The rich get richer, the working stiff with their middle-class friends move into the family van

BY STEVEN KASZAB

The “haves” still put out their hands. I guess if you do not continue asking you will not receive. Massive corporations have been receiving public money for things that would normally be considered good business. For example, charging centres for future electrical carports. A business will do anything to ensure a potential customer visits their business right? So advertising, clean parking facilities and customer service would be in line.

If our society is moving towards the electric vehicle, why would a business deserve to receive millions of dollars of public money to carry out what would be sound business decisions? If there were more electric cars, let’s put more electric carports into our facility, anything that will excel the customer’s retail experience. What is with this “Corporate Welfare,” giving wealthy businesses public money, while at the same time seeing such businesses complain about the public payments to members of our society in need?

In the US, the airline industry wanted 60 billion dollars in assistance, and had to make do with 50 billion. What did they do with their funds? Five of the largest airlines spent 96% of this free cash buying back their shares of their own stock pleasing their shareholders and owners, but certainly not their employees, many of which were laid off.

Cruise lines and hotel chains received massive amounts of public funds. Is it fair that The Marriot chain of hotels received public funds while it bought back 2.3 billion of its own stock last year and raked in almost 4 billion dollars in profits? Cruise lines are floating tax shelters, with three corporations controlling 75% of the industry. They received public money too.

Amazon, the world’s most profitable corporation, only offered their employees unpaid sick leave and limited their time to two weeks, while demanding its employees put in for mandatory overtime. Amazon owns many other businesses that do receive public assistance. While North American corporations spend millions of dollars supporting political parties and organizations that stand against “social welfare” and the unneeded expenditure of public funds assisting those citizens in need, these corporations have their hands out, and can facilitate these fund transfers easily using their small army of lawyers and lobbyists. Presently our political authorities tell the working and middle classes that safety regulations are over, and that we need to rebuild the economy.

63% of pandemic related state aid in the Caribbean went to big business. Only 25% went to social protection schemes. Caribbean corporations, from the travel, hotel to transport sectors have had their hands out grasping at all the public funds they can grab. To make things worse, the majority of corporations in the Caribbean are foreign owned; therefore, this free money goes offshore.

In Africa the situation is no better. Africans need to make do with whatever health and safety assistance they can get from the various NGO’s, while African administrations soak up the free money sent to them by the International Health Agencies. The pandemic has been very profitable for the corrupt throughout the world. Corporations have their hands in our pocketbooks, and they will remain there so long as we allow them the luxury of time.

Corporations put profits before saving the lives of their employees and customers alike. Citizens respond by supporting their labour representatives, who are fought tooth and nail by corporations’ labour disruptors, and legislation put into law by the corporation’s political friends.

Whether in the US or Canada, corporate welfare remains, and is allowing the already profitable corporations to basically loot the public’s revenue trough. Free money for the rich, while the working stiffs of this world must beg, wait for promises to be fulfilled, and sell their assets to survive the pandemic’s onslaught. Who said life was fair?