Can we drop the notion big business and the wealthy hate government.

[AllentownJake]

Seriously, it is one of the silliest things I've ever contemplated. The wealthy and leadership of big business don't hate government. They hate paying for government and being held accountable legally for their actions by government.

I will give you a few examples. GE. It used to be a consumer manufacturing and product design leader. Today, virtually none of their revenue comes from those types of activities.

I will tell you where GE's money does come from. Large projects that only a government or someone else in the Fortune 500 can finance.

If the government cut defense spending by 10% GEs aircraft engine division would be bankrupt in no time. The executives at GE don't hate the government, because without it, they are no longer wealthy executives.

Does BP hate the government? Hell no. The government is the one that awarded them the rights to drill, enforced those rights legally and militarily, and protects BPs ships when they are out to sea from pirates. BP doesn't hate the government, because without the government BP has to hire or build its own Navy. That is saying little to the system of roads that the government maintains that are essential to the usage of BPs end product.

Does Microsoft hate the government. Hell no, the government (local,state, and federal) is one of their biggest clients, in addition the government enforces their intellectual property patents that prevent others from stealing their creations. Not only that the government created the system that has created enormous demand for all of Microsoft's products.

Banks, 2008-2010. Enough said.

Without government most of these entities fail, tomorrow.

Nope what big business hates the idea of is not government but paying for the services they use and for government asking them to be fair in their business dealing. At the end of the day these entities are nothing more than irresponsible welfare queens living off the work of others and having a comfortable life as they drive in their Cadillacs.

[dipsydoodle]

1. where GE's money does come from ?

75% of it did come from financial services and 25% from product. They announced last year that it was their intention to reverse those figures.

[AllentownJake]

3. GE was on the recieving end of the bailout

Secret to their success under Welch was effective government lobbying.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Was the bailout dough

because GE Cap is a bank ?

[AllentownJake]

5. As much of a bank as Lincoln Financial Group and the Hartford nt.

[dipsydoodle]

13. I think the other reason may have been

that if GE Cap had stopped funding your consumer credit sales may well have seized up completely. They may have become a bank at the same time as American Express.

[AllentownJake]

15. I'm sure there was a reasoning for it

I think some heads should have rolled out of their headquarters and Imlet can't claim to be a good chief executive if he is a welfare queen.

As for Lincoln, they were relatively fine, I'm very intimate with that company. They bought a small bank to qualify because they were greedy.

[baldguy]

2. Corporations love govt when it does what they tell it to do.

But when govt instead works to serve the interests of the people - not so much.

[lunatica]

6. Corporations love government when they are government

When they buy governments, Corporations love governments.

[hunter]

14. Yep. Huge corporations don't hate the government, they OWN the government.

.

[Dr Morbius]

7. You're quite right. They just want to make US hate government. (nt)

[AllentownJake]

8. Well they understand the 1st century philospher

Jesus of Nazareth. You cannot serve two masters, and they really don't want people asking the elected officials to serve one master, the people that vote for them.

[HughBeaumont]

9. At that level of wealth, all Big ( _ ) needs to do is divide and conquer the people.

Then, their jobs are done.

Keeping the people chasing the invisible carrot and at each other's throats is what keeps the people off of THEM.

[patrice]

10. Corporations love government that helps them control the minds & hearts of their markets.

[KharmaTrain]

11. The Busines Of America Is Business

You are correct that the corporations don't hate government...they find it a necessary evil. Their priority is profit and, as you show, they love the government when it comes to protecting their "intellectual property" or are able to get into the corporate welfare gravy train. The truth is we have the best government money can buy...and it's always been that way.

Remember, the founders were all businessmen...and the revolution came about as they felt their profits were being cut into. While the Constitution does focus on the rights of the individual, the corporation has always had its own special status. Slavery was more a business proposition than an abuse of human rights. It isn't until the "business of America" running counter to the masses (or more specifically, "the electorate") that the government will slap the corporates wrists and then tell them to "get back to work".

The SCOTUS just codified what has always been the case when they ruled that corporations had the same rights as individuals and I'll bet if you get Fat Tony aside with a couple drinks in him, he'll tell you they didn't go far enough. The mindset is that when business does well, so does the country. What they fail to realize is whose labor is making that happen...the concept is that the worker is nothing more than a tool of the corporation; easily replaced and despensible.

It's human nature to want more than the next guy. IMO it's why we can never achieve a fully commuinistic (in its pure form) system as there will always be those who are more aggressive and going to find ways to bend rules or make them to their benefit. What's needed is a balance where corporate greed is kept in check or used to benefit society on the whole and make it appear as their "patriotic duty". Sadly I don't see our politicians ever doing more than reigning in the excesses.

Cheers...

[Cresent City Kid]

12. They don't hate the government, they hate rules

A small but important distinction. They would probably hate the theoretical government we read about in civics class, where the people rule themselves and protect the little guy by restraining the big guy.

Generally, I don't think you're wrong in the text of your post, but the title misses the mark. There's no need to drop the notion that the wealthy and corporations hate the government, it's not the pervading notion. We don't think they hate the government, we think they infiltraed it and bought it.

I don't think "welfare queen" is the Cadillac driving sterotype from the '70's that fits the corporations and wealthy, I think the the one that fits is "pimp".