WHAT IS A CORPORATION?

[RuGlu6]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

As in trolling... You still didn't say what you do for a living. That could definitely explain a few things...

Had to look up trolling... I feel the same way when people on here trying to make me and others upset by their remarks.

Response to any idea is always voluntarily, don't have to if you don't like it.
Just because someone has different view does not mean she or he deserves an attack from others.
Attacking free will, open mind and free thinking is easy to do, but what is the point? I don't mean you personally, just in general point of view.
If this thread is not interesting then why participate?

I respect opinions of others, but would also like to be respected.

Honestly i don't like personal questions that is why i did not answer it, sorry.
But if you insist i probably make more than you would guess.
Don't know what you wanted explained though? why i am so strange?

This "do for a living" goes back to my point that humans have to pay for living. All other creatures are free in that regard because; Fish, Lion, Bird or a Gazelle even though they have to adapt and survive they don't have to make money for being on this planet, don't have to go to work. Don't have to pay for a meal. They are truly free to do what they want. You can kill them, or train to do tricks, but you can not make them be slaves willingly.
And well, if you have read that far thank you for that.
cheers.

[Reef_Geek]

money enables society

love it or hate it, it is a thing that is inert. It is neither good nor bad. It enables civilizations to advance in complexity for better or worse.

Here's a prize winning book about it, if you seek truth.

Ascent of Money. Ferguson, Niall.

http://www.niallferguson.com/publica...scent-of-money

[ReefHero]

Originally Posted by Reef_Geek

money enables society

love it or hate it, it is a thing that is inert. It is neither good nor bad. It enables civilizations to advance in complexity for better or worse.

Here's a prize winning book about it, if you seek truth.

Ascent of Money. Ferguson, Niall.

http://www.niallferguson.com/publica...scent-of-money

Personally, I hate it when people talk about money as if it can think and make decisions.....money is nothing more than a possession. It is whatever we (as people) want it to be. Money is only worth what we make it.
To quote the NIN...."money is not one to choose."
We (as society) have made money the highest possession available.....we did that! If money could think then I'm sure it would value itself on par with the value of the paper it is printed on.... In all fairness, would it be wrong for a person to value money in the same regard....I would say no because in a way everyone already does value money differently....some save it, others spend it....
I try not to think about it too much.....sad really, that a piece of paper marked $5 is **** poor but yet the same one with different colours marked $1000 would have people killing each other over. We made it this way and now we live this way.

[Reef_Geek]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Yes, there are definitely good and bad corporations, just as there are individuals. And remember corps are just groups of one or more people.

I will say, too, that in my career, I worked for two large corporations (multi billion) and one smaller one. The two larger ones were absolutely clean with their ethics and practices (employees were considered as their #1 asset, customers #2), and I was very proud to be a part of them. The smaller one, though, did have a few questionable practices (not illegal) that I did not like, and I did leave them because of that.

+1

I have worked for private businesses and public companies. With public companies, there is requirement to follow SEC regulations so that they are accountable to shareholders. Everything is subject to routinely scheduled internal & external audits to ensure that checks and balances (business controls) exist to protect compliance, and audits ensures the company is doing what it said it would do. Private companies, on the other hand, are (mostly) only accountable to its owners, and there is no board of directors that second guess the president on behalf of the shareholders. Only when private businesses come into issues with laws... do they then get investigated. This is over simplified... yes. As a company gets bigger and hits certain size thresholds set by regulation, they must then take on more compliance practices.

Given the choice, I like working for public companies, and specifically, those that show strong "corporate social responsibility" (there are entire courses in business schools on this topic)...

Originally Posted by ReefHero

Personally, I hate it when people talk about money as if it can think and make decisions.....money is nothing more than a possession. It is whatever we (as people) want it to be. Money is only worth what we make it.
To quote the NIN...."money is not one to choose."
We (as society) have made money the highest possession available.....we did that! If money could think then I'm sure it would value itself on par with the value of the paper it is printed on.... In all fairness, would it be wrong for a person to value money in the same regard....I would say no because in a way everyone already does value money differently....some save it, others spend it....
I try not to think about it too much.....sad really, that a piece of paper marked $5 is **** poor but yet the same one with different colours marked $1000 would have people killing each other over. We made it this way and now we live this way.

This reminds me of a saying. Money doesn't change a person... it exaggerates who they are. It is like all those horror stories of sudden millionaire lotto winners that fall victim to bad temptations. If a person is giving and kind, they will have more of it to give/ a charity to manage. If a person is irresponsible with money then there's more of it to be irresponsible with. If a person likes to save and invest money, then the person has more of it to work with. etc etc

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Real estate is generally a good asset (does go up and down), but you have to live somewhere, and rent is for sure wasted. I have bought and sold many homes over the years. Some for less than what I bought them for (80's was a tough time), too. But I did learn that with real estate, you don't get ahead with your sells, but with your buys. It is much easier to get a good buy (with good market research) than a good sell (not up to you, but the buyers). And of course it is all about location, location, location.

This is very good advice. Thanks. I only have my current first home... and I keep looking back, I can't help but keep thinking how lucky I got with the deal that I got, and a lot of it was in timing... looking for that one posting that had been on the market for months, been conceding on the asking price, and facing tenant vacancy and a winter (not realty season) around the corner.

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

But I do draw the line with borrowing money for a car. I can say that I never did that. Although, to be fair, interest rates were much higher many years ago. Problem with a car, as with boats, LED lights, etc, is they depreciate rapidly, and when you are ready to buy another one, you are no further ahead. Instead, I initially bought junkers, and amazingly, I actually sold some for what I bought them for and more. Later, when I finally had some money, I did buy new, but more because of vanity, and not smart personal finance.

