “He(the big businesses) can delay trial on a suit at law, and postpone judgement

    Read More

  • Big Business: Democracy Or Corporatocracy?

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Big businesses “often use money as a motivator for the government to decide policies that would only benefit them. The more affluent they are, the greater are the chances that they will get their way,” (Startupbizhub.com). It is no secret that money plays a large role in politics. The American economy is overrun by a small amount of large corporations, also known as the Fortune 500. In 1988, the Fortune 500 companies had made over $2 trillion in sales alone. When the Chrysler Corporation and Continental Bank Corporation were faced with the possibility of bankruptcy, the federal government had stepped in to save them; this concept is known as the “too big to fail” doctrine. If a small business was faced with bankruptcy, the only thing government officials would be doing is putting up a bankruptcy notice. “Forces outside Congress influence what goes on inside it; in particular, if the Marxist theory is correct, Congress is influenced heavily by the economic structure of our society. those who dominate the American economy dominate Congress as well,” (Berg 214). John C. Berg proclaims that the companies who are undeniably dominating the American economy will have influence on the government, mostly the

    Read More

  • Obstacles To Pollution Prevention

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    Case Study - Corporate Obstacles to Pollution Prevention. Overview This case focuses on corporate obstacles to pollution prevention. Pollution prevention can be complex, especially for large corporations. There are many different forms of pollution prevention, including emissions control devices and incremental changes in existing technology.

    Read More

  • Ethics: The Human Imperfection of Greed

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, one could suppose that the major problem is the human imperfection of greed. These particular examples show that self-interest was perused in business, but not goodwill. The executives of these companies performed unethical behavior that deliberately harmed consumers. I believe the legal system should take into consideration deliberate ethics violations based on the Kantian model suggested previously. There are many more examples, including the KeySpan Energy Corporation, in which companies violate ethics, but the United States does not currently have exact laws to punish that behavior.

    Read More

  • The New Deal Reforms

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    A competitive market makes a country stronger but without regulation it can threaten the country’s democracy. The President criticized the large corporations for “keeping prices artificially high and failing to increase workers’ purchasing power”(Liberty 863). Franklin D Roosevelt realized large corporations who gained monopolies were gaining immense influence on matter’s concerning government and the daily lives of American citizens. The first New Deal reforms were introduced, not to dismantle large industries but to control them in such a manner that they could never challenge the democratic government. Large corporations took advantage of the liberty given to them prior to the crash by exploiting the profits in payoffs or bribes. The businesses gained influence in government by funding election campaigns of tainted politicians who would in return be blinded of the corruption spread by the untouchable corporations to expand their profit margins.

    Read More

  • Social Challenges Facing The Middle And Low Income Classes

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...inues to grow not only because of the poor corporate governance styles but also due to the concerned authorities’ reluctance to solve the crisis. The elite families have created strong networks with influential personalities from across the world. This form of modern slavery means the underprivileged families cannot compete favorably with the elite families for the limited economic and social opportunities. Like the proletariat of the 19th century, the modern low-income American families lack capital, land and adequate entrepreneurial skills to start their businesses. As a result, most of these bottom 25% of the income distribution are always willing to accept the low paying jobs. Whereas the chief executive officers, managing directors and major shareholders create policies that allow them to gain lucrative compensation packages, dividends and other profit shares.

    Read More

  • Social Regulation

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    The ongoing argument today is on whether or not regulation is morally right and desirable. One one hand it has been said that government regulation has been accused of stifling innovation, accelerating inflation, increasing unemployment, and decreasing international competitiveness. On the other hand it has been said that the point of regulatory agencies in a capitalist society is to maintain broad popular legitimation of the system while promoting corporate accumulation of profits. Along with this idea the only way of making this happen is by adopting regulation that only symbolizes governmental oversight, because regulatory agency effectiveness is severely limited by inadequate budgets and pro-industry regulatory board members who develop specific rules that favor industry

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Movie, The Insider

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    It seems obvious that large corporations have a tendency to ignore the negative effects of their actions in favor of profit. This example, although sensationalized, still says to me that with power comes responsibility. It affirmed my belief that a corporation’s goal cannot be just to provide profit to shareholders, but there must also be an element of social responsibility.

    Read More

  • Views on Corporate Social Responsibility

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the problem became serious two main views formed: the “narrow” view and the “broader” view, based on different ideas. The “narrow” view is based on the proposition that corporations have no social responsibility and they have only one main purpose, to make a profit (Friedman, 1970). So corporations should remain socially independent and all conflicts must be solved through the individual responsibility concept. On the contrary the “broader” view states that corporations have social obligations as all existing participants of market, persons and entities are tied together and are mutually dependent. So corporations cannot ignore some serious events or problems, which take place, and must help society, as profit is not their single purpose.

    Read More

More about Do Corporations need regulations?

Open Document