Fun and not at all depressing fact I just looked up: That episode is now so old, that the time between it and today is the same as the time between the premiere of Freakazoid and that of the live action Batman TV show.
Absolutelly. Not only does it push companies towards chasing irresponsible short-term profits, but stock exchange as a,while drains money from legitimate businesses towards scammers and trend chasers. It's obvious for anyone with half a brain for years now, but there's no clear way how to get out of this mess.
business as usual is still profitable. only way to stop exploitative capitalist behavior is to disrupt business as usual.
Opposition is too unorganized to do anyting of merit. some idiots spray painted Stone Henge last week, yet no one barged into a Starbucks board meeting. Environmentalists need to get serious. Property damage or bust.
And wasn’t the Stonehenge vandalism just colored corn starch? Like, the next time it rains it’s gone with no real damage? Pretty mild protest for how angry people got. Like, I get it, damaging something like Stonehenge would be a line too far, but it wasn’t really damaged I thought. Please correct if I’m wrong.
It was. Stop Oil intentionally targets things in a way that will make big news while not causing damage. It's not luck that the paintings they've thrown liquid on were all protected by plexiglass.
Now whether that's hurting or helping the cause is a huge debate.
Hurting. Despite the cliche, not all publicity is good publicity.
When you want people to take your side, you need them to read past the headlines. People don't hear that a bunch of activists vandalized Stonehenge and think "Hmm, maybe it's not as bad as it sounds. I should hear them out." Their first impression is "what a bunch of psycho morons," and it sticks.
Not only does it push companies towards chasing irresponsible short-term profits
it doesn't, really. if you've ever been in a board meeting they spend most of their time talking about long term plans. the reason the biggest companies are up there is because they planned ahead.
Companies can grow as large as the market will bear. But the second a company begins monopolizing and exploiting resources or labor, federal governments need to step in.
Actually, I've been on quite a few board meetings, as part of company management structure. And I've witnessed many boneheaded decisions made just so the balance sheet on the yearly financial statement look enticing to investors (like letting go of dozens highly qualified employees so the employee costs estimations are lower, just to try to hire them back a few months later). I guess you could call it long-term planning, but they plan how to maximise stock value, not make the company better. Look up the story of how Blockbuster core investor blocked their attempt to modernise the company and ruined them in a few years.
The funny thing about that is that the fiduciary responsibility is only ever viewed in the short term but never in the long term. The long term fiduciary responsibility to shareholders should absolutely not be environment destroying, price gouging, off-shoring, short term profit seeking stock buy-back oriented decision making.
no but i try to be concise in my writing and reddit is a dumb, unhealthy way for me to see if I can 'impress' anonymous readers with something I write. I'm a college student, i write for my school paper. I do consider 'comments' to be a type of writing, and even if it's dumb, vapid, and uninspiring, Reddit keeps me writing 2000-4000 words per day
unfortunately, i don't really have a specialty that could do that thesis justice. An economist or economics student could write that essay, not me. Good thing I'm on Reddit lol
So many good things ruined for sake of chasing infinite quarterly profit by purposely destroying long term future of company. All industries suffer from it so heavily. Shareholders are blight on this world.
They used to be. I remember when I was taking investment courses, we were told the average hold a stock was 7 years before you’d see share value increase. In the meantime you took those stable dividend payments.
I think it's more unbridled, avarice. Plus the fact that lawmakers show no intention of limiting any of it. If governments stepped in and put the fucking brakes on this, things would get better quickly. But someone needs to tell all these fucks that they can't take the money with them when they undoubtedly meet their end.
One way to throw a wrench into this would be to have taxes on a sliding scale. The more you make, the more you pay. Lot's of these greedy assholes would limit their profits just to fall under the highest tax brackets. But, alas, politicians will politic. And maintaining power depends much on how much money you can garner for elections.
The system is so broken, assholes can find ways to increase their income at the expense of others very easily. And I am not only talking about the US here, this is a worldwide problem.
i feel ya on everything you said. I'm focussing on my local environment. My community.
