Corporate Power

Wow, that is sad news about Kenneth Lay of Enron fame, who just died yesterday of a heartattack. I had slammed him on my old blog a while back, now I feel bad. The point being is that he cheated his shareholders and employees out of millions, and always maintained his innocence. It's as if he just couldn't bring himself to accept responsibility for any wrongdoing -- which is so typical of corporate executives. It's as if they are soul-less, money-making machines and they are so far removed from reality they forgot that they even have a soul. May Mr. Lay rest in peace.

Republicans are big into "personal responsibility" and this is the one right-wing attribute that I embrace. However, the conservatives use this term selectively. If you are a poor, homeless person living in a box, it's your damn PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to get a job. But if you are some cigar smoking corporate executive who is fouling the environment and making people sick in the name of profits, well, there is no PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY there. Mr. Corporate Two-Shoes has the responsibility to MAKE A PROFIT at the expense of everything else. Let the government pay for the mess that the company makes; let the public pay for it in terms of poorer health and a reduced quality of life.

So, this gets us to morals. I find that the people who gripe most about morals usually only endorse a single and narrow view. It's IMMORAL for people to be gay. Shame! But nothing is said about a polluting chemical plant, or a power company that lobbies politicians so that they don't have to clean up their nasty plants. That's MORAL because they are making profits, and government should leave business alone to do whatever they want. Let the taxpayer subsidize the impact of the polluting company. That's MORAL, and that's the way of the good righteous conservatives. Give me a break! The hypocriscy makes me sick. I mean, really.

The Goosey Goose