Supreme Court Okays Corporate Death Penalty

[kpete]

Supreme Court Okays Corporate Death Penalty




................They weren't focusing on it. They were focusing on the immigration aspect-- that Arizona's law allows shutting down corporations that are repeat offenders at giving work to undocumented aliens.

........................

If a corporation can be given the "death penalty" as Governor Napolitano, the governor who signed the legislation into law described it, for immigration law violations, then it is also possible, now that a precedent has been set, to set corporate death penalties for other corporate crimes.

One of the issues often raised when considering the problems with corporate personhood is the lack of accountability of corporations. They are immortal and do not face the same consequences as humans who commit murder or engage in capital crimes.

This Supreme Court decision could open the door for the creation of equal justice laws that make corporations accountable and face the same punishments as human criminals.

MORE:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Supreme-Court-Okays-Corpor-by-Rob-Kall-110527-555.html

[Poll_Blind]

1. Oh shit, I love it KPete! Thanks for posting this!

:thumbsup:

PB

[ejpoeta]

2. don't you think that outfit should be the uniform for congress? just sayin.. i mean

without the electrodes on the head part.

[former9thward]

3. This is a licensing decision.

States and localities have always had the right to put conditions on a business license which allows a company to operate. Violate the conditions and the license can be pulled -- the death penalty. Really no different than a restaurant that has to close because of health violations.

[Lionessa]

4. I like that law, and

now not only because it puts the onus on the culprit that profits from the illegal activity, also because of this extended perspective.

Just now the Citizens United ruling doesn't look so bad. At least the USSC is seemingly going to allow corporations to experience both the good and the bad. I can almost deal with that. Though I expect the big corps will then buy the cops and enforcers even more, so that only the little guys get hit.

[TahitiNut]

5. Unfortunately, the "resurrection" of the corporate 'cells' is far too easy.

It's a simple matter of dissolving the now-unlicensed corporate entity and shifting salvaged and protected (limited liability, after all) capital and assets to a new 'shell' corporation. It's almost like some science fiction scene where the Borg-like elements scatter and then reform another monster.

Without some minimal capitalization requirements that could serve to cover some high civil penalites, and some meaningful criminal penalties for the OFFICERS of the corporation, such "unlicensing" will be a mere charade in which the names get changed to protect the guilty.

[femrap]

6. The Corporate Charter could

be revoked, the Board of Directors indicted, and all the CEOs, CFOs, COOs, etc. get to face a Judge and Jury. I'm sure we could work out the details.

K and R

[Scuba]

7. Oh, thank goodness. I thought it meant the SCOTUS had given....

...corporations the right to impose the death penalty. On a 5-4 vote, no doubt.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

8. Wow, a Death Penalty I might actually support.

Who knew?

I'd love to see a Halliburton or Blackwater "get the chair."

[11 Bravo]

9. The law of unintended consequences can be a real bitch.

[RickFromMN]

10. Corporations, if we want to treat them like persons, cannot be immortal.

I propose we tie the "life" of the corporation to a living person, the Chairman of the Board.

When a corporation gets a new chairman, the corporation becomes a "new" person,
a child of the previous corporation. At that moment, estate taxes kick in.
Make the corporation pay estate taxes each time a new Chairman of the Board is selected.

I propose, if we want to treat a corporation like a person, a real person has to be accountable.
If the corporation breaks the law, the criminal charge go against the Chairman of the Board.
If found guilty, the Chairman of the Board goes to jail, the corporation dies, pays estate taxes,
and a new corporation, a child of the previous corporation, comes into existence.

I know my idea is too radical to have any possibility of becoming reality.
Corporate executives and board members hide behind the corporation to avoid personal liability.

Can anyone suggest a less radical solution to this problem?
Corporations cannot be immortal people.
Real people can't hide their personal liability behind corporations.

[randr]

11. Now is the time to organize and write State Referendums

calling for punishment of corporations for environmental destruction.

[applegrove]

12. Wonderful!!

:woohoo:

[hootinholler]

13. Can we have them drawn and quartered?

Oh please? Pretty please?

It was done once with AT&T...

-Hoot

[Bubba Kush]

14. Round up the top 10 CEO crooks

and execute them. With the item that they used to make profits.

[Cherchez la Femme]

15. K & R -- for wishful thinking.

But seriously, look at reality:

Corporations break the law, they're bailed out by the Government: No oversight, no questions asked.

Their CEO's, Boards, others in charge aren't arrested, tried and sentenced for obvious crimes: For "THEM, we gotta look Forward, not back" (and always whirling, twirling, whirling)

Their compensation is hundreds-to-thousands of times what the 'little people' --those who actually do the work-- are paid, and growing.
No, no bad, BAD Regulations :puke: for THEM!

The government touts how our economy has 'recovered'
--but the only recovery is in Corporate profit$ -- workers in the U.S. have it harder than ever.



The only reason one of the few prosecuted was Bernie Madoff -- and that's because he ripped off rich people,
if he preyed on the poor/working poor/Middle Class (all rapidly becoming the same thing), do you really think he'd have been prosecuted to any degree as to which he was?


I used to be an optimist.
Nowadays, I'm practically catatonic...