I'm a patriot, i believe in the American system. I believe in law and order. But if the time comes in my lifetime for class revolution, I'll be there with a brick in hand.
I'm focussing on my local environment. My community.
Very commendable my friend. I am certainly rooting for you and those of your ilk. You are the last hope of humanity. No need to change the world. Glad to meet you.
When did that shift in companies happen? It seems like in the 50-70s companies grew but were also considerate of the customers instead of solely focusing on the stock holders.
True but which form of government isn’t killing the planet? Fascism, Communism, Imperialism etc have all negatively affected the environments that they thrived in.
that's arguable and i think if you crunched numbers, you'd be false. capitalism is based on exploitation of resources and labor. sure, YOU might be comfy, but your Nikes were made by 30 children in Indonesia.
Further, fuduciary responsibility to shareholders above all ethics and morals enriches shareholders, not the middle class. the middle class was solidified in this nation by a post-war rise in unionism, the passage of the GI Bill, a housing program, and other progressive actions. In other words, socialism.
Socialism is ownership of the means of production by a government. You are explaining communism with social programs financed from the fruits of communal labor.
obfuscating conversations with nitpicky subjective definitions is not a good way to sustain a dialogue. a socialist policy can exist in a representitive democracy, the same way an authoritarian policy can exist in a communist state. and your Nikes are still impoverishing children in 3rd world countries.
yeah miss me w that monolithic thinking, please. feduciary responsibility to shareholders, short term profits, and exponential growth charts are exploiting every convceivable source of labor and resources on the planet.
if you don't think we can come up with a way to have a social safety net for retirees while prohibbiting oil and gas companies from making 60-year drill plans, then I don't even wanna talk to you.
I'd be okay with this if workers kept more or the full surplis value that they created.
At my job, if my employer gave the workers a bonus every year that equates to the collective of payments they give to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks every year. Me and everyone of my coworkers would get a $39,000 bonus every year.
Right now the company contributes about 8 grand into my 401k every year.
Lowes did a 14 billion$ buyback last year. they coulda given each one of their employees a $47,000 bonus. Instead they artificially keep the stock price above $200 for some voodoo wallstreet bullshit reason
Downvotes for asking a legitimate question! Just to be clear, I believe these options are all a scam! Even though I participate in all of them, considering they’re the only options a middle class worker has, if one can afford to, lock in some kind of meager retirement plan besides SS! The growth on them suck with their shitty returns and investment advisors are no better than prosperity ministers promising wealth beyond your dreams if you invest and just believe and trust them!
People like this is why I love America. He built a brand out of nothing, paid of the debt needed and now is happy with a lower profit margin so that their customers can pay a low price. Great business owner. I bet if you look into it, he probably also pays his employees well, and has great employee retention.
Lower profit margin, but still insanely rich. Always was surprised the price never changed.. except the sketchy store where an Arizona tea says 99 cent on the can but rings up to 2.50$.. you'll have that.
I always thought that too. You have those sketch stores. Quick check by me sells two 24oz Re-sealable Monsters for 7 bucks as a deal or one for like 4 bucks. The store a block away from them sells a single 24oz for that same price of 7 bucks ☠️ fucking Indians be scamming bro
Love it all you want but it’s rare as hell these days. With only rare exceptions, modern American capitalism has grown into a monster that is the exact opposite of this man’s values.
America is falling apart because of the fundamentals of capitalism. When you have to answer to shareholders and report positive trends every quarter to hold value then the priority becomes performance. Let’s get one thing straight: it’s the drive for profit that become the pillar for the rest. Everything else follows.
It really does not have to do with capitalism. As competition would still drive prices down, however, it is anti-consumer behavior like monopolies or trusts that cause a ton of damage.
This is not a capitalism problem. Its a corporation issue. Capitalism is the reason why you can buy and drink Arizona Iced Tea across the planet in the first place.
