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Published on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
The Corporate Person Without a Country: AIG Spits in America's Eye, Again
Robert Benmosche is a veteran of the corporate wars and the insurance industry's greed-fest. The former MetLife exec is now the new CEO of the beleaguered AIG, and recently he held an employee town hall to introduce himself to the troops.
I've been through a number of such affairs, and one thing about them is certain: they are carefully scripted and rehearsed events. "Questions" from employees are carefully screened and filtered for their fit with the scripted Message. Corporations know damned well that some reporter from Bloomberg or Marketwatch will inevitably obtain login credentials (usually, via an inside connection with an employee, to a WebEx or similar platform) and listen in. Therefore, they go in knowing that they are delivering a very public message.
So last week, Robert Benmosche decided to take an aggressive, blame-the-US-government rant to his employees, that, in classic Alice-in-Wonderland fashion, shifted blame from AIG to America. "It's not your fault, it's theirs," he told the AIG faithful, and on the topic of the company's debt to the nation, he added, "if they want out so badly, they should never have come in in the first place."
One natural question that arises from this brand of corporate bloviation is, "why do these corporations and their executives, who have been made unimaginably wealthy thanks to America, seem so anxious to smear our country with both their rhetoric and action?" It's an especially good question to ask in the era of offshoring, outsourcing, and domestic downsizing as we approach 10% unemployment.
The answer, actually, has been under our noses for many years. What follows, incidentally, also explains why poets and visionaries deserve a voice in our nation's discourse; for I now offer a quote from the American poet, Robert Bly's 1996 book, The Sibling Society:
As Bly goes on to point out in this chapter ("Benjamin Franklin's Pig"), this attitude applies to all nations: corporations feel as numb about European nations, Asian nations, and especially so-called "developing nations." To a corporation, a nation is merely a place where profit may be made; beyond that, every nation is valueless, meaningless. The corporation, being a legal "person" under U.S. law, is now the ultimate "Man Without a Country," for it equally rejects them all. Bly shows us both the reason and the result of this cold reality: "business has effectively become our government, and now rules American life on all levels." And remember, this was written over a decade ago; the only revision I would make to that statement is that corporations now rule the world on all levels.
Thus, Robert Benmosche's insult-laden tirade against the government and the taxpayers that pulled his company out of the grave is not strange or the least bit distinctive. He is merely reflecting the general consciousness that rules his universe. This is about much more than mere "Arrogance, Insolence, Greed" (AIG) -- for the moral weakness and depravity of conscience that drive this attitude are themselves driven by the power that we allow them. When you effectively rule the world, you owe no nation or region of it the least portion of loyalty, gratitude, or any other human feeling.
We will give Robert Bly the poet the final word on this phenomenon of corporate monarchy, which is so tragic for nearly every person living on this earth. This is also from The Sibling Society, a poem from "Poems for the Ascension of J.P. Morgan":
I've been through a number of such affairs, and one thing about them is certain: they are carefully scripted and rehearsed events. "Questions" from employees are carefully screened and filtered for their fit with the scripted Message. Corporations know damned well that some reporter from Bloomberg or Marketwatch will inevitably obtain login credentials (usually, via an inside connection with an employee, to a WebEx or similar platform) and listen in. Therefore, they go in knowing that they are delivering a very public message.
So last week, Robert Benmosche decided to take an aggressive, blame-the-US-government rant to his employees, that, in classic Alice-in-Wonderland fashion, shifted blame from AIG to America. "It's not your fault, it's theirs," he told the AIG faithful, and on the topic of the company's debt to the nation, he added, "if they want out so badly, they should never have come in in the first place."
One natural question that arises from this brand of corporate bloviation is, "why do these corporations and their executives, who have been made unimaginably wealthy thanks to America, seem so anxious to smear our country with both their rhetoric and action?" It's an especially good question to ask in the era of offshoring, outsourcing, and domestic downsizing as we approach 10% unemployment.
The answer, actually, has been under our noses for many years. What follows, incidentally, also explains why poets and visionaries deserve a voice in our nation's discourse; for I now offer a quote from the American poet, Robert Bly's 1996 book, The Sibling Society:
Some of the feeling of abandonment goes back to the economic fact that the transnational corporations are abandoning the United States. A vice-president of Colgate-Palmolive observed: 'The United States does not have an automatic call on our resources. There is no mindset that puts this country first.'.. The president of NCR Corporation told The New York Times: 'I was asked the other day about United States competitiveness, and I replied that I don't think about it at all.'
