Thread: Why doesn't this anger anyone?

Murdoch Defends News Corp.'s Political Donations - NYTimes.com

One shareholder, speaking on behalf of the Massachusetts Laborers Pension Fund, asked if News Corporation would consider making such donations public in the future.

Mr. Murdoch said the company “has considered it from time to time,” but he doubted the company would take up the disclosure issue again.

He said, “you have the right to vote us off the board if you don’t like that.”

Why is it when powerful companies that have this much media might or power over our financial system like giant banks and insurance say and do things like this nobody seems to care?

Why don't we shout out to them that we deserve to know? We who buy the products that advertise on FOX or bank at Bank of America or have a policy at AIG ask for transparency. Why don't we get upset when we don't get it?

I know I know the answer from my libertarian friends they are private companies. We need to let the free market be free. It will correct itself. I don't think it can or will correct itself. Companies like this are just far too big to allow any real or true competition. In my mind giant companies like this have far more control and power over the common man than our government or any so poorly called socialist government can have over us.

I just hate that corporations of any business for that matter can contribute to any political campaign. It creates favouritism. It is like buying a share of the next political leader.

Originally Posted by katiegrrl0

I just hate that corporations of any business for that matter can contribute to any political campaign. It creates favouritism. It is like buying a share of the next political leader.

It's not "like" buying a share, it IS buying a share. :-)

Katie you are so right. The point I want to make too is that I hear people say things like the free market will take care of this. Give me a break. I have not set foot inside a walmart for over two years. That is my personal fight against them. Do you think they give two shits? Their bottom line would not change at all of me and 10,000 of my friends all did this. Just the same as someone as rich and powerful as Murdoch doesn't care. That's why he made the statement kick us off the board if you don't like it. Do you have any clue how difficult it is to remove a board member from a large corp like that? It is nearly impossible mainly if that member owns so much. When we as a nation allow only a select few to have power over what we as a nation see, own, buy, wear, watch, eat, sleep, etc we risk giving up more power than we could possibly imagine. And simply saying the market will correct it. Well that's just stupidity.

Originally Posted by Winn

It's not "like" buying a share, it IS buying a share. :-)

And how many of us regular every day americans can afford to buy more than a few hundred shares at the very very most? Wow that will give us power to do absolutely nothing.
News Corporation Share Price | NWS - Yahoo! Finance UK

1.5 million shares yep my $1,600 will give me a big voice and I can kick that bastard Murdoch off the board and we can watch the free market at work!

Originally Posted by Rassales

All claims about free markets are based on the notion that all the information is available to all the actors. When some of the information is deliberately hidden, the market is no longer free.

Exactly my point all along Rass. Thanks. But so many still hold to this Ayd Rand fairytale crap that america is a free market thats just bull.

Originally Posted by Rassales

Disclosure, or rather, the lack of it. We deserve to know who is contributing to which group and which candidate in support of what issues. Then we can make the decisions you suggest. That's the minimum we need to avoid making corruption an everyday event.

Personally, I think corporations and unions shouldn't be able to make political contributions. If a person isn't eligible to vote, they shouldn't be helping to decide the outcome of elections in other ways. That means non-citizens and it also means extra-human entities like corporations, unions, social clubs, NGO's or whatever. But that's just me.

Even if you know what corporation or business donates it doesn't matter. They still purchased a piece of the rock and they expect to be paid back in one way or another. Your politicians are owned by the same investors that own the corporation. How do you expect to wrench your nation away from corporate hands if those running are still allowed to take their money? You will never get it back. The voters can't even get anything on a ballot anywhere to stop corporate whoring and pandering to the candidates. Only those that win elections with that money have that power. Do you really think that knowing that Exxon or whoever gives boatloads of money to a candidate will change anything.