Public Citizen president takes on corporations on The Daily Show
In the midst of the current economic crisis, one group isn’t struggling so much: corporations. They’ve had sky-high profits, have opted out of paying taxes and have all the governmental support they need. Must be nice, huh?
So, last night the folks over at The Daily Show wondered, well, if corporations can be considered people — as the U.S. Supreme Court and presidential candidate Mitt Romney have alleged — could people use the same money-grubbing tactics corporations use to rebound from their financial plight? Let’s explore.
First, The Daily Show crew needed an expert. But who? Aha! That’s where we come in. Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee called in Public Citizen president Robert Weissman to guide a struggling family through the same processes corporations go through to save cash.
The family slims down its workforce (sorry, small child, you’re going to have to hit the road); forms subsidiaries (let’s push our debt on the family’s other child!); outsources for cheaper labor (skilled workers? pssh); lobbies Congress and scores some subsidies (hello, tax breaks!); and when all else fails, relocates to an offshore tax haven.
Sound fishy to you, too? We agree. Maybe people aren’t meant to be like corporations, and corporations certainly should not behave like people.
Public Citizen maintains that corporations are not, in fact, people and have no place in our democracy. Why? Democracy is for people. Join us in our Democracy Is For People campaign and sign our petition to kick corporations our of our elections.
Watch Public Citizen president Robert Weissman’s first foray on The Daily Show.