Great post from Glenn Hubbers on the wider implications of the ongoing BP oil disaster. Glenn has inspired me (as he so often does) and I’d like to add my two cents. It’s a bit of a diatribe but it feels good every now and then to blow off some steam. Hold on tight.

Let’s look at the widening circles of responsibility from this ‘low-probability/high-impact’ incident, which, by the way, is exactly how a nuclear meltdown would be described. Just sayin’.

The first circle is BP itself. There appears to be no doubt that the company was negligent, and willfully so, using lobbying money to buy their way out of legislated safety and environmental standards. But this is only the latest episode is a long series of moves by corporations to maximize profit. The next circle would be the oil and gas transnational but that rant has been done a thousand times.

The circle widens quickly to what it means to be a corporation. Certainly making money is not a bad thing but our government (which means WE the voters) has created an Incorporation system that allows, no, demands, that corporations act without social conscience in the maximization of profit for shareholders. In fact, the Conservatives are doing everything they can to block a piece of member-introduced Corporate Social Responsibility legislation from being passed. But that’s another rant.

As it stands, a company that does show care or consideration for its community and the earth can be sued by shareholders for not serving their financial interests fully. I believe that our Incorporation Acts need to be changed. Corporations are supposed to exist for the benefit of the community, but now it seems that the community exists only for the profit of the corporation. We have allowed ourselves to be reduced to consumers, mere units in an economic system that has somehow become more important than family, happiness, and spirit. No wonder we feel we have no power.

And wider. But who allowed this to happen? The government? It seems to me that our governments are increasingly more responsible to corporations than to citizens. Corporations use their influence more effectively than citizens and they are also able to create a culture that convinces us that Lost or American Idol matters more than paying attention to the food we eat, the air we breathe, or the water we need to live. Not to mention our next-door neighbour, or the despair of a country halfway around the world.

And, finally, it widens right out to us… as consumers: Glenn focused on the role of consumers in creating the demand that drives oil companies to increasing levels of profit. And it is true that we live in a culture that thrives on disposable, one-time-use products that is in no way sustainable, or justifiable from a social justice or global viewpoint.

… and as voters: I would put the focus right back on to the voters. One of the commenters on Glenn’s post suggested that voters have no power over public policy. Further, that we show up once ever few years, vote for a Party platform, and then have the right to return to our media-induced slumber, allowing our elected officials to do the best they can in our absence.

What a load of crap.

That is not democracy. And if we accept or, even worse, use that as an excuse to throw up our hands and say, ‘Oopsies, it isn’t my fault, I’m just a voter/consumer,’ then we will get the government that we deserve.

A democracy is not something that will sustain itself against the onslaught of private interests and vice. A democracy cannot just be a hobby, and certainly not something you only have to look at once every four years.

Our democracy is our job. If it is weak, then it is our responsibility to strengthen it. If our democracy is ailing (look at my post to see that this is a growing perception) then it is our job to revive it. Yes. Ours. We voters have allowed our democracy to slip away into the hands of power-hungry ‘leaders’ and profit-driven corporations.

And it is time to take it back.

A friend of mine sent me this interesting, and kind of disturbing article about Detroit’s proposed solution to its urban sprawl and diminishing populations: tearing down the neighbourhoods and creating new agricultural land.

It has taken me a while to write about it, because, honestly, I wasn’t sure what I could say – it is heartbreaking to see a city that was built on the promises of a modern world in decay and decline. But it is also unsurprising – thanks to Michael Moore’s early films like Roger and Me (which focused on Flint, MI), it is widely known that Detroit was made promises by the auto industry that were not kept.

Promises that could not be kept given the current legislation that deals with corporations (and, yes, I realize that legislation in the States is different than here). Corporate Charter legislation that demands they provide ever-increasing profit to their shareholders, regardless of consequences. ‘Free’-Trade Legislation that makes it more affordable to build cars 1,000 or 5,000 kilometres away from the market where they will be sold than to pay union wages. Accounting and Income Tax legislation that allows companies to externalize environmental and social justice repercussions of the decisions they make. And, finally, a legislative bundle that has created an entire generation of corporate CEOs and profiteers with a twisted set of values where a dollar is more important that a human life and lying is justified when it will make more profit.

I don’t really have a problem with delivering value and profit, that is what companies are for, after all. The problem I have is with the current definition of ‘value’. As a Green, if a company wants to deliver value to me, then it had better be thinking, not just about the jingle of money in my piggy bank, but also the long-term health and well-being of me, my children and my community. I care about the sustainability of my investments, I want to know that it is a good idea not just for me, but for my kids and their grand-kids.

And I have to say that the current corporate culture does not seem to be taking us in that direction. Our current system of fines is largely meaningless and has almost no power to change the behaviour of a corporation – especially for the largest ones, the current fines are considered part of doing business, certainly not a deterrent. Yet, in case after case, companies that take better care of their employees, community, and the environment are more profitable than those who insist on sticking to the ’status quo’.

So here’s what I would like to see: a Corporate Charter granted in Canada would be dependent upon the company agreeing to both domestic and foreign Corporate Social Responsibility Charters and that, if a corporation was in violation of that Charter on a regular basis, that the Charter would be revoked, the Corporation would be dissolved, and the proceeds of asset sales would be used to compensate employees and shareholders. I would like to see the onus of proof on the corporations themselves, and I would like to see this legislation enforced.

Oh, and one other tidbit I would love to see thrown in to deal with exorbitant executive salaries: let’s cap their compensation at 1000x that of the lowest paid worker. That’s right, if you operate in a free trade zone and the worker there makes $0.50 or $1.00 per day, your total compensation (no sneaking around with stock transfers) is going to work out to around $52,000 per year. Too low, you protest. How about 10,000 times? $520,000 doesn’t sound too bad. Does it? Right now, there are many executives being paid 100,000 to 1 million times more than their lowest paid worker. Does that seem right? Do you think that companies would behave differently if their compensation were tied to that of their lowliest employee (contract or part-time)? I do.

As for Detroit, a relic of the modern-age experiment in automobiles, perhaps they will figure out a way to revitalize their economy and transition to sustainable growth through green industry… or maybe it will just become a great place to own a farm.