Predatory practice

Most large incorporated businesses follow the practice that their sole responsibility is to maximize the return on investment for their shareholders.

As the rich are the major shareholders, they receive the maximum benefit. The associated inequality is amplified by the predatory practices of many incorporated businesses with resulting unequal impact on poor and middle classes. Predatory practices include such items as monopolizing competition by buying up competitors, or by predatory pricing to remove competition.

We need to re-establish monopoly laws and ensure enforcement. Another concern is social media companies, usually based in the U.S., that sell personal preference information are not paying tax in all countries where citizen preference is gathered. There are currently some efforts to correct concerns but more has to be done. Perhaps the most outrageous predatory practice was the belowprime mortgage fraud in the U.S. in 2008, where company presidents, chief executive officers and traders of many major financial companies created false documents and continued selling below prime mortgages long after they realized that result was foreclosure.

The poor, many who would not have been approved for regular mortgages, were harmed the most. Many financial institute staff involved received large bonuses during the process or on leaving, and almost none were charged with fraud or corruption. In addition, the American public paid for the country to bail out the companies that went bankrupt. No financial controls were established to ensure similar problems will not arise.

A significant portion of the super rich are convinced they got rich solely on their efforts, but if all it took was effort there would be a lot more super rich. There are a lot who got to be super rich by the efforts of their parent. And any who got there on their own also had a significant element of luck.

I believe I also have responses for those who have concerns about these solutions.

Bill Stollery is a retired construction manager living in Penticton and aspiring author “How WE can save the World.”