Ned Pepper's Outrages

Monday, June 21, 2010

Holding Corporations Responsible

Well, some critics of BP have come down pretty hard on us "small people" who have the misfortune to own some BP shares, and who apparently are going to pay the lion's share of remediation costs through foregone dividends. Just a few stats: 40% of BP shareholders are Americans and most are small holders, with fewer than 1000 shares. Many if not most are retired.
This is in no way trying to pose us as victims. Many of the commenters on sites devoted to the BP story have little patience for us. For some reason, they think we are, or should have been, able to correct the behavior of the BP board. Here's a little bit of info from planet Earth to all those who think this: when shareholders vote on company business, it's not one shareholder one vote. It's one SHARE one vote. So the institutional manager who oversees his million shares casts a million votes, and they almost always vote in lockstep with the company. The directors of the company usually have hundreds of thousands of shares. Do you think they vote against the company?
For me, I always vote for the proposals of the rabblerousers and reformers. The Wall Street folks will tell you that any reform vote that gets 40% approval is amazing. Of course it fails, but in the corporate world, the deck is stacked against the small guy, just like that roulette wheel in Casablanca. So, those of you who feel you won't get any social security when you retire, think about what your options are in this society run by politicians for plutocrats. If you don;t invest in the market, you can put your money in CDs or money market funds and get 1%, You will also pay taxes at the income tax rate on interest income. Or you can buy gold. Or muni bonds, paying 2%. Try to retire o investments paying 1-2% a year.
I'm not asking for your support--I couldn't care less-- or your empathy, only that you understand the facts before you express an opinion. Apparently those who are attacking BP believe people should have absolute responsibility for their own actions and for their own life. What a great idea!
Why not put it into practice everywhere and elect Republicans?

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