SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Through its Violation Tracker tool--described as "the country's first wide-ranging database of corporate crime and misconduct"--GJF shows that federal penalties imposed on corporations for wrongdoing absolutely "plunged" during Trump's first 12 months in office. (Photo: Good Jobs First)
Tracking Tool Shows Fines for Corporate Misconduct Have Plummeted Under Trump
Penalties against 100 most profitable corporations under Obama averaged $17 billion per year. That number fell to $1.1 billion in Trump's first year.
Feb 13, 2018
America's largest corporations profited immensely from President Donald Trump's actions during his first year in office, from his deregulatory bonanza to his $1.5 trillion tax cut. But according to data compiled by Good Jobs First (GJF), corporate America has also benefited from the Trump administration's inaction--specifically, its failure to impose financial penalties on companies for criminal behavior.
"Along with the massive tax cut, the Trump administration has given the largest corporations billions of additional dollars of benefits in the form of reduced penalties for misconduct."
--Philip Mattera, Good Jobs First
Through its Violation Tracker tool--described as "the country's first wide-ranging database of corporate crime and misconduct"--GJF shows that federal penalties imposed on America's most profitable corporations for wrongdoing absolutely "plunged" during Trump's first 12 months in office.
Whereas the nation's 100 most profitable companies paid around $17 billion in penalties per year during the Obama administration, "Fortune 100" companies only paid a combined $1.1 billion in Trump's first year.
"Along with the massive tax cut, the Trump administration has given the largest corporations billions of additional dollars of benefits in the form of reduced penalties for misconduct," Good Jobs First Research Director Philip Mattera said in a statement.
Acknowledging that the penalty totals under former President Barack Obama are inflated due to the flood of settlements that followed the financial crisis, Good Jobs First research director Philip Mattera observed that "Trump's $1.1 billion total through January 19 is still far below the annual average of more than $9 billion for the Fortune 100 during Obama's final two years in office."
"It also trails behind the $3 billion total during Obama's first year," Mattera added.
GJF's finding fits with a broader trend that has been observed throughout Trump's first months in the White House. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis published last August, Wall Street regulators imposed "far lower penalties in the first six months of Donald Trump's presidency than they did during the first six months of 2016."
Politico similarly found that "publicly traded companies have been hit with fewer and much less costly penalties by the Securities and Exchange Commission since Donald Trump became president" in an analysis of federal data published last October.
GJF's Violation Tracker gives users access to a vast database documenting a wide-range of corporate crimes--and the federal penalties imposed in response--going back as early as 2000. The tool's newest feature allows users to track corporate misconduct by administration, as well as by company, industry, and type of violation.
In total, the tool's database covers "300,000 civil and criminal cases with total penalties of more than $400 billion."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
America's largest corporations profited immensely from President Donald Trump's actions during his first year in office, from his deregulatory bonanza to his $1.5 trillion tax cut. But according to data compiled by Good Jobs First (GJF), corporate America has also benefited from the Trump administration's inaction--specifically, its failure to impose financial penalties on companies for criminal behavior.
"Along with the massive tax cut, the Trump administration has given the largest corporations billions of additional dollars of benefits in the form of reduced penalties for misconduct."
--Philip Mattera, Good Jobs First
Through its Violation Tracker tool--described as "the country's first wide-ranging database of corporate crime and misconduct"--GJF shows that federal penalties imposed on America's most profitable corporations for wrongdoing absolutely "plunged" during Trump's first 12 months in office.
Whereas the nation's 100 most profitable companies paid around $17 billion in penalties per year during the Obama administration, "Fortune 100" companies only paid a combined $1.1 billion in Trump's first year.
"Along with the massive tax cut, the Trump administration has given the largest corporations billions of additional dollars of benefits in the form of reduced penalties for misconduct," Good Jobs First Research Director Philip Mattera said in a statement.
Acknowledging that the penalty totals under former President Barack Obama are inflated due to the flood of settlements that followed the financial crisis, Good Jobs First research director Philip Mattera observed that "Trump's $1.1 billion total through January 19 is still far below the annual average of more than $9 billion for the Fortune 100 during Obama's final two years in office."
"It also trails behind the $3 billion total during Obama's first year," Mattera added.
GJF's finding fits with a broader trend that has been observed throughout Trump's first months in the White House. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis published last August, Wall Street regulators imposed "far lower penalties in the first six months of Donald Trump's presidency than they did during the first six months of 2016."
Politico similarly found that "publicly traded companies have been hit with fewer and much less costly penalties by the Securities and Exchange Commission since Donald Trump became president" in an analysis of federal data published last October.
GJF's Violation Tracker gives users access to a vast database documenting a wide-range of corporate crimes--and the federal penalties imposed in response--going back as early as 2000. The tool's newest feature allows users to track corporate misconduct by administration, as well as by company, industry, and type of violation.
In total, the tool's database covers "300,000 civil and criminal cases with total penalties of more than $400 billion."
America's largest corporations profited immensely from President Donald Trump's actions during his first year in office, from his deregulatory bonanza to his $1.5 trillion tax cut. But according to data compiled by Good Jobs First (GJF), corporate America has also benefited from the Trump administration's inaction--specifically, its failure to impose financial penalties on companies for criminal behavior.
"Along with the massive tax cut, the Trump administration has given the largest corporations billions of additional dollars of benefits in the form of reduced penalties for misconduct."
--Philip Mattera, Good Jobs First
Through its Violation Tracker tool--described as "the country's first wide-ranging database of corporate crime and misconduct"--GJF shows that federal penalties imposed on America's most profitable corporations for wrongdoing absolutely "plunged" during Trump's first 12 months in office.
Whereas the nation's 100 most profitable companies paid around $17 billion in penalties per year during the Obama administration, "Fortune 100" companies only paid a combined $1.1 billion in Trump's first year.
"Along with the massive tax cut, the Trump administration has given the largest corporations billions of additional dollars of benefits in the form of reduced penalties for misconduct," Good Jobs First Research Director Philip Mattera said in a statement.
Acknowledging that the penalty totals under former President Barack Obama are inflated due to the flood of settlements that followed the financial crisis, Good Jobs First research director Philip Mattera observed that "Trump's $1.1 billion total through January 19 is still far below the annual average of more than $9 billion for the Fortune 100 during Obama's final two years in office."
"It also trails behind the $3 billion total during Obama's first year," Mattera added.
GJF's finding fits with a broader trend that has been observed throughout Trump's first months in the White House. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis published last August, Wall Street regulators imposed "far lower penalties in the first six months of Donald Trump's presidency than they did during the first six months of 2016."
Politico similarly found that "publicly traded companies have been hit with fewer and much less costly penalties by the Securities and Exchange Commission since Donald Trump became president" in an analysis of federal data published last October.
GJF's Violation Tracker gives users access to a vast database documenting a wide-range of corporate crimes--and the federal penalties imposed in response--going back as early as 2000. The tool's newest feature allows users to track corporate misconduct by administration, as well as by company, industry, and type of violation.
In total, the tool's database covers "300,000 civil and criminal cases with total penalties of more than $400 billion."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.