Businesses are greedy.....but aren't we all?

Question

Corporate america gets a lot of flak for being Greedy, however, aren't we all greedy? (BTW, all of you people that aren't greedy, drop me a line and I'll tell you where to send me some money).

Governments: Governments keep increasing taxes so than they can get more money to spend.

Employees: Will jump ship (after months of training) and work for another company that offers them more money. Employee theft (aka "shrinkage" is a major expense of many retail businesses.

Consumers: Buy the product that gives us the most for the least amount of money.

Liberals: Want to give the poor all kinds of things, but don't want the users to pay for a penny of it. Let's let someone else write the check.

As a country we could feed the world. Even the poorest americans could contribute to this cause by cutting back a bit.

Aren't we all greedy to a point?

.....and isn't that what makes it all work (although not perfectly or idealy?)

Answer 1

You do have some good points here,however I will have to say that alot of the consumers are greedy because the world has made them this way.If none of us were greedy then non of us would have to work so hard to make ends meet in order to barely survive.Grocery store for example:If the government was not greedy then the grocery stores would not be charged such high prices for the products and therefore we would not have to pay such high prices for food,we would therefore have more to share with others.Now you take the average person that is barely getting by and expect them to share what they do have?I do not think this is greed.Now you take the rich man that takes high dollar vacations or has two,three or more classic cars and still buying but will not donate a cent to the needy.This is greed.Now lets look at some more interesting facts,Some may disagree with me but I am entitled to my own opinion as with anyone else is entitled to their own opinions.Gas companies,The cost of gas has sky rocketed as we all know this.Some say the gas companies are getting rich due to what they hear on the profits of the companies.These profits or dollar figures are based on what the companies made over the last quarter.Is what nobody is looking at is the expenses of the companies.All of these companies are in debt and owe a fortune.Yes it is true that the made billions last year or last quarter but they also spent billions.The problem with this is the government all the way up to the president of the United States and the ones before him and so on.This country is so far in debt to other countries that there is no way to ever repay all the money.Sure,the country pays out alot of money each year but is what is not accounted for until next year is what we are barrowing at the same time.This is not greed either,It is called out of control and no way to recover.So to sum it all up,The only greed that I see is the rich one that thinks they have it all and has never worked a hard days work in their life and thinks they are way over everyone else and refuses to share.

enough said

Good luck and God bless you

Answer 2

You're assumptions are off the mark. Businesses are not organic, thinking entities. They have no emotions, no feelings, no capacity for sin, etc. Businesses are not greedy or anything else. They are simply a group of people acting together in the form of of a partnership. The same could be said for governments, and, loosely, for groups of employees, consumers, liberals, lion tamers, and circus clowns.

Your attempt to categorize groups of people into stereotypes is an indication that you do not understand your own question.

You could more properly (but not truthfully) say that Bob is greedy or that Bob will jump ship to get more money or whatever but saying that we are all greedy is wrong. We all have survival instincts that direct our decision-making processes and, yes, it may appear to you, an outsider when it comes to knowing another's beliefs or intentions, that someone else is greedy, but who are you to decide?

Specifically...

Governments are made of people. People can be greedy. People who work in government positions will naturally, because there is no other way, use their personal beliefs to drive their work-based objectives.

Employees are people. People will do what they think they need to do to increase their economic, professional, social, spiritual, etc. standing. You can argue otherwise but those with money have the potential to 1) be healthier, 2) be happier, 3) be whatever life allows. Don't knock someone for trying to better their lot in life.

Consumers are people. See Employees for the reason Consumers seek lower prices.

Liberals are people. What you mean by liberal isn't clear. Thomas Jefferson and Bill Clinton were considered to be liberal. A fair comparison? Not likely. But neither is labeling others to some inane stereotype.

Asking America to feed the world is a "liberalistic" viewpoint. Why don't you give up all the things you've earned and worked for and see if the world gives a damn. Hey, if you're asking everyone else to contribute I'd say you should go first. What's stopping you from setting the example?

Answer 3

I think there is a difference between greed and just getting the money to survive and provide for one's family...