Yup, rates for financing cars wouldn't be this low if it wasn't for the economic downturn. The other thing to watch out for... is the total price of the car. Some deals are 0% or $1000 off... so you have to do the math in time-value of money and figure out if they are just jacking up the price on the 0% deal.

You are right though, cars are depreciating assets. The best deals taught in personal finance books are those cars that are used but only a few years old. The reward is in having a car and no payments, while it still runs. But then again, some times you have to have a nice car. I do have a problem with cars... I am on my forth one in 12 years. Guilty. At the end of the day, it's not about not-enjoying your money, it's about living within our own means. If I made $300K (I wish) a year, it would be within my means to lease two brand new Porsches every 2 years... even if not the most efficient allocation of assets...

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

And don't run with the herd...

this is one of the best investment advice I ever received... always think of the contrarian perspective.

[Slick Fork]

I think one thing people often overlook, is the power of consumers and the role they play in influencing the decision of corporations.

As an example, how often do people rush out and buy the cheap, made in china crap instead of something built locally? Than they wonder why North American manufacturing outsources and disappears and I don't think a lot of the social justice types really understand the cause and effect of it.

I know a person who is extraordinarily vocal about the need for higher wages for workers and the tragedy of corporate greed which outsources jobs. Yet this person shops at Wal-Mart and doesn't consider where the goods they purchase come from. When I asked why, they simply responded they were tired of paying "too much". They had no answer when asked why corporations should pay their workers more when people won't pay for North American made products.

It's easy to blame big business, but if they could make profits selling Canadian made items to Canadians, jobs wouldn't be outsourced.

[Slick Fork]

Also wanted to mention that it's really nice that a topic that could be so divisive has NOT degenerated into a name calling fest and that everyone is, instead, having a thoughtful civilised discussion.

Which I believe was the goal of the OP in the first place!

[mike31154]

There's a ski run at Revelstoke Mountain Resort named 'Kill The Banker'. It's under the main gondola lift going up the mountain & I've often seen the odd track on it, but seldom actually see a breathing human being coming down. I like that run, but I'm not a banker, so I'll pass.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

Also wanted to mention that it's really nice that a topic that could be so divisive has NOT degenerated into a name calling fest and that everyone is, instead, having a thoughtful civilized discussion.

Surprised the he11 out of me!!

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by RuGlu6

Had to look up trolling... I feel the same way when people on here trying to make me and others upset by their remarks.

Response to any idea is always voluntarily, don't have to if you don't like it.
Just because someone has different view does not mean she or he deserves an attack from others.
Attacking free will, open mind and free thinking is easy to do, but what is the point? I don't mean you personally, just in general point of view.
If this thread is not interesting then why participate?

I respect opinions of others, but would also like to be respected.

Honestly i don't like personal questions that is why i did not answer it, sorry.
But if you insist i probably make more than you would guess.
Don't know what you wanted explained though? why i am so strange?

This "do for a living" goes back to my point that humans have to pay for living. All other creatures are free in that regard because; Fish, Lion, Bird or a Gazelle even though they have to adapt and survive they don't have to make money for being on this planet, don't have to go to work. Don't have to pay for a meal. They are truly free to do what they want. You can kill them, or train to do tricks, but you can not make them be slaves willingly.
And well, if you have read that far thank you for that.
cheers.

Sorry, I don't mean to offend. I'm just trying to understand where you are coming from. And I don't care how much you make.

I have met all kinds of people with my work and personal life. And their opinions and views seem to very much be a consequence of their environment and life experiences. We are all different (thank goodness for that), but we do tend to form beliefs and opinions that shape our careers and lives.

Your point of being a slave to money just doesn't make sense to me, though. Money is a currency, which actually gives me more freedom of choice to improve my life, and even partake in discretionary activities like reefing.

Here is a simple example of the freedom and choice that money provides. If I need to dig a ditch in my yard for some reason, I could get out my shovel and go to work at it, or I could hire someone with an excavator and pay him. I can then use the time I saved doing something that I am good at, and use the the money I make from that to pay the guy, and still have money left over for other things.

Open minds are great, and our curious and persistent thirst for new knowledge is what has brought us to this point in our civilization (hopefully it won't destroy us too). We are also very social beings, and have learned that by working together and pooling our resources (as with corporations), we have managed to create a better and safer life for ourselves and fellow human beings. Of course there are still many parts of the world that are still catching up. And we're not done with wars and human slavery.

But with open minds, we also can't ignore reality. Yeah, many do try, with drugs, alcohol, and even video games. Living in a fantasy dreamland, or wishing for some utopia can be a great escape..., for a while. However, the laws of survival (of the fittest) do generally prevail.

[Reef_Geek]

I have a strange combo of undergrad degree in a life science, and masters in finance & marketing. (it's a long story)

Animals and people are the same in that it is the survival of the fittest, in differing environments with differing 'selection pressure'

It comes down to resources. Animals that are fittest have better resources for their given environment. Resources can be in the form of territory, access to food, access to mates (harems), and also its compliment of genes. Stronger, fitter individuals have better genes, better resistance to disease, better appearance to attract mates (sexually dimorphism).

People that are fittest in our environment are more capable to amass wealth, have better health to attract mates and resist disease, have social intelligence to navigate society.

What is fittest in a given environment is not fittest in a different environment. Example, take a wall street banker and put him in war torn Somalia...

It is still a free competition, and all about resources. It's neither good nor bad, it is just the way the ecosystem (or society) has changed, and what has prevailed (be it the system or its most prevalent characters in its individuals), they exist simply because that is what has worked out best.

it is really a long way of saying, don't hate the player, hate the game.