whether you believe it or not, corporations are the dominant force

[staggerleem]

32. I don't necessarily agree that it's "difficult to talk about".

First, ask how the person you are talking to about "the commons" - that which is the shared "property" of all Americans, or all residents of a given state or municipality (e. g., national or public parks). See if he/she agrees that such a thing exists. If not, I think the conversation may be over, but if so, ask what they believe it should properly include. Suggest that a few things that we ALREADY see becoming privatized in some places (prisons, water) SHOULD be included. It's actually quite easy to explain why prison should NEVER be a for-profit business.

Ideally, prisons should serve TWO functions - (1) separating lawbreakers from society and (2) making some effort at rehabilitation so they do not offend again when/if they are released. A prison for profit can fulfill the first of those functions quite adequately, but there's an obvious conflict of interest on the 2nd, as recidivism is "good for business", even if it's bad for the rest of us.

Talk about how the city of Detroit, in an effort to attract a buyer for their municipal water supply, has turned off the water to households that are delinquent in their payments, but delinquent business (Joe Louis Arena, for example) still have water service. How on Earth is that fair, and how does it benefit the general welfare?

The entire concept of incorporation was INVENTED by Governments to encourage entrepreneurship and help isolate an individual's wealth (and, more importantly, liability) from that of the corporation. The Government grants corporate charters, and supposedly does so only if the corporation's business will do some public good. Governments can (and should!) also REVOKE corporate charters, if it is deemed that they are actually doing public harm. We appear to have lost this concept somewhere along the way - we MUST find it again!

A few other things must also be changed regarding how corporations are treated in America. States like Delaware MUST stop issuing corporate charters to any and all comers. It must be made clear that corporations are, legally, ARTIFICIAL persons (so they can commence legal action, and so legal action can be brought against them), and as such are NOT granted the all the same Constitutional rights as NATURAL persons (this will take either a Constitutional Amendment or a new Supreme Court decision that overturns SEVERAL older ones (Billotti, Citizens United, etc.)

So, really, talking about it is not all that hard. Getting some boneheads to LISTEN, on the other hand ...