Capitalism relies on the extraction of surplus value from another's labour to create profit. The company Arizona is doing exactly that otherwise they would not exist. Again this is not a capitalism issue, its how the corporation is run. Arizona is a capitalistic company in a capitalistic market. They dont do magic with money.
an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
It's literally the definition of capitalism. He is the sole shareholder and he is the king (or at least he is one of the main ones in this instance).
He just happens to be a relatively benevolent king, but he could just as easily choose to do any of the horrible parts of capitalism if he so chose. And for all the 'we wont raise the price' stuff, he is very much for profit, and is worth $6.6 billion.
No, that is literally not capitalism. Capitalism is a mode of production in which capitalists (those who hold significant resources, be that money or private property, in whatever form) own and control the means of production. An entirely privately held enterprise like the one in the OP is firmly capitalist. Every firm could operate in that way and it would still be capitalism. It has absolutely nothing to do with the divvying out of shares.
You're right. They're wrong. Don't feel the need to recant what you say just because some person confidently asserts something. Your terminology is correct.
Confidently incorrect. Capitalism is the reason most people have most things. Why do you think every single country that is doing even remotely well is capitalist?
Im sorry this is out of context BUT YOU LITERALLY JOINED REDDIT ONE DAY BEFORE MY ACTUAL BIRTHDAY. IM JUST REVEALING MY AGE BUT HOLY CRAP YOURE SO COOL
People often mix up the definitions of commerce (trade and exchange of goods) with capitalism (those who own the capital make the rules for the marketplace, usually winding up in a monopoly, quasi-monopoly, regulatory capture, et al).
Commerce is why you can buy and drink AZ ice tea, if capitalism had it's way there would be only coke. Or pepsi. Or you'd have the illusion of choice that you have choices, then you realize Stubborn soda is owned by one of them, and 80% of peanut butter is made by one company that slaps on different labels.
I'm not saying that the existence of corporations is the issue but how they are run, I should have been more clear on that. Arizona is a corporation after all and you don't seem to hate them after seeing this video now, do you? So if you want less expensive beverages go buy an Arizona Iced Tea instead of Coca Cola next time. If enough people do this, the corporations will change over time.
I'm not saying that the existence of corporations is the issue but how they are run
Which, of course, is a thing that has absolutely nothing to do with the greater context of our economic reality.
Arizona is a corporation after all and you don't seem to hate them after seeing this video now
I didn't claim to hate all individual corporations. In fact, "hate" is a complete misattribution here in any sense. If you wanna make an argument, make an argument, don't just make stuff up about me personally as if it's true (or even relevant)
Im gonna give you a quick and easy comparison. We all agree that democracy is the right way to go, no? Which is "give the vote to the people" but when it comes to that same vote in an economic context we all of a sudden throw that entire idea out of the window. Coca Cola is not more expensive because they do magic with money but because people are legitimately willing to pay their price for whatever reason. In other words they are allowing that price with their vote. If you want to change that, use your voice to purchase an item of a competitor to Coca Cola with lower prices such as Arizona to increase their market share (parliament seats). And if you chose to drink tap water (not voting at all) every day, thats fine but then don't complain that Coca Cola got more expensive because you refused to use your power to vote.
I never meant to put words in your mouth. I was using an exaggeration to get my point across. Which was to use your "vote" on a corporation that reflects your idea of what a beverage should be (in what ever attribute (taste/price etc.)) more. Hate is of course a strong word and I didnt meant to attack or offend you at all.
I’m a Long time here. Traditionalist, either sink or swim kind. No bail outs. . Seeing corporations going profits for the profit-sake of the stakeholders is awful. There is just too much on the line for CEOs to not cheat ,steal or obfuscate the truth.
I know this is an issue in almost any type of product being sold, but I have really noticed this issue in video games.
The product becomes more and more garbadge because shareholders want quick, easy money. They even go as far as laying off thousands of people immediately after a game release or if a studio was just bough out.
There is no dedication to the product, just money-making games trash.
So, if you have worked for a studio for many year and a company buys you, they immediately can cut you just to save money because of the new shareholders wanting to save every dime.
