POST A. An Invitation
POST B. How Important Justice?
POST C. Why end corporate abuse?
POST D. Taking Action
1. Against Government or Business?
2. Threatening the Common Good
3. "Socially Responsible"
Companies
4. Wall Street Banks
5. Specifying Abusive Corporations
POST E.
Politically Speaking
POST F. Black
Lives Matter....To the Christian Church?
1. Against Government or Business?
In the last two
posts, I explained that abuse equals injustice. I suggested that those who care
about justice would be willing to hold abusers accountable for their actions. I
believe that the influential spheres of government and business are good places
to start. In the present political climate of 2017, I suspect that businesses
will be more responsive to those opposed to injustice than many of this
country's governments including the federal government. We still should do what we can to persuade governments to act in the best interest of justice
for everyone. But if millions of good people also target the largest abusive,
materialistic corporations which prioritize money for their owners or stock
holders over the quality of people's lives, those corporations may, in turn,
put less pressure on the government to act in the best interest of business
without regard to the common good.
What is meant by the common
good? The common good encompasses
that which is owned and/or administered by some level of civil government and
which benefits citizens in general but which most individual citizens could not
afford. Such things as the infrastructure, libraries, public health protection,
environmental preservation, the courts, law enforcement, national security,
firefighting, public education, public parks, public playgrounds, public green
spaces, employment security, government fiscal responsibility, responsible
foreign policy, and caring for the disabled and retired citizens in need are
all aspects of the common good.
2. Threatening the Common Good
How do for-profit companies threaten or fail
to support the common good? The creation, maintenance, and improvement of the
common good depends on tax revenue paid to governments. When American companies
use the system to legally avoid paying federal taxes by relocating their
corporate headquarters in another country, or by holding millions in earnings
in overseas banks, they are not supporting the common good. To use profits to
pay their CEOs at rates hundreds of times greater than the lowest paid
employees rather than hiring more employees with some of that money, deprives
the common good of the taxes those additional non-hired employees would be
paying. When companies fail to protect the safety of their employees or fail to
ensure the safety of their products, it threatens the common good. When
companies unnecessarily destroy the quality of our environment or attempt to
avoid or revoke regulations that protect aspects of the common good, they are
failing to support the common good.
3.
"Socially Responsible" Companies
In general,
companies on Wall Street prioritize profits over doing what is in the best
interest of the common good. One can find lists of so-called socially
responsible companies which include some S&P 500 companies. Some of these
lists seem to include those companies that are simply more responsible
than others and those companies which have promised to improve.
4. Wall Street Banks
Boycotting banks
that lend money to abusive corporations and/or that invest indiscriminately in
Wall Street is a way of expressing support for justice and for disadvantaged
American citizens. For a list of Wall Street banks go to https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/investment-banks-list/.
Small community banks without ties to Wall Street do exist.
5. Specifying Abusive Corporations
Below is a list of
specific companies including the products and/or services they provide and the actions that made them abusers. You can
decide if there is sufficient cause for you to target one or more of these
companies. Ideally millions of us would boycott these abusive
corporations until there was evidence that the company had stopped sacrificing
our common good for the sake of the company's profit. It can take a long
time to change a corporation's behavior. I joined a boycott of the
members of the Grocery Manufacturer's Association (GMA) in 2014. I did this to This was my way
of expressing disapproval of the GMA's spending millions of dollars to deprive
consumers of knowing which foods contain GMOs, thus threatening consumers'
right to affordable choice. More than two years later I am still boycotting
those companies.
The abusive corporations named below are:
1.
MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS
2.
WELLS FARGO
3.
MONSANTO
4.
EXXON
5. ENERGY TRANSFER PARTNERS
1. MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS
Mylan has been in the news because the U.S. price of a two pack of EpiPens, which can deliver an emergency life-saving dose of epinephrine and which Mylan produces rose from $100 wholesale in 2008 to about $600 in 2016 (http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-37179158). During the same period, the Mylan CEO's compensation rose 671% to $18.9 million (http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/mylan-execs-gave-themselves-raises-they-hiked-epipen-prices-n636591). According to NBC news, one EpiPen costs $20-30 to produce and the epinephrine in the pen costs one dollar (http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/industry-insiders-estimate-epipen-costs-no-more-30-n642091). The epinephrine in an EpiPen has a shelf life of only six months according to Mylan. So if one uses more than two pens in a six month period, one would need to purchase another two pack before the six months has passed. If one does not use the two pack in six months, one still needs to purchase another two pack after six months has passed.
