Do you prefer small businesses or large corporations?

[Deja Q]

Poll question: Do you prefer small businesses or large corporations?

Repukes say they like small businesses, yet seem to do things that only help out large corporations.

Large corporations also destroy small businesses, making those workers go elsewhere or work for the large corporations at much lower wages.

Large corporations are moving offshore to avoid taxes, exploiting people worldwide so they don't have to pay as much in wages, leaving more for the executives even though they say it's a cost cutting measure that'll reflect in the price of the product (it doesn't, naturally).

Let's face it: Our society cannot be made up of both, and we're seeing what the large corporate takeover has done. Is there a way to stop it?

So, how do we create a fair balance? Or can we? Are large corporations at the point where protecting small business is no longer feasable over the long term?

Why not instead find ways of holding large corporations responsible to their workers? Wal-mart, for example, is a multi-billion dollar entity yet they don't even pay their workers anything near a liveable wage, and their health insurance plan is so much of a joke that their employees can't afford it. They're against unionization as well, and today's Americans are so full of fear that they'll bend over backwards for everyone, which only exacerbates the problem. If their commercials were as truly pro-community as they claim, they'd be paying decent wages and offering decent benefits. And apologizing to the small businesses (and towns) they've exterminated in the process.

Do we create tax breaks for corporations who decide not to move offshore and outsource offshore (be 100% US-based)? Create huge taxes for the scumbag corporations who'll avoid paying just taxes and cheat Americans out of jobs while saying "I'm an American company, I demand what America has to offer!"? BOTH? Other?

[IronLionZion]

1. corporations can be a positive thing

if they were responsible. Most will have to be made responsible. I don't see small business making cars, planes, microchips, etc. They definitely need to be regulated enough so that they stay in America and provide fair compensation and job security.

Yes HypnoToad, we can have both.

I voted for both taxes btw.

[IronLionZion]

3. PS all the Democrats are calling for more corporate taxes

and Bush won't so its a no-brainer to vote Democratic in November, regardless of who the nominee is.

[Deja Q]

6. If they were to sell it to the public by

putting the bulk of the taxes on corporations who try to base offshore and use foreign outsoucing to "save money", they'd generate a lot of $$$ AND get a LOT of support from the people, especially those who lost their jobs to foreign outsourcing.

(I hope you candidates are out there reading! ;-) )

[Deja Q]

4. Great point! Also,

Thanks for the input!

True. We do need corporations. But we also need regulations, despite what repukes say. Regulations don't stifle freedom or profit, not when the corporation is so large that they affect tens of thousands of us, if not tens of millions of us.

I also miss the days where there was job security and fair compensation. The two G's ruined that though: Greed and "Globalization". ("Globalization", as practiced, is merely a stepping stone for the CEOs to get richer while screwing more people in the process...)

I'd vote for Both myself. It's a nice incentive to keep corporations here in America while punishing those who selfishly want it both ways.

Besides, if Pakistan and India go nuke each other, won't that put a kybosh on the neo-IT industry? HP and now Microsoft would surely feel the pain... and I'd only be laughing at them. (nuke war is atricious, but for a superpower to be reliant on foreign oil and foreign peoples' work is pretty much :silly: if not retarded in thought... a house whose foundation is weak can't survive when the house needs external struts placed against it. The concept is ludicrous, and the US is that house, with the rest of the world providing those struts. Now when enough of them start hating us (or if they hate each other enough to blow each other to radioactive bits), expect them to withdraw the struts. Back to the point, I'd be laughing at IT for the karma they deserve, but I'd still weep for the people being nuked. That's a nasty way to go...)

[IronLionZion]

7. We could get a crazy amount of tax money

from Benedict Arnold companies like Microsoft and HP. Regular Joe's could keep their tax cuts and still get healthcare and education. The greatest thing about this is that it's not socialism either. It's common sense!

[Deja Q]

8. Our country is socialism. Just a warped version.

With socialism, everybody helps everybody. With America as it stands, consumers are giving money to corporations. If you're a corporation, you're getting more help than everyone else. Some just get more help than others. :D And others get none and are left to die.

Half the time I wonder why they spend millions to make commercials. Their products are well known and are out there, we don't need to see some patronizing jingle when the money spent could have been given back to us in the form of lower prices.

[wakfs]

2. Small businesses mean...

...all your hard work goes in the pockets of a single person who couldn't care less about you.

I hate both.

[Deja Q]

5. Also true, I used to work for one...

I did learn a lot, but the guy was an ass who gave me either 20 hour weeks or 60-70 hour weeks. No holiday pay or sick time. Democrat, too. I wasn't perfect either though. But that's how I learned.

If I knew now what I did 3 years ago, I could have moved up north to start a computer business and live near my parents. Unfortunately, 3 people have since. :-( On the other hand, in my old job, I'd seen how some of the companies never bothered to make backups like we'd instructed them to. :scared: And the one lawyer firm always tried to spin it onto us when something went wrong.

Self-propriatorships are not bad, except the taxes involved double up because you're both owner and employee. That is a freakin' cheat and many can't get around that extra hurdle if they can't generate enough work.

I'd rather work for a large corporation and show them loyalty, but they're not loyal to their workers these days. x(

[Nikia]

9. But we hold him/her personally responsible

Some small business owners don't care if their employees think that they are jerks and the people in the community think that they are crooks as long as people buy their product. They are personally responsible though if they break the law or people get hurt as a result of their business actions. Most small business owners want to be viewed favorably by their employees and communities. It is normal for people to want to be liked by those who they are around. The nature of small business puts small business owners in regular contact with their employees and customers. Because of that, they often do more to please their customers and employees than would be most economically profitable.
In a corporation no one is personally responsible. Fines and law suits are a cost of doing business. No one is going to point a finger at any individual and say "Because of you, my sister died." "Because of you suddenly laying me off, I lost my house." Since no personally suffers any personal censure or praise, the large corporation's goal can only be money.
While a small business owner, who is a jerk in general, might not care about you as a customer or employee, the corporation certainly won't care about you. It cannot care. Only humans care.