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> "Oh, they'll just walk away from the leases. Each lease is owned by a different subsidiary. That subsidiary will just file bankruptcy. Problem solved. They'll

> "Oh, they'll just walk away from the leases. Each lease is owned by a different subsidiary. That subsidiary will just file bankruptcy. Problem solved. They'll just cut the losers, and turn up the dial on the profitable buildings." Ugh. What an awful culture we live in where this is considered perfectly normal behavior.

woah 7y ago
Limited liability is a great concept which allows businesses to be run by people who don’t have the personal capital to absorb all possible losses of the business. Our society would be more unequal without limited liability. There are also many legal safeguards in place to prevent it being used for fraud, negligence, etc. Are you really worried for big commercial landlords who know exactly what they are dealing with and how corporations work? Commercial landlords are not typically thought of as especially trusting and vulnerable entities who need special protection.
- kerkeslager 7y ago
  > There are also many legal safeguards in place to prevent it being used for fraud, negligence, etc. You're doing a thing which is quite frequent on HN, which is where you say that unethical behaviors are prevented because some narrow definition of those unethical behaviors is illegal. But the bit I quoted above is an unethical behavior which is clearly not prevented by the law. > Are you really worried for big commercial landlords who know exactly what they are dealing with and how corporations work? Commercial landlords are not typically thought of as especially trusting and vulnerable entities who need special protection. "The victims are tough enough to handle it" is a pretty poor justification for sleazy behavior.
icelancer 7y ago
Shrug. Takes two to sign a lease. The commercial landlord knew what they were getting into.
- kerkeslager 7y ago
  That's it, all unethical behavior is suddenly okay if it's legal, and caveat emptor? Contracts have very little meaning if one of the signatories can disappear without holding their end of the bargain and without consequences. Is this the society you want, one where giving someone your word is meaningless?

woah 7y ago

Limited liability is a great concept which allows businesses to be run by people who don’t have the personal capital to absorb all possible losses of the business. Our society would be more unequal without limited liability. There are also many legal safeguards in place to prevent it being used for fraud, negligence, etc. Are you really worried for big commercial landlords who know exactly what they are dealing with and how corporations work? Commercial landlords are not typically thought of as especially trusting and vulnerable entities who need special protection.

kerkeslager 7y ago
> There are also many legal safeguards in place to prevent it being used for fraud, negligence, etc. You're doing a thing which is quite frequent on HN, which is where you say that unethical behaviors are prevented because some narrow definition of those unethical behaviors is illegal. But the bit I quoted above is an unethical behavior which is clearly not prevented by the law. > Are you really worried for big commercial landlords who know exactly what they are dealing with and how corporations work? Commercial landlords are not typically thought of as especially trusting and vulnerable entities who need special protection. "The victims are tough enough to handle it" is a pretty poor justification for sleazy behavior.

icelancer 7y ago

Shrug. Takes two to sign a lease. The commercial landlord knew what they were getting into.

kerkeslager 7y ago
That's it, all unethical behavior is suddenly okay if it's legal, and caveat emptor? Contracts have very little meaning if one of the signatories can disappear without holding their end of the bargain and without consequences. Is this the society you want, one where giving someone your word is meaningless?