“Corporations have no obligation to “the many” other than to offer them goods and services that they want at a price they’re willing to pay.”
I don’t necessarily disagree with you and to reassure you I’m no marxist. But what we forget is that 30 years ago US corporations just as US citizens had loyalty to the US, its flag and created national value for USA citizens. When corporations were doing well the USA was doing well. I supported corporatism in that environment. Today the multi-national corporate world has no national allegiance except to their CEO, BOD and questionably to shareholders. They get overpaid to destroy and mismanage good companies, with Lucent and HP as being two examples of many.
Multi-national corporations look at USA and national sovereignty as a PITA to them. They have no special allegiance to either the USA or USA citizens, but they want our politicians sending USA troops to die for them if it is their interest. They will support and use any country that rewards them. They want citizens supporting R&D that they can use to expand the economies of other countries. We would refer to a citizen who has the same turncoat qualities as a traitor...wouldn’t we?
What we need are import tariffs. It would bring back home the loyalty from corporations and self sufficiency to the USA. Eliminate the corp income tax, that they dodge, and establish tariffs on every component or product that comes back into the USA. They need to be encouraged to produce in the USA what they sell here as was done in the ear;y 20th century before the European bankers created the Federal Reserve and the income tax ( 16th Amendment) fraudulently passed.
I can't agree with you there. Tariffs raise prices on American consumers -- they are just another tax. And, contrary to popular opinion, they will do nothing to spur domestic production as long as the current tax, regulatory, and monetary (inflation) policies are in place.
And if we fix the taxes, regulations, and inflation, then we don't need to impose tariffs. The U.S. would be a profitable place to do business. Much better to create an environment where people want to invest than to use the corrupting influence of government to try and hammer them to invest.
Don't forget, too, that imposing import tariffs would have a seriously negative effect (perhaps, disastrous) on our exporting industries.
Tariffs are just another way to let the incompetents in government direct our economic livelihoods. There is no reason to believe they would be wiser at that than at any other of the interferences they impose on us.