I have now come to believe in the death penalty...

[Jackpine Radical]

for corporate "persons." Unlike us mere mortals, corporations have the potential for eternal life. When we imprison a human for life without parole, we do knowing the individual is going to die behind bars. There is no equivalent punishment for a malevolent corporation. The only thing we can do is to dissolve the corporation, to end its "life" by dispersing its assets. Enron deserved to die, and so does Halliburton.

[longship]

1. Agreed. Corporate death penalty.

Enron and many others would qualify. Give 'em the gurney and needle.

[mike_c]

2. interesting point, although a more philosphically consistent approach...

...would be to abolish corporate personhood altogether. Don't have to use a double standard to kill 'em if they never live to begin with. Hmmm, corporate abortion, maybe?

[Phredicles]

3. That would be my first choice, but if that's not feasible I like this

"corporate death penalty" idea.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Indeed. In fact, if you look at the whole legal underpinning of

the concept of corporate personhood, it is incredibly slender for the edifice of law that has been built upon it. IIRC, the whole notion has its origin in a note written by a law clerk and appended to a Supreme Court ruling in the 1870's or 80's. That's it. It would be easy legislatively to abolish corporations, but of course politically impossible. Every corporation in the US, and many throughout the world, would fight to the last dollar to hang onto their "personhood." I think it wold be far easier to get a "death penalty" law enacted than to go for abolishment.

[BushOut06]

4. Walmart should be right up there

Personally, I'd love to see any huge mega-corporation that takes jobs away from small businesses, exploits cheap foreign labor, and then sets up all sorts of tax shelters get the corporate death penalty.

[Solon]

5. A one strike and your out policy seems simple enough...

Corporations have NO RIGHTS, not legally, and as such, if they step out of line, their charters should be dissolved, assets seized and liquidated, all fines and taxes paid from that, any remaining money is to then be distributed to its workers, equally.

[Lone_Wolf]

7. Good idea...

Also...

Much like radio and television stations must renew their licenses every so many years after public input, perhaps corporations should be forced to renew their corporate charters every 10 years. Charter renewal would be based on public input as to whether the corporations were operating for the public good...