Watching this class was a walk down memory lane for me. I’ve worked and lived through all of the changes, many negative, during my career. I even sat face-to-face with a corporate head of the same tire company mentioned. Actually, it was that person who sparked my interest in Professor Reich during a work presentation so I should thank them!
I’ve watched the fall of “Stakeholder” capitalism and saw the horrific repercussions of plant closing that resulted in high unemployment, personal bankruptcies, health issues and yes, even suicides. I’ve seen strong middleclass communities fall, home values plummet and poverty skyrocket. Ironically, those who created this nightmare were the first to decry that those who were suffering were either lazy or welfare queens.
As for the roundtable, talk is cheap. Without government intervention through policy and laws, this will continue to get worse creating a population of angry American workers who will turn to authoritarian leadership out of despair. Great class, a real wake-up call!
One company-type we haven't discussed is medical insurers. They've embraced shareholder capitalism in a field where it makes no sense, ethically or morally, to be concerned with profit. The entire idea that every quarter should see an increase in profit, no matter your field, is insane. It makes zero sense. Economies ebb and flow. Contant unrestrained growth is impossible, but exactly what shareholder capitalism demands. In the case of insurance companies, this means companies are "forced" to limit and deny services in order to maintain profits. The highest return, regardless.
Money, and the stuff it can buy, rules in our world. We worship it. We are never taught to be satisfied, or content. What is that? What does that feel like? Is that enough? Until this obsession and worship of money and things is curtailed, I don't see much change.
I'm looking forward to learning about the laws and rules that enable this selfish corporate CEO behavior. We should go back to using the term corporate raiders. "Private equity managers" sounds too benign for the damage they cause. In any case, they should be prohibited by law.
This problem doesn't affect only workers. It also affects people's ability to live in habitable rental homes. Tenants might live in an apartment building that has long had a responsible owner that maintains the property and makes all necessary repairs promptly. In states that lack strong renters' protections, predatory corporate raiders may move in for a hostile takeover, to plunder the property for maximum profit. The new landlord stops providing routine maintenance, fails to respond to repair requests, is delinquent in paying for utilities included in the tenants' rental payments, closes the management office, and cannot be contacted other than through the P.O. box designated for receipt of rental checks. This also destabilizes communities.
An element that has been left out is that of time. I am a woman (a very important point), a grandmother, a mother, a psychotherapist with a full practice. I use e-purchase because I do not have time to go the nearest shopping mall to get a book or other commodity. today there are no neighborhood small retails stores that I might be able to walk to or drive a short distance. I would also reference a book that came out in the late 80s or early 90s, "The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure" by Juliet Schor. It also points out that in the US, in particular, women are the most overworked, And, that is still true. There are many moments when I find your lectures/thinking very male oriented. It is women and people of color who suffer the most with our current system. Who is paying the highest price for coping with COVID? Women...loss of daycare, loss of jobs, now loss of federal assistance. s
My daughter and I are among the fortunate women. My granddaughter is at college so we are not restricted by trying to handle a small child or do education at home. Both of us can work from home. BUT, given that stores are not close, we do a great deal of our shopping by internet. When available, we will shop locally with curbside pickup. Again, a matter of time.
COVID opened up online training seminars. I have been able to get far more training than in the past. I do not have to fly somewhere, stay in a hotel or pay for meals, Yes, the local hotel and restaurants don't get my money BUT I have been able to get MORE training and become a better informed therapist for less money. That is a good trade-off in my mind., My clients benefit from my increased expertise.
I wish I had the money to buy in local stores. At one time I did. I have to stretch every dollar. Gross income $20,000 a year after I pay for my Medicare.
The rise in extreme income/wealth inequality correlates in time with the rise of Conservative Ideology of Greed.
This can't be a coincidence!
The question really is what political outlook and agenda sold to the American people enabled this? Counter to their practical interests?
It all started with Ronald Reagan and his "Government is the problem" message! Enabling money interests to seize the power of government for their own purpose.