As Bly goes on to point out in this chapter ("Benjamin Franklin's Pig"), this attitude applies to all nations: corporations feel as numb about European nations, Asian nations, and especially so-called "developing nations." To a corporation, a nation is merely a place where profit may be made; beyond that, every nation is valueless, meaningless. The corporation, being a legal "person" under U.S. law, is now the ultimate "Man Without a Country," for it equally rejects them all. Bly shows us both the reason and the result of this cold reality: "business has effectively become our government, and now rules American life on all levels." And remember, this was written over a decade ago; the only revision I would make to that statement is that corporations now rule the world on all levels.
Thus, Robert Benmosche's insult-laden tirade against the government and the taxpayers that pulled his company out of the grave is not strange or the least bit distinctive. He is merely reflecting the general consciousness that rules his universe. This is about much more than mere "Arrogance, Insolence, Greed" (AIG) -- for the moral weakness and depravity of conscience that drive this attitude are themselves driven by the power that we allow them. When you effectively rule the world, you owe no nation or region of it the least portion of loyalty, gratitude, or any other human feeling.
We will give Robert Bly the poet the final word on this phenomenon of corporate monarchy, which is so tragic for nearly every person living on this earth. This is also from The Sibling Society, a poem from "Poems for the Ascension of J.P. Morgan":
Accountants hover over the earth like helicopters, Dropping bits of paper engraved with Hegel's name. Badgers carry the papers on their fur To their den, where the entire family dies in the night.
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Show All"[I]f they want out so badly, they should never have come in in the first place."
Many Americans will fight and die in foreign lands for the promotion and defence of corporate interests like this one without even realising that most of their designated foreign "enemies" are actually opposing the same transnational powers that oppress them. But it seems unlikely that Americans will ever find either the courage or the cohesion or the means required to defeat their real enemy's total and complete mastery of all the fundamentals of power at home -- not even as it leads inexorably to their own self-destruction.
The answers will definitely NOT be found within the system established by those same corporate interests to perpetuate their "full spectrum dominance" both globally and domestically, nor within the purchased political facades that represent them.
Perhaps it's time for truly patriotic Americans to reconsider who they should be cheering for in at least some of the ongoing wars. It sure looks as if they're going to need some external alliances with those who don't shrink from doing actual damage to the real enemy.
"It sure looks as if they're going to need some external alliances with those who don't shrink from doing actual damage to the real enemy."
All too true, but that last part is exactly the sort of the one must be careful about being overheard (read) saying (unless you're posting on redstate or discussing domestic assassination of course). Have a nice day. :)
Good point, in response to RV's excellent points. But I believe, and I would guess that RV believes, that any possible answer to our dilemma will not be found within the bounds of what is considered "acceptable discourse." If the corporate media will allow discussion of a means or policy as a legitimate avenue for fundamental change, that signifies that such avenue for fundamental change has no chance of success, or at least that the corporate overlords have determined that avenue has no chance (or even that such actions will backfire and lead to even greater corporate control). Any actions or perspectives that have any reasonable chance of overturning the applecart will be determined by the corporate media and other "powers that be" to be outside acceptable discourse.
Not to worry. Although I try my best not to alienate the intended readership, I long ago abandoned any personal concerns about what "the powers that be" might consider as acceptable discourse.
At my age, they're welcome to the few remaining years of my lifespan if they don't mind paying the price. Assuming they can get close at all, they'll find that neither I nor my guard dogs are easy pushovers and I'm not really worth the effort. :)
RV, they'd co-opt the situation, make a movie about their version of it, sell ad time and make a bundle. Who'd play you??
For many of us, it's easy to boycott a major corp. Let's pick the biggest.
Drive past ExxonMobile. Why the biggest? Why not.
In every way we can, we must withdraw our $$$upport from any corporations to the right of Ben and Jerry's.
Here, we are re-evaluating our use of phone and computer lines, electrical power and cars (too many).
Have you read "Blessed Unrest" by Paul Hawken?
Would removing the business tax deduction for advertising change them? It's a public subsidy for propaganda and misinformation...
CORP IS BORG
AIG has received a U.S. bailout valued at $182.5 billion
"shifted blame from AIG to America. "It's not your fault, it's theirs," he told the AIG faithful, and on the topic of the company's debt to the nation, he added, "if they want out so badly, they should never have come in in the first place.""
I am not sure it was americas choice, but the choice of a few who were protecting their own investments
"Arrogance, Insolence, Greed" (AIG)....
And now Obama is going to re-enlist Ben Bernanke to run the Fed for another 4 years to assure that the corporate bailouts continue.
Yep! Donohue says it clearly. The coropations own the world. This is what The first Bush Wanker meant by "the new world order."
