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[quote user="henry6"] [quote user="Bucyrus"] ] It seems to me that if a company believes they can make more money by going offshore and it backfires on them, then it was a matter of bad business judgment or simply a business mistake.  But you seem to be saying that they were greedy and thus wanted too much too fast.  You also seem to be suggesting that private companies have some sort of civic duty to make the country collectively more well off even if it means that such companies will make less money in the process.    But is it not good business sense to want your business to make as much money as it possibly can in as short of a time as possible?  Should companies settle for less profit if by doing so, they can remain in the U.S. as a favor to the U.S. citizens who want jobs?  Question:  How has the fact that companies have moved offshore yielded a dumbing of the American public?  There are many companies that move their production offshore with great success to their business.  Would they be greedy and shortsighted just like the companies which were unsuccessful in going offshore?   And one more question:  What exactly is greed when it comes to business?  How do you know when you cross the line? [/quote] What is patriotism?  If a business is considered a citizen of a country, uses the country and its people to prosper, then it should also have an obligation to support that country.  The private citizens are expected to be "patriotic" so why shouldn't business "citizen".  A business can, and should, make as much money in as short a time as possible.  But at what cost?  Destroying its home, not employing the people expected to buy the product, and not looking out for its own future as well as that as the community to which it operates are short sighted and greedy. You cross the line when neither your employees nor your neighbors have enough economic clout to keep you in business.  Wouldn't a company that took less up front, took its time getting a return on its investment, keep that business going longer not for the employees or the country, but for itself; rather than running its course in a year or less, it might support the investor for 20 or 30 or even 50 years.  That's what the old line Robber Barons did but not what today's Greed Barons do. Another factor of investors and small business people I have dealt with are those who use computer models to operate their business.  They do not have any knowledge of their product or service, have no "feel" or talent for the business they are in, and quickly fail, often leaving creiditors hanging.  Too many businesses that fail are not good for the economy either. [/quote] When a company uses the country and its people to prosper, it fulfils its obligation by paying wages and taxes.  Employing the people expected to buy the product is not part of the deal.  Nor is forgoing profit so it can employ more people than needed.  I have my idea of what patriotism is but when you frame it as an obligation to support the country, it sounds more like socialism than patriotism.    In a free market system, it seems to me that when a company tries as hard as it can to be make a profit, it is doing everything for the country that it can be expected.  So, I am still not sure what you mean by greed as applied to business.  I hear that charge every day but have yet to find anybody who can explain it.  If a business is expected to make every dollar it possibly can, how can it do so when you impose all these unquantifiable social obligations on it.
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