The federal government offers a Drug Rebate program to drug manufacturers that sell their products to recipients of Medicare and Medicaid. Perhaps the government pays full price or nearly that but the drug company is evidently supposed to give the government some of that money back. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid_Drug_Rebate_Program).
The drug company is required to give the government less money back for a generic drug than for a brand name drug. Acting Director Andrew M. Slavitt of the federal Department of Health and Human Services accused Mylan of listing the EpiPen as a generic drug even though the FDA designates it as a Brand name drug which carries mandated patent protection. "The incorrect classification appears to have cost the federal government more than $100 million in the last five years alone."
From 2011-2015, Medicaid and Medicare, Part D, for three EpiPen products, paid $1,294,716,260. These are the total of state and federal expenditures and don't reflect the manufacturer's rebates. "The $487 million the government paid Mylan in 2015 is more than five and a half times as much as it paid the company in 2011" (https://www.yahoo.com/news/lawmakers-epipen-maker-bilked-medicare-164000563.html).
In 2014, the upper Mylan management got generous bonuses as a result of incorporating overseas, thus decreasing the amount of corporate taxes paid to the U.S. government (www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/business/at-mylan-lets-pretend-is-more-than-a-game.html).
Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. manufactures, markets and/or distributes more than 294 drugs in the United States. Complete list at https://www.drugs.com/manufacturer/mylan-pharmaceuticals-inc-93.html.
2. WELLS FARGO
This company has been in the news lately because of the practice of enrolling and charging customers for unwanted services.
That's not the only reason not to buy their stock or use their services. "The U.S. Department of Justice said Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $4.1 million to resolve allegations that it improperly repossessed more than 400 cars owned by US military members without first obtaining a court order, as required by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act." Wells Fargo neither admitted nor denied any wrong-doing (http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimhenry/2016/10/30/wells-fargo-troubles-go-beyond-fake-account-scandal/?partner=yahootix#432781262f16).
Wells Fargo is a provider of financial services. As of Dec. 19, 2016, Wells Fargo was one of the 17 banks financing the Dakota Access Pipeline (http://petitions.signforgood.com/NoDAPLbanks?code=OCI&link_id=2&can_id=e6d04566ea467f68b838c4dc6e28f7e4&source=email-tell-your-bank-to-stop-financing-the-dakota-access-pipeline-2&email_referrer=tell-your-bank-to-stop-financing-the-dakota-access-pipeline-2&email_subject=tell-your-bank-to-stop-financing-the-dakota-access-pipeline)
3. MONSANTO
.
According to
Reuters (www.reuters.com/article/2009/11/11/food-monsanto-...) Monsanto is a multi-national corporation formed in 1901
for the purpose of manufacturing saccharine. Some people avoid the
consumption of saccharine, more readily recognized as "Sweet and
Low", based on the fact that it caused cancer in rats. The company did not
willingly stop selling it, however. The DEA had to restrict its use. The
federal government eventually lifted all restrictions on this product based on
a lack of scientific evidence that it is harmful to human health.
During
the 1920s and 1930s Monsanto made polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), later implicated in human reproductive, developmental and immune
system disorders. From 1962-1971, Monsanto supplied much
of the herbicide known as Agent Orange to the U.S. military for use in the
Vietnam War. Agent Orange was later linked to various health problems,
including cancer. From 2000-2002, Monsanto separated its chemical and
agricultural concerns and became a stand-alone agricultural company.
It subsequently purchased several regional seed companies. In 2008-2009,
the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating the possibility of
Monsanto's creation of a monopoly in the U.S. seed industry.
