For years now the governments in democratic countries have been asleep at the wheel letting those who bought and paid for them change the very fabric of their economies. Corporations have no moral compass and it’s only about the almighty dollar. We’ve seen that recently with GM who have laid off thousands of workers despite being bailed out by the taxpayers when they were about to fail. The reaction of the market was to bump up their stock. Never mind the thousands of families who now face an uncertain future because of GM.

If we had moral politicians, which is certainly an oxymoron, decades ago, when corporations started destroying domestic jobs by shipping them to third world countries, many overseas, we would not be in the predicament we find ourselves in today. The manufacturing base has been destroyed. Good jobs are getting harder and harder to find. University grads are flipping burgers. Many people hold two or three jobs. Family structure has broken down. Violence is increasing because the primary cause of violence is poverty. Drug addiction and alcoholism are on the rise because people are searching for ways to cope with a dismal future. The one percent are getting more and more absurdly rich while the other ninety-nine percent are falling farther and farther behind. In many countries like the US the American Dream is quickly becoming the American Nightmare.

Is it too late to restore what once was? Maybe. What’s needed is a viral movement premised on the old Network movie, “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore!” Right thinking people need to demand that their politicians listen and stop pandering to the wishes of the corporations and the rich. It must be made clear that failure to do so will mean their demise. They must follow the basic principles contained in a new corporate manifesto; namely:

  • Corporations must pay all applicable taxes in the countries they are operating in. They cannot establish fake Head Offices in countries with lower tax regulations just to avoid paying tax. “Use of tax havens results in a loss of tax revenues to countries which are not tax havens. Estimates of total amounts of taxes avoided vary, but the most credible have a range of US$100–250 billion per annum. In addition, capital held in tax havens can permanently leave the tax base (base erosion). Estimates of capital held in tax havens also vary: the most credible estimates are between $7–10 trillion (up to 10% of global assets). The harm of corporate tax havens has been particularly noted in developing nations, where the tax revenues are needed to build infrastructure“. *Wikipedia.
  • Corporations must carry out all manufacturing of products in the countries they sell the majority of their products in. This does not prevent corporations from seeking markets outside their primary country; however, they cannot establish out of country manufacturing until sales in a given country exceeds their domestic sales in total. Corporations can only establish out of country manufacturing based on their sales in any given country. Any violation of this mandate would impose a stiff penalty tariff of a given percentage on any products imported into the primary country. Also possibility would be to increase the tariff if the country in which products are manufactured does not have an acceptable record of human and worker rights.
  • Corporations must establish product support, such as warranty, technical support and customer service based on the volume of sales in the country in which they operate. For example, assume a telecom company earns all of their revenue in a country such as Canada. That would mean that all support services must be established in Canada. Overseas call centers, something that has occurred over the last few years, destroying thousands of good paying domestic jobs, would not be allowed until the sales in a specific country are a percentage of total sales in that country. Support services can still be established in other countries when sales are made in those countries, providing support in the local language. Using the telecom company example, and Pakistan as an example country, call centers could only be established in Pakistan if and when the telecom company has sales in Pakistan.

Thousands of new jobs will be created, offering people an actual future. Manufacturing faculties, like long abandoned steel plants, will be reopened, which will also restore all the secondary industries that serve those plants. The ripple effect when people have good paying, secure, long-term jobs will enormous. People who now have good jobs will have the confidence to spend money which will have a positive effect on every business and things like the Real Estate market. Crime, drug and alcohol addiction will be reduced when people believe they have an attainable future. University grads will be able to find good paying jobs.

In addition to this new corporate manifesto life could be made even better with universal health care, pharma-care and free education, as has been proven in numerous countries around the world. Dignity and hope would be restored to citizens in every country that adopts this manifesto.

Just one man’s humble opinion.