Is a Cornerstone of Conservatism Trusting Corporations to Behave?

Question

Less gov't regulation of business and assume that a free and fluid marketplace will instantaneously transmit information to citizens making corporate activities transparent? 'Cuz if that's what conservatives think will happen, they are delusional. If the gov't stop monitoring environmental aspects of corporations, their would be thousands of them dumping God knows what all over the place within 24 hours. I've worked for companies that do it now when they think they can get away with it. Also, imagine what companies like Enron and Halliburton would be trying to get away with.

rukiddin, i agree. I've personally seen what corporations try to get away with even while they are regulated. Less regulation would be a disaster - ecologically, financially, and in a lot of other areas. There are some real sociopaths running corporations today.

John K, I was joking about the Pamela Anderson job. It's just a dream job I'd like to have one day.

Answer 1

Anyone who "trusts" companies of any kind to do the right thing are misplacing their trust. And I'm a Republican who considers herself an conservative, though I think I'm really a moderate.

Answer 2

Well, I think the free market system has pretty much been proven to be the most efficient way to allocate resources (much more so than if the government is allowed to make these decisions). That said, there is such a thing in economics as an externality, which is when there is an unforseen consequence of an economic choice (driving = good, but pollution from driving = bad). I think it's these externalities that are the problem, not the concept of the free market. One idea i heard which i thought was pretty good was taxing these externalities directly. For example, a factory which puts out a lot of climate change contributing toxic emissions would have to pay a tax to do this, giving a company less incentive to do this. Remember, a corporation is pretty much a bunch of people (like us, believe it or not) getting together to make a profit. They make their decisions based on profit potential, not on how much they can hurt the environment. If the profit potential is not there, businesses will not do it. However, I don't think direct government intervention is the answer because the government has demonstrated itself incapable of management and efficiency (check out the DMV or the war in iraq).

http://dystopicutopianism.blogspot.com/

Answer 3

lassie faire...btw I worked for both enron (one of it's heritage companies Houston natural Gas...taht's where Lay came from) and Brown and Root (now kellog brown and root, haliburton's construction arm)...Lay and company turned out to be scoundrels for sure...haliburton has done so many good things around this world that the list is too long to mention...look it up...they are a favorite target of the left due to Cheney's being the former ceo. Like any huge corp doing military infratsructure/logistics contracts in a war zone they are going to overstep sometimes, that is why we have auditors. Having been a marine i can tell you the job haliburton is doing in iraq is the toughest job in the world. As for all corps being bad, no I don't agree, but they do concentrate on teh bottom line too much sometimes and need some regulation for sure...there is a happy medium I think. BTW I now work for the worlds largest defense contractor.

Answer 4

No. But I'm not just going to assume that they are going to be irresponsible either. It is up to us as citizens to keep an eye on them and if there is a problem, to report it. Would you rather we put our trust in a government that is so inefficient that they have to keep finding new ways to pick our pockets. Then they say "big business has to pay more" so they tax big business who then raises prices, moves out of the country to cut labor costs, cuts profits(do you have a 401k or IRA?), or they merge with another company which makes them even bigger than they were before. Or they raise gas taxes, "stick it to big oil". Then transporting goods gets more expensive. Prices go up, people can't buy as much, demand for goods and services goes down, people lose their jobs. Our government is willing to punish success to pay for their failures. Only problem is when they punish big business WE are the ones who get punished.

Answer 5

Given that we are watching the executives of the major gasoline producers cringing in their chairs in front of Congressional questioning, I think we can be sure that some of our elected officials are willing to challenge the stupidity of let-it-be economics.

I'm sure there are plenty of republican businesses and families that are hurt due to the price of fuel. This cannot go on much longer.

Answer 6

No. The conservative ideal is to hold wrongdoers accountable after the fact, rather than to dictate thier actions pre-emptively. So while they don't trust coporations - or individuals - they do not feel the need to invasively regulate them, either.

Answer 7

It is your responsibility to make them behave with your dollars. If you do not approve of their tactics or the manner in which they treat the environment don't buy their product.

You will find that you have much more power than the government.

Answer 8

I thought you worked as a breast masseur for Pamela Anderson. That's what you posted in answer to one of my questions yesterday. Which one is it that you do for a living??

Well, if its your dream job, is it still open, and where does she accept applications?

Answer 9

Quite the opposite; one of the cornerstones of capitalism is that competition be enforced and laws obeyed.

I believe that corporations and their officers should face the same confiscation rules and long prison sentences for hiring illegals that marijuana peddlers face.

I realize enforcing immigration laws would violate your liberal sensitivities but it is vital for US economics

Answer 10

I think all conservatives would favor Glastnos and Perestroika when it comes to dealing with corporations.