Evidently my vocabulary is not as precise as I had hoped. I think I was looking for the biggest corporations which I equate with businesses. Evidently businesses are more like sectors in the true vernacular. Anyway, here are the top 10 corporations in the world.
1. Wal-Mart (retail)
2. Exxon-Mobile (petroleum)
3. Royal Dutch Shell (petroleum)
4. British Petroleum (petroleum)
5. General Motors (auto manufacturer)
6. Toyota (auto manufacturer)
7. Chevron (petroleum)
8. Daimler Chrysler (auto manufacturer)
9. Conoco Phillips (petroleum)
10. Total (petroleum)
Do you see anything these companies have in common?
I'm going to be honest, I want to blog more about simplicity and less about politics and stuff. This list really makes me mad and I see HUGE problems in the world as a result of the power that these corporations have. Proceed at your own risk.
Tomorrow I have a good post planned, but for today I want to express some views on these big businesses. I suppose I have no problem with big business, if they are responsible and contribute to a good world. When it is all about making more money for a few at the expense of the masses, it makes me mad. What really makes me mad is that they have such a stronghold so deep in our political system that I can't do much. It would take far more power than I can get together.
I saw a You tube clip the other day about big business in politics that I liked. I would link to it, but the profanity was such that I am not going to. Anyway, the guy started talking about big business and how they are powerful lobbies in Washington. I don't think there is any argument there. This guy went as far as to say that the reason our (US) education system stinks is because big business wants it that way. If the masses really understood the power of a democracy and the importance of the people having a voice rather than big business running things, there would be less money in the pockets of big business. So how does big business prevent this? They help keep people less educated by continuing with status quo education while the rest of the world moves ahead.
I want to throw in an example just for fun. The state of Utah recently refused to allow students in high school participate in the International Baccalaureate program. While scholastically this program puts students well ahead with a broad understanding of the world, my elected officials refused to allow it because understanding a world view seems to be breeding anti-American sentiments. There is a lot that I love about my country. The fact that I can write this is a big one, things could certainly be much worse. The problem is that we fear too much about what others think of us and we can't allow that into schools. Lets hide the truth from students so that they can continue as naive to the world as their parents. That way big business can continue as usual.
I also want to add that the whole democratic process is so complex that it gets out of the hands of the people. Lets take city council as an example. Attendance at those meetings is sparse at best. That should be one of the biggest meetings of the community, but that lethargy of residents overrides any importance it may hold. That's not big business' fault, but they certainly take advantage of it. The whole process also seems so complex that most people can't figure it out. Big business likes that way, they can continue on without the obnoxious uneducated towns people interfering.
I know what we could do, we could have our government subsidize the production of oil to make it so the big businesses can make more money. Oh, we already do that.
Hey Vertigo, can I come live with you in Canada? I think communal living sounds like it could be fun.
Tomorrow will be better, I promise, but I feel better getting that off my chest.
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4 comments:
Walmart is big because their "stuff" costs less. So you have a corporation who takes advantage of the poor (offering lower wages and fewer benefits for their workers, selling goods produced under inhumane circumstances to keep costs down)focusing its marketing on people who need to get the most for their money (the poor). The only way to break the cycle is for shoppers to differentiate need from want. Some of the most economically challenged people I know are addicted to cigarettes and fast food.
You said "While scholastically this program puts students well ahead with a broad understanding of the world..."
How do you know this is a fact?
Why on earth would anyone want to let their kids education be controlled by some communist bureaucrat from the UN?
IB is nothing more than the UN's push for world government. You can have world class reading, math and languages without paying big $$ to these people who do not respect our constitutuional republic form of government which is the best in the world even though it is being abused.
- Teacher, 35 years
Teacher, 35 years,
I know that the IB program puts students ahead scholastically because they leave high school and enter their sophmore year of college. Based on US educational system standards, this would be 'ahead'. That doesn't make it better, and I can see your point. I haven't investigated the IB program beyond some conversations with my wife, so my understanding isn't all that it could be.
Maybe an education that presents some of the problems in the US gov't would be helpful for kids. Maybe it would help them want to take control of what really is a great system by letting them see it how others do and forcing them to defend it. I guess I have very little data to argue with, but the education I received pertaining to politics and world history was grossly insufficient and I think change would be good. The IB may not be the best change, but would it be better? I don't know.
Thanks for being a teacher. It's an over-worked, underpaid, somtimes thankless job. Thank you for working to educate kids.
Hey Sans,
I feel your pain when it comes to big business/corporations. What makes it rather scary is reading about the looming spectre of Peak Oil and its effects on the 'western' lifestyle. If you read James Kunstler's blog, you know that there are a whole bunch of people who recognize that Peak Oil has already passed and the happy motoring public will not continue with oil at $5 a gallon. And that doesn't even mention what happens to Wal-Mart and their Warehouse on Wheels.
Canada is a fabulous country, although not perfect. Feel free to drop by for a visit, there are plenty-six kilometres of singletrack waiting to be explored.
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