How can corporations be held accountable for anything?

[ColbertWatcher]

As everyone knows, Wal-Mart's negligence directly contributed to the death of Jdimytai Damour, a man hired to work at one of their stores. (New York Times)

Then there's the woman who was murdered when she was working at Dollar Tree.

Dollar Tree says Taneka Talley had a "personal connection" with her murderer, making her family ineligible for her death benefits. However, what you and I and other normal people would call a "hate crime" Dollar Tree's lawyers are calling the perfect excuse for why they shouldn't have to pay out any money. (http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=6324068">ABC News)

Naturally, Wal-Mart will fight with whatever profit they get from their multi-billion dollar income (http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/13/news/companies/walmart_earns/">CNN) to follow Dollar Tree's lead in compassionate employee relations.

Yes, yes, yes, the accused have a right to their day in court, even if they're non-people like corporations. But then those corporations do everything they can to abuse the system.

First with their team of obfuscators, denying any knowledge of said events, followed quickly by denying any liability for any and every facet tangentially associated with said events. Not to mention their non-stop propaganda disguised as advertising meant to buffer any criticism of their actions.

They follow all that crap up by throwing their fat wallets around dragging out what should be a cut and dry investigation into a 3-, 4-, 5-year (or more) game of "avoid the lawsuit" hoping the victims of their negligence give up or become too poor to continue playing.

For the corporation it's nothing more than a game, for the people it's a question of fairness.

And it's not just Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree, the deck is stacked against anyone daring to challenge a corporation.

Remember http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants">Stella Liebeck? What about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_Oil_Spill#Litigation">the Exxon Valdez? Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal#Fallout">Enron? Oh, remember how the newest change in the U.S. bankruptcy code makes it harder for people to get out of debt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy_Abuse_Prevention_and_Consumer_Protection_Act">2005 change) but corporations get http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailout#Other_Bailouts">bailouts backed by those very same people?

Do the names Dawn Leamon and Jamie Leigh Jones ring a bell? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledbetter_v._Goodyear">Lily Ledbetter?

From the unions that were gutted during the Reagan era to the agencies and regulations designed to protect us and our environment, we've lost the watch dogs that protect us from these abuses.

What's it going to take to protect our country back from these 21st century robber barons and finally bring them to justice?

[MrSlayer]

1. Nothing short of a full on, bloody revolution.

And that is not going to ever happen so the answer to your question is, they cannot.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. When there are people willingly "thanking" Sarah Palin, sadly I have to agree. n/t

[JeanGrey]

3. Does anyone else find it strange that the city police

couldn't or wouldn't control the crowd and yet Walmart is blamed for lack of security?

[ColbertWatcher]

6. The police responded to a call.

After everything calmed down, they left leaving the crowd to the ever-watchful and diligent eye of Wal-Mart's security. Oh, wait ...

At least the cops didn't stay and Tase everyone.

[JeanGrey]

20. Walmart did have security and took crowd control measures,

I read it on another article. I guess they didn't expect such a huge crowd. Even if they had cops with guns there what would they have done? Tazer them? Shoot them?


"Arkansas-based Wal-Mart has issued a statement saying it had tried to prepare for the shopping surge by adding staffers and security workers, putting up barricades and consulting with police".

Unless the police can come up with proof that Walmart deliberately disregarded any advice they had I don't see how this could not have happened anywhere. Which is why I never go to these stupid sales. I saw two women beating each other up over a cowboy hat once in a Christmas sale and that was enough for me.

[Wapsie B]

4. Why the Chamber of Commerce will hold them accountable for their actions.

:sarcasm:

[ColbertWatcher]

7. Oh, yes, I forgot all about the self-police. Excuse me. n/t

[GoesTo11]

5. Corporations are held accountable for fiduciary responsibility

If they cost their shareholders money by failing to do something that's legal but unethical, then come the big lawsuits.

[ColbertWatcher]

8. Damn, and I thought I was cynical. n/t

[Quantess]

9. That's all it's really about, isn't it.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

10. This is actually easy

End "corporate personhood" and make every corporation's existence subject to a decennial death penalty for any reason whatsoever.

