Study shows powerful corporations really do control the world's finances

[Tonington]

They get to vote on them!

Not all shares are voting shares...

 

[JLM]

Not all shares are voting shares...

I'll take your word for that. :smile:

 

[TenPenny]

They get to vote on them!

Actually, unless it's a very small business, the shareholders get to vote for the board of directors, and the occasional major event (takeovers, major changes in structure), but the shareholders have NO input on any other decisions.

 

[SLM]

we needed a study to prove that?8O You live on Mars??

This is Canada. We need a study for everything.

Eat the Rich! Or feed them to your dogs.

Again with the canabalism?

Shareholders don't make the decisions.

The board of directors makes the decisions.

They get to vote on them!

On decisions of the company? No, they don't, not really.

Not all shares are voting shares...

Absolutely, the trade off is the equity investments or dividend income added to peoples investment portfolios.

 

[JLM]

A few of your have set me straight on the voting issue. I guess I was a little confused as I recently got to vote when my mutual fund changed from being something like "Global Bond" to "Canadian Bond", not being bothered with all the ramifications I voted "Yes". :smile:

 

[CDNBear]

The study is on the arXiv database, and the abstract of the study is listed as well, to which you partially quoted.


If you go to the link at arXiv, you can click the link on the left hand side to get the pdf of the full study.

Link to the study:
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1107/1107.5728v1.pdf

Thanks Ton.

I wonder why Abtfet couldn't point that out for me when I asked?

You assistance is all well and good Ton, but IMHO, the whole is placed in a great big shadow by...

So far, only small national samples were studied and there was no appropriate methodology to assess control globally.

 

[Tonington]

I'll take your word for that. :smile:

You don't need to take my word for it:
Non-voting stock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or look at this return on google news for the search "non-voting shares".

You assistance is all well and good Ton, but IMHO, the whole is placed in a great big shadow by...

That's referring to studies to date, not the study they performed. It's all in the .pdf. That's why reading the abstract isn't sufficient when a scientist/researcher is reviewing the literature to place their own results within the broader academic context. It's clumsy wording, though you have to understand that these are Swiss researchers, so sometimes the translation to English isn't quite what an English speaker would expect.

 

[CDNBear]

That's referring to studies to date, not the study they performed. It's all in the .pdf. That's why reading the abstract isn't sufficient when a scientist/researcher is reviewing the literature to place their own results within the broader academic context. It's clumsy wording, though you have to understand that these are Swiss researchers, so sometimes the translation to English isn't quite what an English speaker would expect.

My bad, I'll have to take the time to read the study.

I wonder if Abtfet did.

 

[Bar Sinister]

I'm not sure how valid it is but I've also heard it said that if you want a good G.M. product you have to buy one that was built on a Wednesday morning. If there is ANY truth to that statement it doesn't say much for G.M employees. QUOTE]

The story was that since many employees arrived for work on Monday hung over or did not bother to show up at all, work performed on a Monday was substandard. It applied to all US made automobiles so far as I know. I have no idea whether or not it is still relevant.

 

[taxslave]

Are you not overlooking the fact that the bottom 50% of income earners make so little (only 2.5% of the total wealth of the USA) that it is almost impossible for them to make enough to pay taxes? While the top one percent in the US now takes home 24% of the total wealth. You don't seem to understand that people who live from paycheque to paycheque and often have to resort to food banks in order to survive might not have any spare cash for paying taxes. Pay the average wage earner a decent wage and then they will actually rise enough above the poverty level to be able to pay taxes. Or do you favour a society dominated by the ultra-rich in which the vast majority of the population scrabbles for what is left over?

As for your NDP comment I fail to see that it has the least bit of validity. As a matter of fact it makes no sense whatsoever, given the NDP's traditional policies. But then I expect you know very little about parties that actually want to help the average wage earner.



Quite true. But to be completely fair; these corporations have a long history of talking competition, free enterprise, and a lack of government regulation. If they truly believe in such policies then they should be willing to accept the ultimate outcome of the capitalist system, which is that some businesses succeed and others fail. Also, if I remember correctly was it not our right wing friends who immediately pounced on the workers you mention and blamed them for everything that was wrong with the US automobile industry?

Not at all. That is my point. about 50% pay no taxes at all but use the bulk of government services so how can they say that the rich are not paying their fair share?
In BC it is the LIberal party that has the best interests of non government workers at heart. The NDP is against every economic generator to come along. And we are talking big projects that provide lots of high paying union jobs. The NDP is only interested in raises and even less work for their militant and lazy government union backers. But don't let facts come in the way of your lack of knowledge of politics.

It is also the big union pension funds that own significant shares it the large corporations and demand high quarterly profits to sustain their pension payouts.

 

[petros]

It is also the big union pension funds that own significant shares it the large
corporations and demand high quarterly profits to sustain their pension payouts.

Same goes for CPP and EI fund buddy. If you want one **** of a good stock portfolio, invest in the same things CPP does.