The pesticide Roundup is the Monsanto product many of us might find most familiar. In an 12/11/13 article "'Superweeds' Resulting from Monsanto's Products Overrun U.S. Farm Landscapes" (www.ucsusas.org/news/press_release/superweeds-overrun-farmlands...) a Union of Concerned Scientists' policy brief refers to Roundup Ready, introduced in 1996, as an herbicide designed to be applied to seeded cropland in order to control weeds. It worked for about five years, allowing farmers to grow the same crop on the same land year after year. After five years the weeds developed a resistance to the active ingredient in Roundup Ready, a man-made chemical named glyphosate. These weeds are now being referred to as "Superweeds" as they are bigger and tougher than the same weed species not exposed to Roundup.
This brings to mind the problem of "super bugs" or disease causing bacteria in humans and animals that become resistant over time to antibiotics. The medical profession's solution is to develop ever stronger antibiotics. Monsanto's solution to Superweeds is to use more powerful combinations of toxic chemicals. In each case, this "solution" amounts to a race between the pace at which Mother Nature can develop organisms resistant to man-made chemicals and the speed at which human scientists can figure out how to defeat the mutations. According to this article, the problem of Superweeds now affects 60 million acres of American cropland and has resulted in farmers using 220,000 more tons of chemicals than they would have otherwise.
The influence that Monsanto has with Federal government agencies and with Congress may be related to Monsanto spending a lot on campaign contributions and lobbying. Monsanto spent $13,487,350 to narrowly stop GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) labeling in Washington and California according to a Huffington Post article by Ronnie Cummins (http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/). Monsanto seems to have a goal of controlling the world's food supply through their patented GMO seeds and the synthetic pesticides used with them. For more info on GMOs and the right to liberty, refer to www.gmoboycott.bogspot.com (R. Geiger, “GMO Right to Know Info Packet,” July 8, 2014).
Monsanto has demonstrated from the time of their founding that they care more about profit than the quality of life and human health. Here is a partial list of Monsanto products for those who wish to join the boycott:
- Monsanto Agricultural Brands
- Asgrow
- Certainty Turf
- Channel
- Degree XTRA
- DEKALB
- Deltapine
- Fontanelle
- Gold Country Seed
- Harness
- Hubner Seed
- INTRRO
- Jung Seed Genetics
- Kruger Seeds
- Lariat
- Lewis Hybrids
- Micro-Tech
- Outrider
- Outrider - IT&O
- Rea Hybrids
- Roundup Custom
- Roundup PowerMAX
- Roundup PRO Concentrate
- Roundup PROMAX
- Roundup QuikPRO
- Roundup WeatherMAX
- RT 3
- Specialty Hybrids
- Stewart Seeds
- Stone Seed Group
- TripleFLEX
- WestBred
- Seeds with these traits/technologies:
Vegetable
SeedBrands
The viable alternative to Monsanto chemical synthetic pesticides
and GMO seeds is organically produced food. For information on organic growing,
go to http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/org_farm/orgfarm_of%20vs%20con%20fasrming.html.
4. EXXON
On March 24, 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground spilling 11million gallons of oil and ruining the fishing industry of Prince William Sound, Alaska as well as killing vast numbers of wildlife. In 2006, the environment was still not the same quality it had been before the spill. According to a 2014 article, Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska said, "Of 32 animal types, habitats and natural resources monitored, only 13 have recuperated fully. The ecosystem will never entirely recover." The same article reports "A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report this year predicted that the residual oil would linger for decades – or even centuries." (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10717219/Exxon-Valdez-25-years-after-the-Alaska-oil-spill-the-court-battle-continues.html). The federal government asked the multi-national corporation Exxon for an additional $92 million to help improve the situation. $92 million dollars may seem like a lot to us, but for Exxon that amount is less than the profit it can make in 20 hours. Exxon refused to comply with this request on legal grounds. Between 2008 and 2010 Exxon's corporate tax rate was 17.6%. Compare that with the standard 35% corporate tax rate. In 2009 Exxon made a profit of $45.2 billion and yet paid no federal taxes. The profits from this oil company giant were $41.1 billion in 2011. That amount of money averages out to $4.7 million per hour for the entire year.
It was reported that Exxon spent $12,970,000 on lobbying in 2012 (http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientlbs.php?id=D000000129&year=2012). This sounds like a lot. But it was worth it to Exxon considering the federal government gave it $600 million dollars in tax breaks for 2011. The CEO's 2014 salary was $40.3 million.
