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I'm actually somewhat sympathetic to the DoJ's argument regarding criminal convictions of the banks. The concept of corporate criminal conduct is somewhat probl
by bradleyjg 12y ago
I'm actually somewhat sympathetic to the DoJ's argument regarding criminal convictions of the banks. The concept of corporate criminal conduct is somewhat problematic, and the collateral consequences of conviction can be dire for innocent third parties.
But there is absolutely no justification for their sheer and utter lack of diligence in pursuing criminal cases against individuals. Holder, Breuer, Bharara and those who worked with them ought to be ashamed of themselves.
- mbreese 12y agoOne solution is to extend the "corporations are people too" concept to the logical conclusion. It's just harder to jail a corporation aside from fines. A corporate death penalty would be nice to see for some of the most egregious cases, including a "show-cause" requirement to allow executives to take leadership positions in another public company or one in a regulated industry. This is fraught with problems though... you could kill the corporation, shame the executives, but tens of thousands could still be out of a job, and in the financial industry you'd wreak havoc on the entire economy. I'm not sure if it is worth the risk. Realistically, I'm not optimistic that this will ever happen in a meaningful way...
- tracker1 12y agoEliminate corporate taxes, and corporate personhood as legal concepts, establish non-living entities as a legal class without certain rights (unable to donate to political campaigns). Limit unused and under-used assets a corporation can own (If a company owns property it doesn't use, or has an excess of liquid assets they are ceased by the govt). Do those things, and a lot of the rest would sort itself out. Companies would need to constantly grow (Amazon) or downsize to their actual value-add (Banks).