A different kind of death penalty debate - the death of criminal corporations

[Stinky The Clown]

I think we should have a death penalty for corporations. Charge them criminally and hold a trial. If found guilty, give them a sentence. That sentence could range up to death. In that case, the corporation's assets would be seized and placed into receivership. The assets would then be sold to the highest bidders and the proceeds paid to clean up their mess, with the excess, if any, going to pay off their stockholders.

"Why punish the stockholders?" you might ask. Well, who would invest in a shady company? I want to disincent the capitalization of these ongoing criminal enterprises.

[blm]

1. BINGO!!! If corporations cause death and catastrophe then those who crafted the lethal policies

deserve appropriate punishment. Death penalty in those states who HAVE the death penalty - like Texas. Or...life in jail...which would be my preference.

[Echo In Light]

7. Exactly. At this point corporate malfeasance is at a staggering fucking level

ZERO accountability, all by design

[Joanne98]

2. YAY

[NNN0LHI]

3. who would invest in a shady company?

Just about everyone I know if they thought they could make a buck.

Honest answer.

Don

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Don, I had that very same thought

Yes, there will always be investors ....... until they started to have a history of losing BIG money. the real payoff from this idea is probably way down the line. But I thin k if enough "big investors" lose enough money, they'll stop investing, too.

[indepat]

16. Not saying Walmart is shady, but don't shop there and have never owned their stock

:D

[Duer 157099]

4. Now *there's* a death penalty I can strongly support!

Hey, if they want the rights of persons, they can have the consequences of persons, too.

[gravity]

6. Corporations are already sold to the highest bidder

that is what shareholders are. It is an unnecessary and redundant step.

Shareholders aren't going to have any knowledge of the crimes anymore than the police, so it is not fair to put excess punishment on them. White collar criminals lie all the time to the public.

Just punish the people in the corporations who committed the crimes and you can slap fines on the corporations to clean up any mess.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. You have knowledge. I have knowledge. We can choose to disinvest any time we wish

And that's the point. You'll LOOK for what they're doing and make your investment decisions accordingly.

[gravity]

13. You are talking about non public knowledge

By the time the shareholders know about the crimes, it is too late for them to do anything about it. The crimes will be factored into the stock price instantly.

Chances are that the CEO or someone else in the organization is covering up their wrong doings to not attract attention from law enforcement and regulatory agencies. They don't attract investors by selling their crimes.

Shareholders are going to be punished anyways from the fines and in some cases receive the death penalty in terms of bankruptcy, which can occur if the fines are too great for the company to recover from. The mechanism is already in place.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Halliburton and KBR still trade nicely

I rest my case

[izquierdista]

8. This is a conservative idea

They might just get on board if you tell them you want to return to the good antebellum days of Andrew Jackson. In the 1830s, corporate charters were a fixed duration, and at the end, you had to wind up the business, pay expenses for damages the business caused, liquidate it and give the shareholders their return on investment. What we see now it the slippery slope of allowing a few to renew their charter, roll over the books, and continue operations.

[jtrockville]

9. Now THAT'S a death penalty I could support!

[Catherina]

11. Why not kill all corporations off?

the whole concept is just a legal ploy to enrich the righ and shield their shareholders from liabilities.

We don't need corporations.

[The_Commonist]

12. It's all about limited liability.

That needs to change...

[Initech]

14. Hey if Citizens United says that corporations are people.....

Then they should absolutely be subjected to the same laws wexare! BP can go first! :evilgrin: