Today, I read an article, "Vermont May Lead U.S. to Single Payer Health Care" at PRWatch. While I am thrilled to learn that a state is contemplating enacting what the President and Congress can't seem to get a handle on, there were 2 sentences in the article that really jumped out at me.
For the corporation, what matters most is a thing: profits. Anything else -- the community, people, ecosystem, planet -- are extraneous. Why should IBM care if Joe in Rutland or Sue in St. Albans has access to quality health care? If there is no direct profit to be derived from Joe or Sue, the corporate artifice is unmoved.
For me, that right there is what is wrong about our system. [Feigned] compassion almost always comes with a large string attached.
Last week, John O'Kane, an IBM lobbyist, said in a letter to the House Health Care Committee that his company was opposed to any single-payer proposal. He said IBM planned to continue offering medical coverage to its Vermont employees and wasn't interested in paying additional taxes to help the state achieve universal coverage...Don't get me wrong. His statement doesn't shock me for what it says; it's more that it is so public and blatant. I'm confident that most major corporations feel exactly the same way. They simply don't admit it in writing.
For the corporation, what matters most is a thing: profits. Anything else -- the community, people, ecosystem, planet -- are extraneous. Why should IBM care if Joe in Rutland or Sue in St. Albans has access to quality health care? If there is no direct profit to be derived from Joe or Sue, the corporate artifice is unmoved.
For me, that right there is what is wrong about our system. [Feigned] compassion almost always comes with a large string attached.
This is the most troubling thing about corporations having the rights of a human but none of the responsibilities.
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