Al Sharpton on Corporations

Reverend; Civil Rights Activist; Democratic Candidate for President

Corporate misdeeds came from runaway deregulation

Q: Let's talk about corporate responsibility.

SHARPTON: Anytime you've seen, from Enron where thousands of people's life earnings gone, to now in the midst of record unemployment, the vulgarity of what happened here on Wall Street with $130 million salaries, that that is something the American people need to understand came from deregulation. It came from a social policy set in Washington.

When you have no-bid contractors rebuilding Iraq, if any Democrat holding office in this country had given away those no-bid contracts, they would be in front of a grand jury, probably in court as a defendant. If any Democrat holding office in this country had given away those no-bid contracts, they would be in front of a grand jury, probably in court as a defendant.

This is an absolute issue that should be raised before the American people. Greed and runaway deregulation I think has added to the deficit.

Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan Sep 25, 2003

Favors fines when companies export jobs

Q: You've talked about punishing companies that move overseas to dodge American taxes. Isn't that a message that builds walls between the US and the rest of the world economy?

SHARPTON: No. When I say that we should punish companies that go and have offshore corporations to duck taxes, that doesn't affect our standing with any other country. That affects people like Enron, that had 3,000 offshore companies deduct taxes. That doesn't hurt other countries, in terms of our enforcement.

Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan Sep 25, 2003

People are told to serve country-companies should do same

We have a responsibility to [poor] citizens and we need to make that responsibility our priority before we try and help to accommodate companies that don't want to stand up for their responsibilities. We're told the responsible thing to do is serve the country. But if you're a multi-billionaire, the responsible thing to do is to duck taxes and to try to down-size employment. That's ridiculous. Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan Sep 25, 2003

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