16/01/2008

What we think of Big Business

The U.S. public holds Big Business in shockingly low regard.

A November 2007 Harris poll found that less than 15 percent of the population believes each of the following industries to be "generally honest and trustworthy:

  • tobacco companies (3 percent);
  • oil companies (3 percent);
  • managed care companies such as HMOs (5 percent);
  • health insurance companies (7 percent);
  • telephone companies (10 percent);
  • life insurance companies (10 percent);
  • online retailers (10 percent);
  • pharmaceutical and drug companies (11 percent);
  • car manufacturers (11 percent);
  • airlines (11 percent);
  • packaged food companies (12 percent);
  • electric and gas utilities (15 percent).

These are remarkable numbers. It is very hard to get this degree of agreement about anything. By way of comparison, 79 percent of adults believe the earth revolves around the sun; 18 percent say it is the other way around. READ full ARTICLE from Robert Weissman

Here's something from my city: a huge chunk of downtown was re-designated recently for employment development. Among the first that expressed interest was WalMart. People from the neighborhood revolted, they stalked the city hall and a ban was imposed on big-box, whether it is WalMart, BestBuy, or what-not, from moving in. 77% percent of the residents said no to big box. You'd think they'd get the picture and say - alright, we are not wanted here so we'll take our business elsewhere. Fat chance! The bog boxes filed a suit against the city in order to be allowed in anyway, totally disregarding the people. So, is it any wonder that people hate them?

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