The persistent myth that corporations are legally required to act only in the service of shareholders’ financial interests.
Powerful groups have a vested interest in keeping the myth around, but it doesn’t even pass the smell test— they were more interested in social control with the return to office stuff. Even though productivity is higher and costs are lower with WFH. Even if you argued it served the interest of shareholders as a broad class, without checking for the real estate holdings of the company’s shareholders, they could accidentally assist companies that their shareholders don’t have investments in. Or worse, competing ones.
It goes further. Why not treat employees better to reduce turnover or improve performance? No, of course not. It is used exclusively to justify immoral actions.
So a lot of that changed when the law changed that capped ceo salary at $1M. They started getting comp in stock. So of course when they say they only have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders they really mean to themselves.
Everyone was all yay CEO salaries were out of control so we got them capped. But look at the monster the side effect of that created.
CEOs are literally not a problem compared to the billionaires who own these companies. CEOs are still bad, but they are henchmen, not the main villains.
The persistent myth that corporations are legally required to act only in the service of shareholders’ financial interests.
Powerful groups have a vested interest in keeping the myth around, but it doesn’t even pass the smell test— they were more interested in social control with the return to office stuff. Even though productivity is higher and costs are lower with WFH. Even if you argued it served the interest of shareholders as a broad class, without checking for the real estate holdings of the company’s shareholders, they could accidentally assist companies that their shareholders don’t have investments in. Or worse, competing ones.
It goes further. Why not treat employees better to reduce turnover or improve performance? No, of course not. It is used exclusively to justify immoral actions.
So a lot of that changed when the law changed that capped ceo salary at $1M. They started getting comp in stock. So of course when they say they only have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders they really mean to themselves.
Everyone was all yay CEO salaries were out of control so we got them capped. But look at the monster the side effect of that created.
CEOs are literally not a problem compared to the billionaires who own these companies. CEOs are still bad, but they are henchmen, not the main villains.
Difference without much distinction.
I only bring it up because people seem to focus on CEOs without thinking about the bigger system behind why CEOs are such garbage.