OT: Public referrendums on destroying evil companies

[Instar]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
The Last question is the most important. Companies are NOT people and should not be given the rights of people. Yet some senile old Supreme Court judges in the late 19th century gave them the rights of people and no one since has had the brains or guts to fix this ****up legislatively. Prior to this disaster a 'company' was a public trust and was vulnerable to the public if it exploited and harmed them. Since that Supreme Court ruling they are the proxy shields for the new Robber Barons. Someday, someone has got to stand up and say 'no quasi-governmental power without commensurate responsbility to the public!'

Corporations need the rights as individuals, its necessary for them.
Also, the public *can* get rid of companies -- just stop buying their bloody products! X10.com went out of business recently, no one bought their schlock and thus they ran outta money.
And I rather like Microsoft, so you can bugger off!

[Growltigger]

Instar is exactly correct. Corporations need the same rights as individuals if only for the customer's own protection - so they can sue the company!! you couldn't do that if the company had no separate legal identity!

As to customers, there is no company in the world that has such a monopoly that you cannot exercise your legal right to object to that company by not buying its products.

As to McDonalds, I dont have any real objection to them at all. I dont eat it, and am not particularily happy when the "golden arches" are suspended 50 feet in the sky glowing cos I am anti-light pollution.

I suppose the only thing I dont like about McDonalds (other than the burgers) is the marketing bias they have toward children, but then KFC tends to do the same, and I do like Kentucky Fried Rodent

[PvK]

Corporations do not need, nor should they have, the same rights as humans. Growltigger, your example is non-sequitur - equal rights is not the same thing as legal existance.

Nor do humans need corporations. Corporations should only exist to do beneficial things, and when they start becoming monsters, they should be controlled.

Saying that the people who are sufficiently informed can avoid buying certain products is a ridiculous non-solution.

As I said before, I included McDonalds on the list mainly out for humor and curiosity.

PvK

[Cyrien]

I have to agree with PvK.

Corporations do not need the same rights you and I have. Lets look at that.

Should a Corporation have the right to vote in elections? Does a coporation have a fundamental right to exist? If a corporation commits murder does it get the death penalty? Can it change citizenship and get a drivers license? A student loan so it can better itself with a better education?

No. All of those would be absurd because a corporation IS NOT a person. So why should it be given the rights of one? The reason is simple. Because by doing so you save time and effort on lazy legal law makers who don't want to create a seperate class for Corporations so you just say they are people. That gives them lots of rights, some they should have and some they shouldn't and you don't need to do anything cept let the courts decide.

[Mephisto]

Corporations of course have not ALL the rights of a person but they have some and they need them. Behind every corporation there are people. A corporation is nothing but a group of individuals. Each individual has certain rights and just because they act as a group you cannot take their rights away from them. If you deny the corporation adequate rights you deny the people behind the corporation these rights.

[Phoenix-D]

Originally posted by PvK:
Corporations do not need, nor should they have, the same rights as humans. Growltigger, your example is non-sequitur - equal rights is not the same thing as legal existance.

Nor do humans need corporations. Corporations should only exist to do beneficial things, and when they start becoming monsters, they should be controlled.

Saying that the people who are sufficiently informed can avoid buying certain products is a ridiculous non-solution.

As I said before, I included McDonalds on the list mainly out for humor and curiosity.

PvK

Really, PvK? Because if non one buys a corps products..the corperation GOES BACKRUPT. This is gennerally considered a bad thing for them. And please define what you mean by benifical, because using just that I know of more than a few people who would leave McDonalds and the other corps you listed alone, but close down MM, Shrapnel and quite a few others you would like to see stay in one piece.

[deccan]

Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
And please define what you mean by benifical, because using just that I know of more than a few people who would leave McDonalds and the other corps you listed alone, but close down MM, Shrapnel and quite a few others you would like to see stay in one piece.

I have to agree with that. Reminds of that time when people were complaining that Magic: The Gathering is an evil game because it has satanic icons on some cards.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

someone once told me that once MS releases a new OS, they make the old ones freeware. personally, i think there's about a 1.5% chance of that being true, but i decided to ask anyway.

[Fyron]

It is hardly true. They still sell Win 98 and 2000.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

well, i'd tell the guy, if i still remembered who it was.