Social Irresponsibility

“I wouldn’t buy stock in a company that hired that kind of leadership ( social responsibility). A corporate executive’s responsibility is to make as much money for the stockholders as possible, as long as he operates within the rules of the game. When an executive decides to take actions for reasons of social responsibility, he is taking money from some one else - from the stockholders, in the form of lower dividends; from the employees, in the form of lower wages; or from the consumer, in the form of higher prices. The responsibility of a corporate executive is to fulfill the terms of his contract. If he can’t do that in good conscience, then he should quit his job and find another way to do good. He has the right to promote what he regards a desirable moral objectives ONLY with his own money. “ So said Milton Friedman in an Playboy interview in 1973. Who knew? Who listened? Who listens today?

Today, Dec. 1st, 2010 I read an ad from Chevron which states: “ Fighting AIDS should be corporate policy. We agree.”

I disagree and agree with Milton that corporations and now our government should NOT put the false claim of social responsibility into policy. Today state capitalism (socialism) won AGAIN. By a vote of 73-25 the Senate passed a Food Safety bill that ORDERS the FDA to issue recalls for food poisoning, mandates blah, blah, blah and tracks blah, blah, blah...

More liberty down the drain. Here’s how the data adds up. 13,300 people sickened for the past 3 years from food poisoning; 14 dead. This out of the 300 million population in the U..S. Is this cost effective, common sense?

What good would it do now for Milton to arise from his grave and preach to a tiny minority of a choir of citizens who think like me?