Yes, corporations owe allegence to no nation, they are rogue bodies seeking to maximize profit wherever opportunity beckons. They need to be heavily regulated by government because they will never regulate themselves.
Hopefully Michael Moore will capture this theme in his new film that opens 10/2/09.
It's been recognized since the early part of last century (John Dewey: "government is the shadow of business on society") that what shapes American policy, domestic and foreign, is the corporate sector. Changing the players in the government, as we have seen time and time again, changes nothing but the current agents of corporate control. Unless the substance, and not just the shadow, is addressed, there will never be any change.
So it's time for a new way of doing things, and my suggestion is this: Capital punishment for corporate 'persons'. Corporations are, after all, creatures created by the state and subject to state charter. All states should be able to 'execute' the company (that is, remove the company's charter to both exist and do business) when the company is proven to be a greater detriment to the community than a benefit.
Great idea, but good luck getting it adopted by the (corporate) people's representatives. It's the same old Catch-22. An established system will never accomodate any action that represents a threat to itself.
Yes, you put your finger on its weakness. But then, every way to get us off the merry-go-round of insanity requires the same kind of paradigm shift, otherwise it's merely re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Witness the current 'debate' around 'reforming' health care. We can't and won't do it. Not because it's not a good idea, but because it would require a significant change in the way things operate and most people won't accept such change voluntarily.
That's why I think we have to be patient and wait until the system inevitably crashes from its own weight - taking most of us with it of course - rather than try to change it now while we're so weak and it is still so strong. Our weak efforts that fail only reinforce their strength.
It's hard for a 'me-centered' society with the attention span of a half-minute and no knowledge of history to accept, but that's the way it is. And it's why I think that until that time, when the current system can no longer sustain itself, efforts to bring significant change to the 'government' - that means negating corporate control - will inevitably end in failure. All things have a season and we must be patient until the season amenable for significant change. A position for which I've taken a lot of heat in recent years.
Tirebiter,
The acceleration of going from initially a progressive schooled 40 years ago and believing in the Republic and the Constitution, to upsetness over the breaking of the Constitution by SCOTUS with the putsch-installation of GWB+Gore not contesting it in 2000, to the horror post 911 that a full fledged shadow government was complicit in the security failures and murders that occurred that day, to the obvious warcrimes our country was initiating in Afghanistan and continuing in Iraq, and thinking if I just worked hard enough within the system, it would revert to the worthy entity I thought it once was, it has been mind bending.
That acceleration has been exponential to the point where over the last year and a half I have decided 1) I will register to vote and then pointedly not show up to sanction the farce known as elections 2)Run for office, intending to lose, later I can say, 'I told you so' 3)I'm ok if the whole thing crashes and burns because it was never what I thought to begin with and if I'm still around it will give us a chance to start over. That last one used to bother me quite a bit. But now it is exhilarating as well as scary.
I am still going to put my best efforts into the UNIVERSAL SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE Battle. I believe in the ends even if I've lost faith in the means. I'm responsible for the effort, not the outcome. Where there are signs of life, there is hope. Then as that flickers out, we'll hold the funeral for Mythos America the ideal that never was.
When I had a farm friend 15 years ago say," We'll just have to wait it out, till it runs it course into the ground, taking too many good people with it. It would be good if it would come completely apart right now, I hope it does!" I was horrified and tried to convince her, "No, your vote does matter, writing letters to Congress does make a difference....blah, blah blah" She refused to listen and pointed out then we were wage slaves, that slaves got clothes, food and shelter, so some slaves were better off than some wage slaves. In the last 9 years, I have had to acknowledge, Vicky, you were right and I was wrong. I think it is because as a farmer she was closer to the Earth and literally more grounded.
In our kleptocracy of corporate personhood, the true producers have failed to profit. And farmers are the primary producers. So they were the first to fail, as it turns out the weather vane for the rest of us laborers .
Tirebiter,that is the heat you feel, the fake fuel log burning with the warm glow of patriotism that Smedley Butler correctly diagnosed as a racket. Just keep on keeping the powder dry, the rest of us will catch up with you soon.
"All states should be able to 'execute' the company (that is, remove the company's charter to both exist and do business) when the company is proven to be a greater detriment to the community than a benefit."
The best way to control corporations is to make their charters temporary (say for 10 years) and subject to review.
In that way, their very existence would become political issues.
q
From the article:
"To a corporation, a nation is merely a place where profit may be made; beyond that, every nation is valueless, meaningless. The corporation, being a legal 'person' under U.S. law, is now the ultimate 'Man Without a Country,' for it equally rejects them all."