Thank you Professor for an excellent class. As one who worked on the line for more than one major company, what you are saying is truly spot on. Will corporations consider the interests of their workers over their bottom line going forward? I doubt it.
I just listened to Class 2, so can only now comment after the fact. During much of the lesson, I kept thinking: "He's not addressing the elephant in the room: The laws that require corporate boards to choose your Plan A, the one the corporate raiders used to send manufacturing jobs abroad and forced workers to lose their middle class lifestyles." That is, the laws in most states that impose a fiduciary duty on those board members to make decisions for the benefit of shareholders - not workers, not the community, not the country. You mentioned "fiduciary duty" several times, but didn't explain it is a legal obligation. And then I heard you say in the last few minutes that you would be discussing these laws in the next session. Good! Because if we changed those laws to impose a fiduciary duty on corporate boards to act also for the welfare of those other "stakeholders", we would go a long way to solving the deleterious effect of the corporation business model on our society.
The Business Roundtable was stuck in system that needs changing, just the way some of the people running for office or who are in office need to sell themselves to big money and abandon the desire to value all 'stakeholders', including the workers at the base level a company. It's all about the money going to the top wealth, and not about constituents or lower paid workers.
One bright spot for me after the COVID epidemic, was seeing the jobs outnumbering the applicants. Any inconvenience was worth it. Where I had worked we were always reminded that there was a line at the door waiting to take our jobs. (We were non-union). But for many of us, moving to another job meant starting at lower wages and giving up benefits like vacation time that we had worked for years to accrue. There was also the worry of “last hired, first fired”. I jumped for joy when, after COVID, workers refused to apply for jobs where they were essentially abused, underpaid, under appreciated and where benefits were practically nonexistent.
Watching this class was a walk down memory lane for me. I’ve worked and lived through all of the changes, many negative, during my career. I even sat face-to-face with a corporate head of the same tire company mentioned. Actually, it was that person who sparked my interest in Professor Reich during a work presentation so I should thank them!
I’ve watched the fall of “Stakeholder” capitalism and saw the horrific repercussions of plant closing that resulted in high unemployment, personal bankruptcies, health issues and yes, even suicides. I’ve seen strong middleclass communities fall, home values plummet and poverty skyrocket. Ironically, those who created this nightmare were the first to decry that those who were suffering were either lazy or welfare queens.
As for the roundtable, talk is cheap. Without government intervention through policy and laws, this will continue to get worse creating a population of angry American workers who will turn to authoritarian leadership out of despair. Great class, a real wake-up call!
One company-type we haven't discussed is medical insurers. They've embraced shareholder capitalism in a field where it makes no sense, ethically or morally, to be concerned with profit. The entire idea that every quarter should see an increase in profit, no matter your field, is insane. It makes zero sense. Economies ebb and flow. Contant unrestrained growth is impossible, but exactly what shareholder capitalism demands. In the case of insurance companies, this means companies are "forced" to limit and deny services in order to maintain profits. The highest return, regardless.
Money, and the stuff it can buy, rules in our world. We worship it. We are never taught to be satisfied, or content. What is that? What does that feel like? Is that enough? Until this obsession and worship of money and things is curtailed, I don't see much change.
How long will these classes be up on YouTube? Pam
I'm looking forward to learning about the laws and rules that enable this selfish corporate CEO behavior. We should go back to using the term corporate raiders. "Private equity managers" sounds too benign for the damage they cause. In any case, they should be prohibited by law.
This problem doesn't affect only workers. It also affects people's ability to live in habitable rental homes. Tenants might live in an apartment building that has long had a responsible owner that maintains the property and makes all necessary repairs promptly. In states that lack strong renters' protections, predatory corporate raiders may move in for a hostile takeover, to plunder the property for maximum profit. The new landlord stops providing routine maintenance, fails to respond to repair requests, is delinquent in paying for utilities included in the tenants' rental payments, closes the management office, and cannot be contacted other than through the P.O. box designated for receipt of rental checks. This also destabilizes communities.
