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Revenge is satisfying, but misguided, because most people assume that is enough. Criminalizing business will mean that only crooks will want to run businesses.

by T_S_ 16y ago

Revenge is satisfying, but misguided, because most people assume that is enough. Criminalizing business will mean that only crooks will want to run businesses. Instead, most problems of this sort can be prevented in the first place by full transparency. Put the books and records of financial companies on the web, continuously updated, and you won't see as much bad behavior. Of course, this is nothing like our current system and would make most business leaders howl in protest, since they would not know how to "add value" in such a world.

rauljara 16y ago
"Criminalizing business will mean that only crooks will want to run businesses." What an absurd sentiment. We already have corporations that brazenly break laws with the understanding that the penalties they suffer will be less than the profits they take. The motivation behind giving already illegal actions real penalties is to actually prevent said illegal actions, which our current system fails to. Revenge needn't be a consideration. We already have crooks running businesses. By penalizing crooks we might actually give honest business people a fair chance.
- oiuytgfrgh 16y ago
  So who exactly goes to jail? Put it in simple terms, a garage working on your car's brakes screws up. Do you jail the mechanic that worked on the car? Or the service manager that told him to hurry up? Or the middle manager that set the targets for the service time? Or the CEO of the service division? Or the CEO of the car company? Or the CEO of the pension fund that is the main owner of the company - and so the one that benefited from saving money on your service? Corporate manslaughter was introduced in europe after a ferry sinking where a ferry left port with the bow doors open. The captain was the only one charged - but he claimed the company ordered captains to close the doors while at sea to save time in port. Under the old health and safety law the managers who gave the orders couldn't be punished since they weren't present Naturally the only people to have been prosecuted aren't the managers of major industrial accidents - it was a single plumber that fitted a faulty boiler.
- T_S_ 16y ago
  The financial crisis was largely perpetrated by people who were simply doing their jobs within an absurd system. The main flaw of our system of financial oversight is its opacity. We should focus more on how to fix this and less on creating a new class of criminal. Have all the justice you want. But don't fool yourself that it represents a solution. We need to take away the secrecy the "crooks" need to operate. This secrecy is actually provided by our regulatory and financial accounting system.

by T_S_ 16y ago

rauljara 16y ago

"Criminalizing business will mean that only crooks will want to run businesses." What an absurd sentiment. We already have corporations that brazenly break laws with the understanding that the penalties they suffer will be less than the profits they take. The motivation behind giving already illegal actions real penalties is to actually prevent said illegal actions, which our current system fails to. Revenge needn't be a consideration. We already have crooks running businesses. By penalizing crooks we might actually give honest business people a fair chance.

oiuytgfrgh 16y ago
So who exactly goes to jail? Put it in simple terms, a garage working on your car's brakes screws up. Do you jail the mechanic that worked on the car? Or the service manager that told him to hurry up? Or the middle manager that set the targets for the service time? Or the CEO of the service division? Or the CEO of the car company? Or the CEO of the pension fund that is the main owner of the company - and so the one that benefited from saving money on your service? Corporate manslaughter was introduced in europe after a ferry sinking where a ferry left port with the bow doors open. The captain was the only one charged - but he claimed the company ordered captains to close the doors while at sea to save time in port. Under the old health and safety law the managers who gave the orders couldn't be punished since they weren't present Naturally the only people to have been prosecuted aren't the managers of major industrial accidents - it was a single plumber that fitted a faulty boiler.
T_S_ 16y ago
The financial crisis was largely perpetrated by people who were simply doing their jobs within an absurd system. The main flaw of our system of financial oversight is its opacity. We should focus more on how to fix this and less on creating a new class of criminal. Have all the justice you want. But don't fool yourself that it represents a solution. We need to take away the secrecy the "crooks" need to operate. This secrecy is actually provided by our regulatory and financial accounting system.