Except when the corporations need military muscle, that is. Good luck getting anybody to march off to war in Afghanistan for Unocal, but USans can be repeatedly flim-flammed if the war is sold as spreading "Freedom 'n' Democracy (TM)" to the unwashed masses. Then watch those corp's suddenly become more patriotic than John Wayne, Bruce Wayne and Wayne Newton rolled into one.
While the US Armed forces are the Attack Dogs of the MNC behemoths like AIG, the increasing privatization of War a.k.a BlackWater etc. shows that national institutions will now have to compete for the opportunity to kill, rape and pillage. The allure of patriotism and honor is a significant aspect of military service, but the private mercenary armies of the world are a more financially viable option for the soldier. All this is bad news for the general populace. I am expecting the rise of a new genre of movies portraying the 'glorification' of the private mercenary a.k.a Rambo series, where the 'soldier of fortune' saves the world.
Corporations shape contemporary reality and I am not sure if I am awake or asleep.
we all need to get rid of the corporate powers in our on neighborhoods and work our way up. Now is a good time to do it since so many of us don't work for them anymore.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Controlling_Corporations/Challenge_Corp_Personhood.html
It's going to take an ammendment cause the judges are in their pockets.
When the judges are corrupt, the source of the text is irrelevant. Look at some of the absurd statements by Scalia, such as his notion that the Consitution offers no protection for innocent citizens against execution.
q
Or, for that matter, a right to have your vote counted.
And John Kerry voted to confirm Scalia. We have a ton of trash to throw out.
Tirebiter, I'm inclined to your thinking. I still have hopes that a Main Street Party could turn things around, primarily because I'm finding reception of the idea to be so enthusiastic. People are upset and milling around without direction. But you're right about all your stated defects of our citizens. I'm finding that to be the case with all the "common folks" I talk with. Although on a personal level, they are kind and eager to be helpful. And yes, the corporations will resist any interference so we may have no choice but to wait for their inevitable collapse under their own weight. My oldest son pointed out that greed feeds on itself until it runs out of food. We may have to end up rebuilding out of ashes. And Obama may go down in history as the last corporate raider on the public treasury.
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Writing as someone whom used to toil for a multi-national corporation (offices in seven countries, agents in at least fifty more) & was sent abroad as part of his work life, I can attest to the particular rapaciousness I witnessed from those whom populate the financial sector. The corporate douche bags who run companies like AIG are amongst some of the most spoiled, cossetted, and entitled ass wipes I had the misfortune to run across (though my former firm's accountants, the late unlamented Arther Andersen, were a close second). Thus the rant of Robert Benmosche is hardly surprising.
I spent decades working for large corporations, and to your comments all I can say is, Amen.
As someone who used to work for a federal government department, I can assure you that the rapacious douche bags aren't confined to corporate board rooms.
From a People World to a Corporate World.
Bullshitism is the name of the game.
the next domestic war has already begun...it is the war in which many citizens are relocated from houses to prisons...this will only escalate until we defend ourselves against the propertied bankers and landlords, and return the land to the natural order...we must live without industry and electricity, and we must begin soon...
the tragedy we're facing isn't a dying economy, it's a dying planet due to our economy...
Global Start Date: September 22, 2012...let's get those garden's growing...
Civics Update:
We the people of the United States, having failed to
> form a more perfect UNION,
> establish JUSTICE,
> insure DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY,
> provide for the COMMON DEFENSE,
> promote the GENERAL WELFARE, and
> secure the BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY to ourselves and
our posterity,
do hereby declare this Constitution for the United States of America... void.
Corporate charters shall now suffice.
Bend over.
Yep. The elite does to us what the Honduran police are doing to female protestors. The CIA taught them well the American corporate values.
lets quote ralph nader the proper name here is global monkees.
i would love to see one congress person or senator slip
language into some midnight legislation declaring that
corporations are no longer citizens! now we all know that
turtles will have tits before that happens but i am
allowed to dream aren't i?
Before the late 19th century, public corporations were usually issued very duration-limited and very purpose-specific charters by states. From the outset, such entities were viewed with caution -- the fear being that, with the imprimitur of the state, and the ability to publicly sell stock shares, corps could easily become mini-governments with no meaningful accountability.
Which is exactly what they have become.
It is interesting to note that all US states still have on their books laws which allow citizens to petition state officials to revoke corporate charters.
This was tried a few years back in California, against UnoCal (UniCal) -- the first of such citizens efforts since the 1920's.
The California AG was presented with a court-vetted list of allegations of UnoCal's corporate crimes, supporting evidence, and thousands of CA resident signatures demanding charter revocation. The AG denied the petitioners' demand, of course, but the legal mechanism remains in place in all 50 states.