Incorporation is a pure privilege, exempt to revocation by the Congress or the SCOTUS at a moment's notice. There is no word abput the corporate form in the Declaration or the Constitution.

Kill corporations.

Restore democracy.

Devour shareholders.

[GoesTo11]

13. Or if they're supposed to be people, treat them as people

When they break the law, imprison them. Literally, make them function as if they were in prison. That means their employees would have to report to a closed location to work for the day, they couldn't take anything in or out, they couldn't communicate with other corporations. Their products would have to bear prison stripes for the world to see until their sentence is up.

[ColbertWatcher]

16. Hmm. Interesting idea. n/t

[tbyg52]

19. Amen. They are only "persons" anyway because of a clerk's note.

There is no actual legal precedent for corporate personhood.

Get them under control. It's been done before and needs to be done again. And then we need to not forget what happens if you don't keep them on a tight leash.

[mdmc]

11. I looked for those images that you were after (walmart doorbuster)

We didn't get them. I will look at my families papers when I visit this week.

regarding this OP =
I don't know how to take our country back from the corporations. I really have only one workable suggestion - trust in Obama. That is where I am at this moment. I got all sort of ideas about the war(s - although I see it as one misguided war with many theaters, as opposed to two wars Iraq / Afghanistan), wall street, health care, justice, and health care. At this time I am back burner-ing those ideas and simply trusting in Obama.

Joe Leiberman thinks Obama has been "perfect" in every move so far. So do I.

The best tool we have to take down the corporations is a strongly mandated Obama Administration, supported by Congress.

I'm full of hope right now.

[ColbertWatcher]

15. "trust in Obama" B ut, he's told us we need to do out part too.

What is our part?

[earth mom]

18. That's how we got into this mess. We expected politicians to work for the people.

Except they didn't. They worked for themselves, their friends and cronies first.

The vast majority of citizens in this country are an afterthought to the politicians in Washington DC.

Look no further than how the Dems did not Impeach * & Cheney, the most obvious crooks in U.S. government EVER.

I wouldn't count on Obama or any politician if I were you.

[tbyg52]

21. Exactly. People work for themsleselves, almost without exception.

All living beings do. We gotta come up with systems where working for yourself aligns with working for the common good.

[ColbertWatcher]

26. Actually, studies have shown that everyone benefits from cooperation and altruism. n/t

[tbyg52]

27. Yep. Too bad the corporations don't pay attention to those studies. nt

[ColbertWatcher]

29. True. We can thank the GOP's anti-intellectualism for that. n/t

[mdmc]

12. 3rd

r

[aikoaiko]

14. lawsuits are the big stick.

regulations, fines, and permits are the little sticks.

[judasdisney]

17. But corporations "provide jobs"... Why do you hate America?

Are you a terrorist? Is that why you attack corporations?

Ahem.

[ColbertWatcher]

25. ...

[LatteLibertine]

22. Wal-mart makes me sick like most in this thread.

I think we're off the marks solely focusing on them though.

Out of control consumerism injected into very selfish people with no empathy or conscience is the root of this bullshit. People that are taught; empathy, conscience and some degree of impulse control from an early age do not behave in that manner. That is unless they have something fundamentally wrong with them. The growing number of sociopaths in this country, of all stripes and types, is alarming.

[tbyg52]

23. Hey, LatteLibertine!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[ColbertWatcher]

28. The big picture is not "either/or."

Either society overall or Wal-Mart.

Right now, the attention is on Wal-Mart.

For many people, however, it's been about Wal-Mart for a while now (http://walmartwatch.com/) and some of us are just beginning to notice, mainly because someone died as a result of Wal-Mart's negligence.

Focusing on the idea of "consumerism" may be a bit too abstract for people. Giving them an example to point to, can help make your point less abstract and make it such that more people will understand.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

24. K and R! We the PEOPLE are the ones who will hold them accountable.

By protesting, blogging, boycotting, organizing, whatever means necessary.