Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 20 May 2013 [View all]Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)1. The 4 Big Ways That Insatiable Corporate Hunger for Profits Has Devastated American Life -- and the
The 4 Big Ways That Insatiable Corporate Hunger for Profits Has Devastated American Life -- and the World Along with It
Big business is making its way around the world like a modern-day Attila the Hun, pillaging and despoiling the planet.
May 19, 2013 |
The damage caused by the relentless corporate drive for profits has become more clear in recent years. In the most important areas of American life, devastating changes have occurred:
Health Care: Almost half of the working-age adults in America passed up doctor visits or other medical services because they couldn't afford to pay. The system hasn't supported kids, either. A UNICEF study places the U.S. 26th out of 29 OECD countries in the overall well-being of its children.
Education: Student loan balances increased by 75% between 2007 and 2012.
Household Wealth: Median wealth fell by 66% among Hispanic households and 53% among black households between 2005 and 2009, mainly because of the mortgage banking collapse. Almost half of Americans have ZEROwealth, with their assets surpassed by debt.
Water and Food: Life-giving seeds and drinking water have been increasingly treated as products to be bought and sold.
All these areas of life have been degraded by a free-market system that has thrived on publicly-funded research, infrastructure, and defense. Yet in a brazen show of hypocrisy, major corporations have ignored all the problems they've caused, choosing instead to cut their taxes in half despite doubling their profits, to hold 60% of its cash offshore, to eliminate workers rather than create jobs, and to reduce the pay of their remaining employees.
An Apple executive explained: "We don't have an obligation to solve America's problems."
(snip)
http://www.alternet.org/economy/4-big-ways-insatiable-corporate-hunger-profits-has-devastated-american-life-and-world-along
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
48 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
The 4 Big Ways That Insatiable Corporate Hunger for Profits Has Devastated American Life -- and the
Fuddnik
May 2013
#1
10 Amazing Charts That Demonstrate The Slow, Agonizing Death Of The American Worker
Demeter
May 2013
#6
Elderly Man Allegedly Dies in Court Fighting Wells Fargo 'Wrongful' Foreclosure
Demeter
May 2013
#10