An element that has been left out is that of time. I am a woman (a very important point), a grandmother, a mother, a psychotherapist with a full practice. I use e-purchase because I do not have time to go the nearest shopping mall to get a book or other commodity. today there are no neighborhood small retails stores that I might be able to walk to or drive a short distance. I would also reference a book that came out in the late 80s or early 90s, "The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure" by Juliet Schor. It also points out that in the US, in particular, women are the most overworked, And, that is still true. There are many moments when I find your lectures/thinking very male oriented. It is women and people of color who suffer the most with our current system. Who is paying the highest price for coping with COVID? Women...loss of daycare, loss of jobs, now loss of federal assistance. s
My daughter and I are among the fortunate women. My granddaughter is at college so we are not restricted by trying to handle a small child or do education at home. Both of us can work from home. BUT, given that stores are not close, we do a great deal of our shopping by internet. When available, we will shop locally with curbside pickup. Again, a matter of time.
COVID opened up online training seminars. I have been able to get far more training than in the past. I do not have to fly somewhere, stay in a hotel or pay for meals, Yes, the local hotel and restaurants don't get my money BUT I have been able to get MORE training and become a better informed therapist for less money. That is a good trade-off in my mind., My clients benefit from my increased expertise.
I wish I had the money to buy in local stores. At one time I did. I have to stretch every dollar. Gross income $20,000 a year after I pay for my Medicare.
The rise in extreme income/wealth inequality correlates in time with the rise of Conservative Ideology of Greed.
This can't be a coincidence!
The question really is what political outlook and agenda sold to the American people enabled this? Counter to their practical interests?
It all started with Ronald Reagan and his "Government is the problem" message! Enabling money interests to seize the power of government for their own purpose.
Thank you Professor for an excellent class. As one who worked on the line for more than one major company, what you are saying is truly spot on. Will corporations consider the interests of their workers over their bottom line going forward? I doubt it.
I just listened to Class 2, so can only now comment after the fact. During much of the lesson, I kept thinking: "He's not addressing the elephant in the room: The laws that require corporate boards to choose your Plan A, the one the corporate raiders used to send manufacturing jobs abroad and forced workers to lose their middle class lifestyles." That is, the laws in most states that impose a fiduciary duty on those board members to make decisions for the benefit of shareholders - not workers, not the community, not the country. You mentioned "fiduciary duty" several times, but didn't explain it is a legal obligation. And then I heard you say in the last few minutes that you would be discussing these laws in the next session. Good! Because if we changed those laws to impose a fiduciary duty on corporate boards to act also for the welfare of those other "stakeholders", we would go a long way to solving the deleterious effect of the corporation business model on our society.
The Business Roundtable was stuck in system that needs changing, just the way some of the people running for office or who are in office need to sell themselves to big money and abandon the desire to value all 'stakeholders', including the workers at the base level a company. It's all about the money going to the top wealth, and not about constituents or lower paid workers.
“Modern corporate law does not require for-profit corporations to pursue profit at the expense of everything else, and many do not.”
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/13-354.html
Follows state law. Serving shareholders’ “best interests” is not the same as either maximizing profits, or maximizing shareholder value.
One bright spot for me after the COVID epidemic, was seeing the jobs outnumbering the applicants. Any inconvenience was worth it. Where I had worked we were always reminded that there was a line at the door waiting to take our jobs. (We were non-union). But for many of us, moving to another job meant starting at lower wages and giving up benefits like vacation time that we had worked for years to accrue. There was also the worry of “last hired, first fired”. I jumped for joy when, after COVID, workers refused to apply for jobs where they were essentially abused, underpaid, under appreciated and where benefits were practically nonexistent.
I saw Mickey Mantle play in White Sox Stadium, Comisky Park.
Another reading I would suggest is an article from the Sierra Club's magazine almost 20 years ago. It made a big impression on me when I first read it. https://vault.sierraclub.org/sierra/200509/corporation.asp
OMG!!! The head football coach!!!!