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>It would mean bankruptcy for most companies out there. So not much different than when a person is imprisoned. Good luck not getting fired and having debts ra

>It would mean bankruptcy for most companies out there. So not much different than when a person is imprisoned. Good luck not getting fired and having debts rack up. Such an existential threat seems like a very good way of scaring corporations into compliance (well, among other things).

_underfl0w_ 6y ago
This was my thinking exactly. The point of establishing a formal punishment for criminal business activity is not to set up one that business aren't terrified of. Quite the opposite - it needs to be a very real, very scary source of motivation to do the right thing (since morality alone clearly isn't sufficient)
the_duke 6y ago
But a companies "imprisonment" affects many more people. Employees out of a job , suppliers losing contracts, customers never getting what they might have already paid for, creditors losing the debt, share holders lose all their investment. Especially with a huge corporation like Boeing with 160k employees and billions flowing in and out, the effect would be huge. Like I said, I agree there needs to be some way to punish, but just shutting it down would punish a lot of parties that aren't not responsible.
- Yoofie 6y ago
  I'm not the OP but ... > Employees out of a job , suppliers losing contracts, customers never getting what they might have already paid for, creditors losing the debt, share holders lose all their investment. This is what bankruptcy proceedings are for. A similar procedure can be made up for a "corporate death penalty". >Especially with a huge corporation like Boeing with 160k employees and billions flowing in and out, the effect would be huge. If the government was doing its job, corporations of this size should not even be allowed to exist for precisely the reasons you mention. But since anything goes in corporate America, here we are. > Like I said, I agree there needs to be some way to punish, but just shutting it down would punish a lot of parties that aren't not responsible. I would argue that people being indirectly hurt would be a good motivator (or reminder) for people being more picky who they do business with. If you don't learn your lesson the first time, then being burned multiple times will (hopefully) get the message across.

_underfl0w_ 6y ago

This was my thinking exactly. The point of establishing a formal punishment for criminal business activity is not to set up one that business aren't terrified of. Quite the opposite - it needs to be a very real, very scary source of motivation to do the right thing (since morality alone clearly isn't sufficient)

the_duke 6y ago

But a companies "imprisonment" affects many more people. Employees out of a job , suppliers losing contracts, customers never getting what they might have already paid for, creditors losing the debt, share holders lose all their investment. Especially with a huge corporation like Boeing with 160k employees and billions flowing in and out, the effect would be huge. Like I said, I agree there needs to be some way to punish, but just shutting it down would punish a lot of parties that aren't not responsible.

Yoofie 6y ago
I'm not the OP but ... > Employees out of a job , suppliers losing contracts, customers never getting what they might have already paid for, creditors losing the debt, share holders lose all their investment. This is what bankruptcy proceedings are for. A similar procedure can be made up for a "corporate death penalty". >Especially with a huge corporation like Boeing with 160k employees and billions flowing in and out, the effect would be huge. If the government was doing its job, corporations of this size should not even be allowed to exist for precisely the reasons you mention. But since anything goes in corporate America, here we are. > Like I said, I agree there needs to be some way to punish, but just shutting it down would punish a lot of parties that aren't not responsible. I would argue that people being indirectly hurt would be a good motivator (or reminder) for people being more picky who they do business with. If you don't learn your lesson the first time, then being burned multiple times will (hopefully) get the message across.