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The Forum > Article Comments > Caring big business or a wolf in sheep’s clothing? > Comments

Caring big business or a wolf in sheep’s clothing? : Comments

By Dayna Simpson, published 10/1/2005

Dayna Simpson argues that corporate philanthropy must not be allowed to become an opportunistic branding opportunity.

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Bozzie and Seeker, how wonderfully your naive belief and trust in companies shields you from the facts of life you dismiss as "patronizing", "cynical" or "feel-good".

Governments are responsible for the state of worker's lives in a capitalist system??? You're only kidding yourselves here.
It is not feasible to say governments can protect their workers from low wages and exploitative working conditions. Governments are desperate to attract foreign investment, and this investment is usually reliant on cheap labour and less than rigorous environmental and safety regulations, amongst other things. It would take every govt. in the world to draw a bottome line on wages and say, no, we shall not settle for less.
Companies resist this vigorously.

You seem to have no idea how free trade works in the favour of companies, and that companies have lobbied countries like the U.S, for many years to legislate trade agreements like the defunct MAI agreement, now the Free Trade Agreement. Governemts policing companies!!!
Come on, they're the lapdogs of multi-national corporations for years.

It's truly laughable the way you have dismissed open-thinking people's opinions here, when your thinking is a left-over from the years when most of us believed everything that governments, companies and doctors told us. It's no wonder you can't hear the truths of others. You probably believed it when they told you DDT was harmless, or the tobacco companies that claim smoking doesn't cause health problems.

Go back to the delightful, rose-coloured world that you perceive to be true, bozzie and seeker.
"Me thinks they doth protest too much"
Posted by oceangrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2005 11:26:01 AM
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I'd much rather live in my delightful rose-coloured world oceangrrl, than your bitter, cynical, aggressor/victim one.
Firstly I don't believe anything anyone tells me, least of all companies, Doctors and especially governments. All I know is that countries that operate under a capitalist culture enjoy the highest standard of living, highest standards of education, longest life expectancies etcetera. The populations of capitalist countries generally have the luxury of considering questions such as "are corporations opportunistic mongrels because they give money to disaster victims"

It's in a corporations best interest to have their target markets as affluent as possible. If a population has no money then they are hardly likely to buy the companies goods or services. It's in the best interests of most governments of the world it seems, to have their people in a poor a state as possible so as to control them easier.

Face a few facts - The best way of getting basket-case countries a future would be to toss out their government and appoint a couple of large company CEO's to run the joint. At least companies realise the importance of a strong economy and an affluent population and are not driven by stupid political philosophies and agendas.

oceangrrl, I'm looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses? "Me thinketh that the pot calling the kettle blacketh".
Posted by bozzie, Tuesday, 18 January 2005 5:24:34 PM
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Re donations by big companies in the tsunami affected region.

I used to work for two big companies in the region, and had the opprtunity to witness dozens of other foriegn multinationals effects on local communities. It was amazing.

Local people in the regions want developement, they want to live a lifestyle like us. The local governments paid for a little of it, but with difficulties in tax collection and general proverty, they could only do so much.

The gap was filled by big and small multinationals, many Australian but other nation's companies as well. Some donations were public, but many other donations were done secretively (due to the fear of the paranoid, some contributing to this discussion I see.)I saw many roads, schools, hospitals, universities and many other projects built and paid for by these companies. I met and worked with many of the graduates/beneficiaries of these donations. By and large these projects were designed and run by the local populations, not by foriegners.

THe result was phenominal regional improvements in lifestyle over one or two generations. For those who lived in areas without this foriegn corrupting influence, the choice was to move on or to stay dirt poor and die young. Many moved, resulting in big population shifts to areas with big buisness.

I saw the results of factories closed because of foriegn pressure close sweat shops. Unemployment and proverty. Misguided liberals trying to help the poor locals actually increasing proverty and death. I saw projects blocked in foriegn law courts by liberals that would have resulted in cheap power, schools and hospitals for the nation affected. The courts objected to the government of that nation, but the courts and there liberal proponants had no care for the people of that region.

Big buisness corporations are not perfect. However, do not forget, when they set up in a poorer country, they employ local managers and local workers. They become part of the local economy and its people.

Call me brain washed, but the antibuisness liberals did all there work from the comfort of there home nations. They did nothing for the local people when I was there.
Posted by peterd, Sunday, 23 January 2005 10:23:04 PM
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