Corporate Governance Quotes
1st Baron Thurlow. This famous statement expressed the great concern and distrust that England had for corporations. Their worst fears were exceeded by the 20th century and was completely over the top by the 21st century when many corporations could control entire nations and even in America and the UK, they were very powerful and often acted against the public and even national interest with impunity. The chancellor was very concerned as to how the behavior of corporations would be controlled and regulated. For individuals, there was a combination of conscience and legal punishment to control behavior. Partnerships were an extension of individuals. But what was the corresponding mechanism for corporations? The same question is often asked in modern times when corporate scandals and excesses are brought to light. See {586120} for another version of this concern that was stated a few generations later.
This warning was a decade before the Meltdown of 2008, but was not heeded by any of the politicians. As a result a number of the companies that made all those risky decisions assumed that if something went terribly wrong the government would not let them fail. Unfortunately, they were right and the taxpayers spent billions to prevent companies from failing. After the meltdown all the politicians vowed to end the too big to fail concept, but while some improvements were made, the Congress could not come to agreement, and the markets and a number of companies think that they are still too big to fail. This is particularly true for Defense Contractors where the government has and probably will in the future, protect irresponsible companies from failure if they are the only company that makes needed weapons and other equipment.
