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This one is tricky. I always thought they have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders, so they have to tread that line as well. Does anyone know how

This one is tricky. I always thought they have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders, so they have to tread that line as well. Does anyone know how that fits into the picture?

rblatz 7y ago
That is a commonly overstated and misunderstood term.
mikestew 7y ago
Does anyone know how that fits into the picture? Well, at least you left out the "legally required" part. The board most certainly has a responsibility to shareholders. It can be a long and tiring argument, but from my POV there is only "responsibility" not "fiduciary responsibility". Now, most of the time the shareholders want more money. But AFAICT, there is not a law on the books that says that the board must maximize profits above all else. For instance, and perhaps it's a poor example, but Costco says they will make 15% profit. That's it. You want more money, sell more stuff. Doesn't the board have a "fiduciary responsibility" to bump that to 16% if they can get away with it? Apparently not.
dmix 7y ago
American companies have American customers, investors, and employees too. And European, Canadian, Aussie, etc. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/nba-china-hong-kong-apology-backlash.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/nba-china-hong-k... Corporations have a strong incentive not to piss off the rest of the world to serve one country. They've been able to get away with it for a while but the demands from China will naturally keep growing and growing (as all censorship does once you give in to it). The eagerness of companies to completely abandon free speech and differing opinions will eventually have real consequences.
- jimclegg 7y ago
  Thanks to the tremendous criminality and wealth concentration of the last 200 years, western corps generally only answered to western wealthy audiences. The game has changed, that's all....
- munk-a 7y ago
  There is no such thing as an American company, if you're an American and you start a business and build it up then decide to retire and sell it off, it isn't guaranteed (and is actually rather unlikely) that all the production and business will stay in the US. People are American - not corporations.

This one is tricky. I always thought they have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders, so they have to tread that line as well. Does anyone know how that fits into the picture?

rblatz 7y ago

That is a commonly overstated and misunderstood term.

mikestew 7y ago

Does anyone know how that fits into the picture? Well, at least you left out the "legally required" part. The board most certainly has a responsibility to shareholders. It can be a long and tiring argument, but from my POV there is only "responsibility" not "fiduciary responsibility". Now, most of the time the shareholders want more money. But AFAICT, there is not a law on the books that says that the board must maximize profits above all else. For instance, and perhaps it's a poor example, but Costco says they will make 15% profit. That's it. You want more money, sell more stuff. Doesn't the board have a "fiduciary responsibility" to bump that to 16% if they can get away with it? Apparently not.

dmix 7y ago

American companies have American customers, investors, and employees too. And European, Canadian, Aussie, etc. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/nba-china-hong-kong-apology-backlash.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/nba-china-hong-k... Corporations have a strong incentive not to piss off the rest of the world to serve one country. They've been able to get away with it for a while but the demands from China will naturally keep growing and growing (as all censorship does once you give in to it). The eagerness of companies to completely abandon free speech and differing opinions will eventually have real consequences.

jimclegg 7y ago
Thanks to the tremendous criminality and wealth concentration of the last 200 years, western corps generally only answered to western wealthy audiences. The game has changed, that's all....
munk-a 7y ago
There is no such thing as an American company, if you're an American and you start a business and build it up then decide to retire and sell it off, it isn't guaranteed (and is actually rather unlikely) that all the production and business will stay in the US. People are American - not corporations.