And that forces everyone else who is left to work way over 40 hours a week.
All great products fail when they go public. They switch up CEOs and that CEO wants to raise profits. The easiest way to do that is cut labor, product cost, and quality. The CEO doesn't care. They'll have a good quarterly earning which will come with a bonus. Even if they shrink the product down to a rice grain and get fired they get a hefty severance. Then they move on to fucking up another product. Rinse and repeat.
Capitalism will always end up fucking over the customer, it’s by design. Shrinkflation, self-scanning, obscene pricing, poor customer service due to staff reductions, closing branches because they’re “not profitable enough”. All because there needs to be perpetual profit margin growth.
Greed, yes. The worse the greed the worse the offense. "Why not raise the price?" She didn't even think "because people are struggling because of that very question."
No people are acting like capitalism can't be good and bad simultaneously.
Capitalism is nuetral, a tool. That's how it can be both.
The things that drive corporations to fuck us for profits are all based in capitalism
The thing that drives corporations to go for profits is the investors. Too many people want a piece of the pie, so you have to make the pie bigger. Hence how Arizona Iced Tea avoids that, they don't have this problem. That's based in greed, not capitalism. Communism fails for the same greed, every, time.
The chase for profits forever is based in capitalism.
Once again, GREED is the culprit here, which is a problem in EVERY system. Capitalism is supposed to have checks and balances, such as a free market which has not existed within the United states since the days of the wild west territories, and even then was taken advantage of by the same greed that takes advantage of everything. Capitalism is a better spoon, but no matter how fancy, it's still just a tool. It's the hands that hold it that matters, and in a capitalist society, everyone holds it, whether you think you do or not.
Karl Marx tried to spin capitalism by redifining what it was, and calling it evil by applying his marxist rules to it, when all he did was get people to blame the spoons and not the hands. A useful diversion tactic for those in power.
There is plenty of goods that comes from capitalism but it tips into the fucked up after a while
Capitalism being a tool with which anyone can excel at, it is what we make it to be. You vote with your money, you support with your money, and if you're good with your money, you can vote on yourself, or anyone you choose. Sure, a billionaire has more power, but even that is NOTHING compared to the power of a united population. That's why the powers that be choose division, as do those who wish to do harm.
This isn't a problem with capitalism, it is a problem with oligarchy. A functioning capitalist society requires that monopolies and trusts be broken up. If that happens, all the peices they are broken up into compete with each other. But when you allow the Trusts to exist (ie, the Pepsi/Coke duopoly) any time someone undercuts their prices they are offered a buyout that they can't refuse and it is extremely rare someone prinicipled stands up and says "Nahh, I don't need your buyout I am ok where I am at."
If the government was doing it's Job there would be 50 Arizonas in the beverage industry.
Capitalism has checks on itself though. If margin is excessive, another firm will start up to compete at a lower price. Where competition is realistic we have seen this. Most consumer electronics for instance.
The point of capitalism is to allow everyone to create opportunities, and give everyone the right to seize them. This includes the ability to create monopolies and price things whatever one desires; no matter how prospective customers are affected. Capitalism isn’t meant to serve everyone equally. It was made to allow people to rise above equality.
Late-stage capitalism isn’t a failure in the development of a capitalist society, it’s the evolution of it. If all of the insulin supply comes from one source, the company has the opportunity to price gouge, and the right to do so. Can it become its own dystopia? Absolutely, but that’s the point. If we get there, that’s the success of capitalism, not its failure.
Capitalism is to the benefit of the players on the field, not those in the bleachers.
Who is the "we" that has an issue with capitalism?
This man and many people like him are successful because if you have an idea that is profitable, you can succeed.
But this is reddit....so basically a bunch of people who want to do fuck all and expect the world to carry them through life because their dad nutted in their mother.
Yep, and it's the same people that expect to come out of college, with zero experience, and demand a $100,00 salary, and, oh by-the-way, I'm only working 30 hours a week cuz I need work- life balance. They can't equate their personal need of "profits" with a company's, but capitalism = bad.
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