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  The Society for Consumer Advocates and Mavens

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CORPORATE CRIME PAYS

Every corporation may be involved in some level or degree of corporate crime. Greed works! American corporations were founded in the 1800's and were created by the people, for the people. Each state had the power to grant corporate charters, as well as the power to be the final "authority" over what corporations could and could not do and how big they could become.

In the 1800's corporations were not allowed to participate in the political process or buy stock in other corporations! If a corporation acted improperly it could be dissolved by the state by simply having its charter revoked. The U.S. citizenry, in those days, were firmly in control of the state and corporate relationship, meaning the public and NOT the corporations were in control!

Back then a corporation's existence was a privilege, not a right! Citizens held the reins of power, and any corporation who abused it powers, corrupted, stole or polluted faced a dim future!

My how things have changed! Today, corporations buy and sell each other's stock. Lobbyists and legislators bankroll elections, control the public's airwaves and set our economic and cultural agendas while we, the people, have virtually lost all control over U.S. corporations.

Today, corporations have more rights than the citizenry! The U.S. government is tough on crime committed by individuals while corporate lawbreakers get off with a monetary fine and little or no jail time compared to individual non-corporate criminals! A "fine" to a corporation is simply the cost of doing business with all costs getting passed on to consumers anyway through higher prices and future generations will be left to pay the REAL costs like environmental devastation and possibly a diminished quality of life! Individual criminals who repeatedly break the law end up in jail but corporations, to date, are seldom held to the same standards.

SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ADBUSTERS MAGAZINE SUMMER 1998

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