Very Dark Water

[Speedbird-1]

We watched the film 'Dark Waters' last night.
I know it's old news to many, but... Wow!....what a tale of corporate malfeasance, greed and civic irresponsibility. (I think that covers it)

It make one wonder, what else the large conglomerates, aren't telling us.

What's the latest info' on Teflon use?

[m j b]

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

...what a tale of corporate malfeasance, greed and civic irresponsibility. (I think that covers it)

It make one wonder, what else the large conglomerates, aren't telling us.

I did a paper in college about corporate responsibility, comparing Ford, P&G and J&J and their production issues: The Pinto, tampons and Tylenol tampering.

My conclusion (you can reach your own) was that only J&J did the right thing. As soon as there was conclusive reports of tampering, they pulled 100% of their product from the market, and kept it off until they had a solution. That's where all of this annoying product protection stuff that you young folks take for granted came from.

The other two tried to ignore, hide, rationalize and fight any correction or change to their product or the deaths resulting from them.

I used to work for a large multinational consumer product company that manufactured a product that tended to kill their consumers. The amount of rationalization there was simply amazing. These otherwise normal people, parents, husbands and wives, just overlooked disturbing facts.

I quit because I could no longer deal with the hypocrisy. But yes, I was a willing participant for quite a while. Money corrupts.

[JasoninDenver]

I highly recommend reading "A Civil Action" for anyone interested in the depth of delusion and denial that can occur in our corporate world when decisions are made based solely on profits.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

We watched the film 'Dark Waters' last night.
I know it's old news to many, but... Wow!....what a tale of corporate malfeasance, greed and civic irresponsibility. (I think that covers it)

It make one wonder, what else the large conglomerates, aren't telling us.

What's the latest info' on Teflon use?

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

I highly recommend reading "A Civil Action" for anyone interested in the depth of delusion and denial that can occur in our corporate world when decisions are made based solely on profits.

Thanks guys … I’ll be adding these to my list

[Blansky]

The main problem lies in the fact that corporate CEOs will never go to jail for their crimes, the company will only be fined, some rather insignificant amount (in the grand scheme of things) which is no deterrent.

I remember back awhile when GM pickup gas tanks were exploding on side impacts. They didn't fix it (recall it) and install a rubber bladder, was because the lawsuits were cheaper to settle on the family lawsuits for people that got burned alive, than it was to fix the problem.

People may not know this but the medical and medical device companies test their products in animal labs, dog labs, then move their testing to poor people in 3rd world countries and then in the US before the product is approved.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by Blansky

The main problem lies in the fact that corporate CEOs will never go to jail for their crimes, the company will only be fined, some rather insignificant amount (in the grand scheme of things) which is no deterrent.

I remember back awhile when GM pickup gas tanks were exploding on side impacts. They didn't fix it (recall it) and install a rubber bladder, was because the lawsuits were cheaper to settle on the family lawsuits for people that got burned alive, than it was to fix the problem.

People may not know this but the medical and medical device companies test their products in animal labs, dog labs, then move their testing to poor people in 3rd world countries and then in the US before the product is approved.

To your first point, the corporate veil can be penetrated and corporate officers held personally accountable for serious misconduct. The lawyers can weigh in on what constitutes “serious”, but it is fairly common in environmental enforcement actions in my experience.

I wouldn’t expect GM to put resealable fuel tank technology in a pickup truck. Maybe relocate/redesign the tank. And your assertion that companies are experimenting on people outside the norms of traditional medical research practices is pretty inflammatory without an authoritative citation.

Corporations are not inherently evil, as you imply. They are susceptible to market influences, activists shareholders, and group think. But it is not a custom and practice at most corporations to intentionally incur risk on itself or its customers.

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by Maleg

To your first point, the corporate veil can be penetrated and corporate officers held personally accountable for serious misconduct. The lawyers can weigh in on what constitutes “serious”, but it is fairly common in environmental enforcement actions in my experience.

I wouldn’t expect GM to put resealable fuel tank technology in a pickup truck. Maybe relocate/redesign the tank. And your assertion that companies are experimenting on people outside the norms of traditional medical research practices is pretty inflammatory without an authoritative citation.

Corporations are not inherently evil, as you imply. They are susceptible to market influences, activists shareholders, and group think. But it is not a custom and practice at most corporations to intentionally incur risk on itself or its customers.

My wife worked in the medical device field for 28 years. She's trained people while worked in the dog labs, one of which is a couple of miles from where we live. My buddy in Sonoma county and his brother have brought devices to market and sold them to the big boys, and often travel to South America where they test their products. Third world countries is the standard for testing these products because of the lax regulations and people they can pay to test them. Hardly any secret.