Stock in Deception

After reading an article about Amazon this morning it became clear to me many have no idea on the deception present when large corporations are written about. The very way they're described when referring to the stock market is a significant source of hypocrisy. The description of a company being "publicly traded" is only a partial truth. In order to understand why we much first understand the concept of "publicly traded". Is simply means that shares of the company's stock can be purchased by the general public. At first glance, one would think nothing of the description of these companies and assume that the description is accurate, but let's analyze that a bit further.

While some of us may be enrolled in retirement savings plans endorsed by employers, these only utilize small amounts of stock in companies, perhaps as little as several shares. Furthermore, the average worker simply cannot afford to retain a significant amount of shares in any company due to the cost of each individual share, as some can cost as high as over $100 per share. So for us, a single share of one of these companies would be anywhere up to a quarter of our weekly paycheck. Our only hope with investing in the stock market is to retain the stock long enough for it to increase in value over the course of several years then sell for a small profit. This can take several years, as values fluctuate depending on success of the individual business. This is why so many investment advisors advocate for long term holding of stock shares.

The reality is the huge number of shares that get traded on a daily basis do not come from the working class in any way, shape, or form. How can it since we don't have the means to buy and sell in such volume? It comes from the elite, who have considerable sums of money invested in these companies and corporations. There may a small percentage of trading that does, but this is miniscule in comparison to the amounts that the 1% control. This is where I'll draw attention to another disturbing aspect of corporate interconnectedness, the way individuals are "elected" to boards of directors of these very companies and corporations.

There is no democratic process of voting as would indicate by the terminology used. It's simply a clever play on words to make us believe there is some form of domocratic method utilized for the process. The way it works is this, one share of stock of the company that is owned is equal to one "vote" to be "elected" to the board. The more shares of stock one owns in the company, the more votes he or she will garner. It essentially means that the common workers will most likely never assume positions on these boards as they make approximately 230 times less than executives. There is realistically no way what so ever for average workers to come into positions of significant influence within these companies and corporations. The prospect to participate in their process is wrought in futility as we have to spend the majority of our incomes on our survival. We cannot assume control of these companies, the means of production, through their process.

Even more disturbing, individuals that retain positions on the board can actually hold positions on several different boards. This allows for concerted effort amongst different companies to significantly manipulate the processes of production and profit generation. What do we suppose would be the result when you have one individual, or perhaps several, who have positions on several boards of companies that have a connected business relationship through the manufacturing and distribution process? It places them in unique positions to exert significant control over aspects of profit.

The unfortunate reality is the elite control the economy, and we suffer on account of it. We're forced to endure ever increasing workloads, being told we must be available for our corporate masters even when we're not physically doing our jobs, their bidding for their lust for profit. We are the slaves of the elite, the servants of the 1% and they continue to squeeze us to obtain every ounce of profit potential from us for their benefit. It's time we show them the true power that we have as those who keep their companies in business, those who perform the day to day tasks and jobs that they see as beneath them. Without us, they have noting, and we need to realize the tremendous power that we truly have.

Richard Trotsky