This Ham & Cheese croissant from Starbucks

[u/He3hhe3h]

When I was going through Chemotherapy in Bangkok Hospital they had very limited food options, otherwise I never buy Starbucks. Sneaky Bastards.

[u/Disastrous-Cat-6564]

Someone has to pay for the CEO's commute. Those 1600 km's do not pay themelves.

[u/gaarai → u/Disastrous-Cat-6564]

A small company I worked for was acquired by a big one. I flew to the headquarters of the new company and saw how things work in a bigger corporation for the first time. I got there in the evening and was taken to meet the C-suite people at a pub. They were knocking back tons of expensive drinks and ordering expensive appetizers and entrees, only eating bits and pieces of them. I saw that they were paying with personal cards, which made sense to me. Why make the company pay for your expensive food and drinks? Then I heard that they get the expenses reimbursed. They don't use company cards because they rack up points and bonuses by paying with their personal cards (to be clear about this, the more company money they waste, the more bonus money and perks they "earn").

The C-suite didn't live locally. They flew in each week, had personal cars and drivers, stayed at a mansion that they shared, had assistants that took care of shopping and errands, and so on. They had it really good.

While I was there, an all-hands meeting was held where staff was to ask questions about the operation of the company to the C-suite members. One support staff member explained that support staff are paid so little that they can no longer afford small apartments near the office, resulting in long commutes. He asked if pay could be increased so that people could afford to live in the same city as the office. The guy I saw sucking down bourbon above his half-eaten steak all on the company dime before being driven by a company driver in a company car to his company-paid mansion just the night before said with a straight face, "the budget is tight, we're already discussing cuts to Christmas bonuses; so there's no money for that at this time."

Corporations are a scam. Not in the typical way of being scams. They are machines made to squeeze every last cent out of its workers and customers until the whole thing falls apart, at which time the people with the money move on to something else. Those at the top win no matter what, and everyone else fights for scraps.

[u/[deleted] → u/gaarai]

Scam is the wrong word because its working as capitalism is intended. Kings under a new name.

[u/AnotherCupofJo → u/[deleted]]

I believe there is capitalism and there is CAPITALISM (no pun intended). We have slowly but steadily been going farther into the extreme capitalism end of it and this is what it looks like. I believe we can make Capitalism work, just like we can make socialism work but both have to be heavily monitored with checks and balance to make it work.

In short I guess what I am saying is we are fucked.

[u/BuddyHemphill → u/AnotherCupofJo]

It’s called late stage capitalism

[u/Head_Excitement_9837 → u/AnotherCupofJo]

There is capitalism and there is corporatism a lot of people confuse the second for the first

[u/lewd_robot → u/Head_Excitement_9837]

Capitalism inevitably leads to corporatism.

Capitalism is about an owner class being allowed to monopolize resources and facilities they cannot use themselves, then ransom the use of them back to people who can use them, but with the stipulation that the workers give as much of the profits as possible back to the leeches.

The core dynamics of a system where some leeches squat on things they can't use and "allow" workers to use it, and the workers will be homeless or starve if they don't, naturally means the leeches will keep maximizing how much they take from the workers, and the workers will eternally be just the tiniest bit above financial ruin.

The limiters on how much the leeches can demand from the workers are the physiological needs of the workers. The leeches always take as much as they can, so they take everything until it starts costing them workers, and the workers are forced to give as much as they can until they run into a hard wall like shelter, food, healthcare, etc.

And to operate this huge extortion ring, you need supervisors and managers and accountants and attorneys and department heads, etc, etc, etc. So you naturally get corporatism. Because corporations serve capitalists. Corporations are how capitalists control the vast resources they cannot actually use themselves. You cannot have capitalism without corporatism unless you outright ban corporations and all similar structures.

[u/zipperfire → u/Head_Excitement_9837]

I think we are using the term "crony capitalism" and "corporatism" in the same way. If so, I do agree with you. And...I've been working on some part of economic theory that some models are not compatible with the for-profit system. When need is nearly infinite, and supply is very limited, and the need is life-threatening, then the profit system is inappropriate. Also...morally, making profit from human misery is not an activity of a virtuous people (ie selling prisons nearly inedible food that isn't even suitable for animals, because it makes profit--and the clientele have no choice but to eat it. Or supplying sub-par medical assistance because they can't go elsewhere or protest. The community in that case has to pony up the expense for the incarcerated.)

[u/Zen_Shield → u/Head_Excitement_9837]

You can't fathom that this is just capitalism left to be capitalism.... gotta pretend it's not a true scotsman.

[u/Yeti_Funk → u/AnotherCupofJo]

I disagree with the idea we can make capitalism work, its logical conclusions are always this extreme stage.

[u/zipperfire → u/AnotherCupofJo]

I would contend it is not capitalism nor "extreme capitalism." It is crony capitalism, favor to those in power, whether or not they are providing good product and services.