[TriLUG] OT: PT One tech issue from tonight's debate

Joseph Mack NA3T jmack at wm7d.net
Fri Oct 19 17:14:57 EDT 2012


On Fri, 19 Oct 2012, Chris Merrill wrote:

> On 10/19/2012 4:41 PM, Joseph Mack NA3T wrote:
>>> I'm sorry, but it sounds like you don't understand how corporations work.
>>
>> I'm the first to admit that there's a lot I don't know about corporations. Are you saying that
>>
>> "The only obligations a company has to its shareholders occur at bankruptcy."
>>
>> is false?
>
> That statement is devoid of any context.

It seemed OK to me when I read it, but I will accept that to 
a business person it is devoid of context.

> But as a broad unqualified statement, it appears to be 
> false.

OK.


> Being that I have been an active part of starting and 
> running the corporation by which I am currently employed, 
> I do understand some of the legalities. If the majority 
> vote of shareholders tells me to do X and I don't then 
> they have just cause to fire me. I'm not sure if you 
> interpret this as an obligation of the corporation to do 
> what the shareholders tell it, but I fail to see it any 
> other way.

I will remember this next article I read on shareholder 
power.

>> I read this statement in the business section of either 
>> the NYT or the Guardian recently, in an article on the 
>> myth that shareholders have so much power.
>
> In many/most large publicly traded corporations, there is 
> a grain of truth to this -- because the shares are so 
> widely owned that it is hard to get a majority to oppose 
> the status quo.

yes understand, but the article wasn't talking about this 
case. It was talking about shareholder power in principle.

>> How do I know that everyone isn't cooperating in the game 
>> I described in my post and what you describe here is a 
>> sham?
>
> I'm not telling!  There is no conspiracy!  These are not 
> the droids you're looking for. :>

thank you for the explanation and for straightening me out.


Joe

-- 
Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
jmack (at) wm7d (dot) net - azimuthal equidistant map
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