I find it amusing that the same people that preach against homosexuality, many times don't see a problem with greed... even though it mentions how bad greed is about 10 times more than how bad being gay is...

I really think you see the results of greed in many in the business world when they get around 50 years old... the stress and strain that they have put on themselves to make the millions that they have, now causes a heart attack and it was all basically for nothing... 80 hour weeks that took them away from their family... their children are unruly, because their parents just threw money at their problems... all they wanted was a dad..
The whole time they think they are better than the poor person, because they are not lazy...

It all just seems like such a waste... just using a abusing people... turning their greed against them... and it destroys many of them... and many along the way...

Answer 4

Ah, you've been reading Ayn Rand, I see. Not particularly a fan of her brand of libertarainism (objectivism), but am of the libertarian persuasion (I think liberty needs an element of morality to work but thats my opinion). I say let the law of supply and demand work, the problem is that government always wants to interfer in it working, mainly because we, the consumers fail to see that these BIG EVIL CORPORATIONS take all the risks to get there product to market. They spend millions of dollars to develop and market a product and how many of them succed? VERY VERY VERY FEW!!! I'm not sure what the statistics say but I would suspect for every product that is a money maker, that one pays for at least 5 (being very conservative) that didn't pan out. Lets face it, if the BIG EVIL CORPORATIONS couldn't make a profit then guess what we wouldn't have half of the things we do now.

Plus, when government caves to consumer pressure to institute prices controls, guess what companies go out of business (look at how many companies now develop Flu Vaccines last I looked 3, price controls was Hillary Clintons idea by the way, want to make sure credit is given where it is deserved) and when that happens, a shortage can and will occur. There in it to make money, NOTHING ELSE, there not in it to make friends, there not in it to change the world, there not even in it to employ people. They have to do those things to be successful, but ultimately they are in it for the money. And you know what they deserve EVERY DAMN PENNY. I dont see any of us looking for gas/oil in some of the remotest parts of the world. I don't see any of us researching for years on a vaccine, medicine or therapy that may in the end come up with squat. I don't see us doing anything but using the products that they developed. If you don't like the price STOP BUYING IT. If you don't like the company, DON'T SPEND YOUR MONEY WITH THEM. Stop your whining, life's unfair, and if anyone told you differently, then their a liar.

Answer 5

Look, the fact is, the Workers, Farmers, Consumers, Citizens, and Taxpayers are all greedy. The differance is-Exploitation. The Bureaucrats and Capitalists use US (the above mentioned groups) to line their own pockets. At least under my idea of Socialism, where those people at least use Democracy to balance power, use comprimise, and work togeather. The best result comes from everyone in the group doing what's best for themselves and for the group.

Seek Peace, Fly High, Find Love,
Poncho.

Answer 6

Ah, but the corporations take it to an extreme most individuals wouldn't dream of. For instance, would you personally stop a poor African nation for making generic versions of your prescription drugs - since Americans might fly to that country and buy those generics and therefore cut your profits - even though that results in the deaths of tens of thousands of poor Africans? Could you pull that trigger? Our pharmaceutical companies can. "Killing lives to save profits." That should be their motto.

Being a corporation is like wearing a mask (think "Lord of the Flies"). People don't feel personally responsible for their actions - it's all in the name of "the shareholders demand a profit."

It's the same mentality that drove the tobacco lobby to say cigarettes don't harm people - and Monsanto to rig the government testing of BGH (bovine growth hormone) to say it isn't unhealthy and then sue anyone who rightly disagrees - and the coal industry to lobby for the right to put MORE mercury in the waterways - and the auto/petroleum industry to maintain that diesel soot doesn't have adverse health affects (and then childhood asthma becomes nearly epidemic in inner cities, oops!) - the list goes on.

Answer 7

All the religions and literature teach us how to behave tells us we shouldn't be. Because it has a bad effect on the humanity. We all become animals and not human beings

Answer 8

what happen to looking after your country in time of war why do theses big business peoples raise the price of gas in Time of war there is no need to .that is greed my friend

Answer 9

You are right, but then there have been people like Walt Disney.