 

[Nuggler]

Same goes for CPP and EI fund buddy. If you want one **** of a good stock portfolio, invest in the same things CPP does.

Or the teacher's union......Ont.

 

[JLM]

Same goes for CPP and EI fund buddy. If you want one **** of a good stock portfolio, invest in the same things CPP does.

Grocery staples, tooth paste, toilet paper, condoms and sanitary napkins. :smile:

 

[Bar Sinister]

Not at all. That is my point. about 50% pay no taxes at all but use the bulk of government services so how can they say that the rich are not paying their fair share?
In BC it is the LIberal party that has the best interests of non government workers at heart. The NDP is against every economic generator to come along. And we are talking big projects that provide lots of high paying union jobs. The NDP is only interested in raises and even less work for their militant and lazy government union backers. But don't let facts come in the way of your lack of knowledge of politics.

It is also the big union pension funds that own significant shares it the large corporations and demand high quarterly profits to sustain their pension payouts.

What are you statistics on how much the bottom half of society uses? Do they use international airports as much as the rich; publicly funded sports arenas and stadia as much as the rich; universities and technical schools as much as the rich; industrial infrastructure as much as the rich. I could go on, but it is highly likely that the wealthy use a good deal of more of the publicly funded infrastructure than do the poor.

And since when is it only unions that have stock portfolios? Try to use some of that vaunted knowledge that you claim to have.

Also, what have the views of political parties in BC got to do with this? Read the thread and stop trying to draw it off topic; especially into an area where you are out of your depth. Anyone who actually believes that the NDP opposes any project that will create jobs for the average citizen clearly does not know what he is talking about.

 

[taxslave]

What are you statistics on how much the bottom half of society uses? Do they use international airports as much as the rich; publicly funded sports arenas and stadia as much as the rich; universities and technical schools as much as the rich; industrial infrastructure as much as the rich. I could go on, but it is highly likely that the wealthy use a good deal of more of the publicly funded infrastructure than do the poor.

And since when is it only unions that have stock portfolios? Try to use some of that vaunted knowledge that you claim to have.

Also, what have the views of political parties in BC got to do with this? Read the thread and stop trying to draw it off topic; especially into an area where you are out of your depth. Anyone who actually believes that the NDP opposes any project that will create jobs for the average citizen clearly does not know what he is talking about.

I guess you never read a newspaper or follow politics. But please don't let facts cloud your rhetoric.

 

[JLM]

What are you statistics on how much the bottom half of society uses? Do they use international airports as much as the rich; publicly funded sports arenas and stadia as much as the rich; universities and technical schools as much as the rich; industrial infrastructure as much as the rich. I could go on, but it is highly likely that the wealthy use a good deal of more of the publicly funded infrastructure than do the poor.

And since when is it only unions that have stock portfolios? Try to use some of that vaunted knowledge that you claim to have.

Also, what have the views of political parties in BC got to do with this? Read the thread and stop trying to draw it off topic; especially into an area where you are out of your depth. Anyone who actually believes that the NDP opposes any project that will create jobs for the average citizen clearly does not know what he is talking about.

Probably a lot more than you would think. They ride transit a lot more than the rich, and due to community help they use the sports facilities a lot. They probably use hospital and health facilities as much if not more than the rich. Indirectly they do use the airlines as many consumer goods are flown in. Added to all that the fact is there are far more poor people than rich people. It's too bad that poor people (most of whom look exactly like you and me) are stereotyped as down in the gutter at Main and Hastings. :smile:

 

[petros]

.

Indirectly they do use the airlines as many consumer goods are flown in.

The North Central Community Association lobster night was a huge success

 

[SLM]

.The North Central Community Association lobster night was a huge success

That's awesome!

For a while there I was worried.

 

[Bar Sinister]

I guess you never read a newspaper or follow politics. But please don't let facts cloud your rhetoric.

Great answer. Suppose you supply me with some of your "facts." I notice you ignored my challenge to do so. Could it be because you just make them up as you go along?

Probably a lot more than you would think. They ride transit a lot more than the rich, and due to community help they use the sports facilities a lot. They probably use hospital and health facilities as much if not more than the rich. Indirectly they do use the airlines as many consumer goods are flown in. Added to all that the fact is there are far more poor people than rich people. It's too bad that poor people (most of whom look exactly like you and me) are stereotyped as down in the gutter at Main and Hastings. :smile:

Really - how many sports franchises do the poor own? As for health services - how many of the wealthy want sick or injured workers in their businesses?

If you really think carefully about it there is an enormous amount of free infrastructure provided to large and medium businesses; including an educated workforce, health care services; and transport to get the workers to their places of employment to mention just a few. This all comes out of public finances giving large businesses more than their share of government expenditures. In addition, all of the working poor buy products from these businesses. Somehow it does not seem to me that the wealthy are really overburdened with taxes compared to what they get back from them.