Exxon is an international company. An article by Bruce Maxlish says of Exxon, "With sites in 53 countries, and exercising influence in all of them, funding anti-environmental groups, and paying scientists for research claiming that there is no need to be concerned about global warming; Exxon Mobile plays an outsize role in international affairs with little accountability (shareholders are pushed aside). It clearly is not only wealthier than 70 or so nation-states, but also more powerful."
Exxon is in business to benefit only itself and deserves to be boycotted.
Besides not purchasing Exxon stock, we can also refuse to patronize ExxonMobil gas stations. The company makes a variety of resins, polymers, alcohols, plasticizers, etc. that are used in industrial processes. For a list of those products go to http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/Chem-English/brands/exxonmobil-chemical-brands-t-z.aspx.
5. ENERGY TRANSFER PARTNERS
If you lived in a small town on the North Dakota border with Canada and you woke one day to hear bulldozers in a cemetery where your ancestors had been laid to rest a hundred or more years ago, what might you do? How about when you find out that the American government approved a Canadian energy company's construction of an oil pipeline from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico without the approval of your city government? What would you do if Canadian royal mounted police tried to keep you and your neighbors from entering the cemetery by shooting you with bean bags and dousing you with water cannon spray in sub-zero weather? How would it feel to know the American federal government was not intervening on your behalf?
The Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota is supposed to be sovereign territory. Yet a Fortune 500 company, Energy Transfer Partners, has bulldozed sacred burial sites in its continuing efforts to extend the Dakota Access Pipeline across the reservation without the approval of those whose land it is. According to http://www.voanews.com/a/dakota-access-pipeline/3563592.html, the Army Corps of Engineers and the energy company claim the Standing rock Sioux were consulted, as required by law, before construction began. The tribe denies this. If they were consulted ahead of time, does that mean the tribe gave its OK for their sacred sites to be bulldozed and the purity of their water supply (the Missouri River) to be threatened? I find that hard to believe.
Local and state law enforcement authorities are also present without the approval of the reservation. They have restricted the movement of the reservation residents by shooting them with bean bags and dousing them with water cannons in cold temperature conditions. There have also been hundreds of arrests. (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/21/standing-rock-protest-hundreds-clash-with-police-over-dakota-access-pipeline)
Why does Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) think they can get away with this abuse? According to The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/26/donald-trump-dakota-access-pipeline-investment-energy-transfer-partners), Donald Trump has between 500 thousand and one million dollars invested in Energy Transfer Partners. According to NBC Nightly News, as of 12/6/06 a Trump spokesperson reported that Trump had sold these shares.) Kelcy Warren, ETP CEO, contributed a total of $103,000 to get Trump elected. He also gave the RNC $66,800 to the RNC after Trump was nominated.
Energy Transfer Partners owns Dakota Access LLC, the company building the pipeline. It also owns Sunoco LP. So, if you choose to help hold ETP accountable, not only can you refrain from purchasing ETP stock, you can also do the same with Sunoco stock. In addition, we can abstain from gassing up our automobiles at Sunoco gas stations, and refrain from shopping at Stripes markets and APlus convenience stores as both of these establishments are owned by Sunoco. I urge those of you who care enough about Native American rights to continue this boycott until ETP decides to reroute the pipeline around Sioux reservation land in North Dakota.
12/6/16 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers put a stop to the planned construction of the Dakota pipeline under the Missouri River. The pipeline construction company is reportedly not planning on rerouting the line. Since no one knows what will happen when Trump takes office, I will continue the boycott.
4. EXXON
On March 24, 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground spilling 11million gallons of oil and ruining the fishing industry of Prince William Sound, Alaska as well as killing vast numbers of wildlife. In 2006, the environment was still not the same quality it had been before the spill. According to a 2014 article, Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska said, "Of 32 animal types, habitats and natural resources monitored, only 13 have recuperated fully. The ecosystem will never entirely recover." The same article reports "A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report this year predicted that the residual oil would linger for decades – or even centuries." (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10717219/Exxon-Valdez-25-years-after-the-Alaska-oil-spill-the-court-battle-continues.html). The federal government asked the multi-national corporation Exxon for an additional $92 million to help improve the situation. $92 million dollars may seem like a lot to us, but for Exxon that amount is less than the profit it can make in 20 hours. Exxon refused to comply with this request on legal grounds. Between 2008 and 2010 Exxon's corporate tax rate was 17.6%. Compare that with the standard 35% corporate tax rate. In 2009 Exxon made a profit of $45.2 billion and yet paid no federal taxes. The profits from this oil company giant were $41.1 billion in 2011. That amount of money averages out to $4.7 million per hour for the entire year.