Yep, and I'm sure the state of North Dakota can handle all the banks and credit card carriers, leaving Delaware to keep tabs on all the rest.
Rather than confronting corporate behemoths with the Draconian sanction of states revoking their charters outright, I favor federal legislation that would redefine (and limit) corporate citizenship rights for all engaged in commerce within US borders, and restore meaning, and meaningful enforcement, of the Sherman and Clayton antitrust acts.
Bill from Saginaw
RV and djb focused on the same single sentence in Brian Donohue's account of this revealing speech by a big corporate Master of the Universe which I, quite frankly, found baffling and confusing on the first few re-reads, given the ambiguity of its context.
"If they want out so badly, they never should have come in the first place."
Who are they? Where is here?
Linking back to the original Bloomberg news report of Robert Benmosche's recent AIG employee town hall meeting remarks, it is clear the new CEO was referring to his announced decision not to sell off AIG assets at what Benmosche considered were fire sale prices - thus delaying repayment on schedule of $182 billion dollars in public bailout money owed by AIG to the federal government.
According to Bloomberg, Benmosche told the assembled AIG executives he "had the luxury to say to the government, I'm not going to rush to do this. I'm appalled at how much pressure has been put on all of you to just sell it no matter what, because the Fed wants out, or the Treasury wants out. If they want out in a hurry, they shouldn't have come in the first place."
These remarks had nothing to do with nativism, nor much to do with the chameleon-like, shifting multiple citizenship claims of global corporate capitalism. These remarks, in this context, were entirely about the tail wagging the dog inside the Washington DC political arena. The tar baby image looms large.
Later in this employee town hall speech, Mr. Benmosche added "It's time the people in Congress stopped talking about you as the problem, because you're the solution. It's not your fault, it's theirs, it's the regulators' fault."
Wouldn't it be nice if we all had the "luxury" of telling our creditors "I'm not going to rush repaying this mortgage or installment loan agreement on schedule, and if you guys don't like it, it's your own damn fault for doing business with me in the first place"?
It's like the shoplifter, caught red handed on surveillance video, who pleads no contest and then shows up on sentencing day to shift blame towards the store owner, security people, and cops because they made it just too tempting to steal.
Bill from Saginaw
My own focus was on the attitude being expressed rather than on any particular object of the expression. Recalling Enron's "screw Grandma", I have a very stong impression that the same attitude would apply generally to all and sundry, and without corporate source specificity for that matter.
Thanks for the reference, Bill. I had the same questions as you. And I liked your shoplifter analogy. As a kid, I never lifted any candy or trinkets from the local drugstore. However, after I was out of college, I stole a pair of slippers from a large department store, even though I had more than enough money. Fifteen years later, my house was robbed.
Karmic payback? I tend to think so.
All of us who allowed the harm of these financial insitutions to start and continue will get our karmic payback. Who's to know if it'll be in this lifetime ...
"Spitting in America's eye?"
Well, that all depends on how you define "America". If "America" equals the "economy" that Bush, Paulson, Bernake, Geithner and Obama have done so much to fund with the "other" America's money (stupid taxpayer cash cows), then AIG is right on, bro!
America is the top 1% and they are doing just fine, thank you. If you aren't part of this valuable, talented, hard working, patriotic, elite, intelligent, special, privileged, royally deserving, anointed, exhalted group of pure evil monsters, then you aren't an American and you aren't part of the economy.
Go to work, you lazy people down there, we've got bridge games and golf matches to go to.
I Believe
I believe
……. In the separation of Corporations and State.
I believe
……. That Corporations hold dominion over Congress,
……. But Citizens should hold that power.
I believe that Corporations
……. For the first hundred years of this nation,
……. By Design and Charter, they served the public good
……. And they should be required to do so again.
I believe that Major Corporations
……. Exercise control of Government Administrative Agencies
……. Through revolving door job shuffling between themselves,
……. Congressional Staff, various Agencies and Lobby Firm
……. For the purpose of minimizing regulations on themselves.
I believe that Major Corporations
……. Promote non-competition through acquisition and merger,
……. Exploit both workers and consumers, and
……. Denigrate social justice through such practices as
……. Off-shoring of jobs, anti-union posturing and
……. Minimization of wages and benefits.
I believe that Too Many Major Corporations
……. For the benefit of the few already super-rich, they
……. Ravage the earth’s resources while
……. Polluting the earth’s land, water, and air and,
……. Through their control of mainstream media,
……. Obfuscate, distort, or deny truth to the detriment of the public
……. While promoting entertainment over elucidation.
Well said.
[CORP IS BORG]