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  • From: "Rick Williams" <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: corporations
  • Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2002 15:44:21 -0500



> Don't confuse being in business with being incorporated. Until you came
> along, no one on this list seemed to have a problem with the lexicon used
> here.

A fresh perspective sometimes can help. But sometimes people have too much
of an agenda and are not willing to look at both sides. Each has to decide
that for themselves.

> The use of the terms "corporation and corporations" here has almost
> always been in the context of large, anonymously owned businesses, and
> no one has ever complained before that this was not understood.

Even large businesses, still have to play by the same rules of the market. I
own parts of many corporations as do many if not most Americans. More than
at any time in the past. We want our companies to do well and we want them
to act properly. If they act like Enron or Arthur Andersen, they are
history. A big message was sent to business. It has little to do whether
they are incorporated or not. Some of the biggest frauds I have ever known
where perpetrated by small businesses. And they may or may not have been
incorporated (Some are LLC's and LLP's).

> And don't confuse being in the red with profitability. There are
> plenty of
> corporate entities in this country that show losses for tax purposes and
> to their shareholders but continue to accumulate cash from operating
> surpluses. Thanks to special interest tax loopholes and the like it is
> done legally. The oil business is one of those cases if you need an
> example.

Everybody in that business has the same oil depletion allowance. No
different than when I had some trees harvested on my farm and was allowed
such similar deductions. It has zero ... absolutely zero ... to do with any
fixation on whether you are or are not a corporation.

> It actually looks like it is going the other way. As large corporations
> and global enterprises accumulate financial and political power
> through the corruption of local systems -- long run views will be
> ever more "undesirable" for the effect they have on shareholders
> and keeping the stock price high.

We are just going to have to disagree on this.

> Elected officials represent their own interests and those of their
> constituencies when it suits their purposes. Go to the next
> fundraiser put on by your elected representatives in your state
> capitol or the D.C. You are not going to find very many
> interested citizens in attendance. Why, because most
> politicos don't want outsiders looking in on what really
> happens.

I guess it is hopeless then since everything is corrupted in this country:)

> Gene McCarthy lost. It doesn't matter who runs for President.
> What matters
> is who wins the office. Same goes for all other elected offices. What is
> likely to get this country in better shape is a serious third
> party which regularly
> gains offices because people want and do not fear change.

I don't know if you were around at that time with Gene, but believe me, he
had a huge impact on the country. We did not expect him to win necessarily,
it is a message to the other parties. Just like third party challenges. Even
then you sometimes wind up with interesting situations such as dark horse
candidates such as Jesse Ventura as Governor of MN.

Things are just not that bleak overall from my perspective. Some of you
folks must honestly live in despair everyday.

For those of us who were truly angry back in the 1960's with what seemed at
the time to be a nearly insane president making illogical decisions, things
are pretty decent today with quite a change in thinking from the middle
position.

Sincerely,

Rick Williams





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