It was reported that Exxon spent $12,970,000 on lobbying in 2012 (http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientlbs.php?id=D000000129&year=2012). This sounds like a lot. But it was worth it to Exxon considering the federal government gave it $600 million dollars in tax breaks for 2011. The CEO's 2014 salary was $40.3 million.
Exxon is an international company. An article by Bruce Maxlish says of Exxon, "With sites in 53 countries, and exercising influence in all of them, funding anti-environmental groups, and paying scientists for research claiming that there is no need to be concerned about global warming; Exxon Mobile plays an outsize role in international affairs with little accountability (shareholders are pushed aside). It clearly is not only wealthier than 70 or so nation-states, but also more powerful."
Exxon is in business to benefit only itself and deserves to be boycotted.
Besides not purchasing Exxon stock, we can also refuse to patronize ExxonMobil gas stations. The company makes a variety of resins, polymers, alcohols, plasticizers, etc. that are used in industrial processes. For a list of those products go to http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/Chem-English/brands/exxonmobil-chemical-brands-t-z.aspx.
5. ENERGY TRANSFER PARTNERS
If you lived in a small town on the North Dakota border with Canada and you woke one day to hear bulldozers in a cemetery where your ancestors had been laid to rest a hundred or more years ago, what might you do? How about when you find out that the American government approved a Canadian energy company's construction of an oil pipeline from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico without the approval of your city government? What would you do if Canadian royal mounted police tried to keep you and your neighbors from entering the cemetery by shooting you with bean bags and dousing you with water cannon spray in sub-zero weather? How would it feel to know the American federal government was not intervening on your behalf?
The Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota is supposed to be sovereign territory. Yet a Fortune 500 company, Energy Transfer Partners, has bulldozed sacred burial sites in its continuing efforts to extend the Dakota Access Pipeline across the reservation without the approval of those whose land it is. According to http://www.voanews.com/a/dakota-access-pipeline/3563592.html, the Army Corps of Engineers and the energy company claim the Standing rock Sioux were consulted, as required by law, before construction began. The tribe denies this. If they were consulted ahead of time, does that mean the tribe gave its OK for their sacred sites to be bulldozed and the purity of their water supply (the Missouri River) to be threatened? I find that hard to believe.
Local and state law enforcement authorities are also present without the approval of the reservation. They have restricted the movement of the reservation residents by shooting them with bean bags and dousing them with water cannons in cold temperature conditions. There have also been hundreds of arrests. (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/21/standing-rock-protest-hundreds-clash-with-police-over-dakota-access-pipeline)
Why does Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) think they can get away with this abuse? According to The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/26/donald-trump-dakota-access-pipeline-investment-energy-transfer-partners), Donald Trump has between 500 thousand and one million dollars invested in Energy Transfer Partners. According to NBC Nightly News, as of 12/6/06 a Trump spokesperson reported that Trump had sold these shares.) Kelcy Warren, ETP CEO, contributed a total of $103,000 to get Trump elected. He also gave the RNC $66,800 to the RNC after Trump was nominated.
Energy Transfer Partners owns Dakota Access LLC, the company building the pipeline. It also owns Sunoco LP. So, if you choose to help hold ETP accountable, not only can you refrain from purchasing ETP stock, you can also do the same with Sunoco stock. In addition, we can abstain from gassing up our automobiles at Sunoco gas stations, and refrain from shopping at Stripes markets and APlus convenience stores as both of these establishments are owned by Sunoco. I urge those of you who care enough about Native American rights to continue this boycott until ETP decides to reroute the pipeline around Sioux reservation land in North Dakota.
12/6/16 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers put a stop to the planned construction of the Dakota pipeline under the Missouri River. The pipeline construction company is reportedly not planning on rerouting the line. Since no one knows what will happen when Trump takes office, I will continue the boycott.
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