People over profits?
By Theresa Camoriano
The “people over profits” signs are common at the ”occupy” rallies. No doubt they make the people holding the signs feel superior, but what does that phrase really mean?
What would happen to the people if there were no profits?
Don’t the people depend upon profits for their survival?
If businesses operated at a loss, they would soon go out of business and be unable to serve customers or provide gainful employment to employees. The last time I looked, customers and employees were considered to be people.
And what about investors? If businesses did not operate at a profit, then how could they provide funds to pension plans in order to support elderly pensioners? Are pensioners not people?
Profits are a measuring stick that helps indicate how good a job a business is doing in serving its customers. If the business uses resources efficiently to provide goods and services that customers want, it will earn good profits. If the business is inefficient or is not providing what customers want, it will not earn good profits and will fail. In other words, the greater the profits, the greater the good the business is doing from the point of view of its customers, who, again, are people.
Who do they think will do all the research into new medicines without the driving force of profits? Who will make the huge investment required to farm and produce food without the driving force of profits? Who will make computers, software, automobiles, asphalt for roads, lumber for housing, and everything else they depend upon without the driving force of profits?
The phrase “people over profits” indicates a complete lack of understanding of how the world works. It indicates that the person holding the sign has failed to turn on his brain to think about the reality of what it takes to support and help the “people”. It indicates that the person holding the sign has an erroneous sense of superiority for supporting a position that is very destructive and harmful.
In a nutshell, holding up a sign that says “people over profits” is very similar in my mind to holding up a sign that says, “I am a spoiled brat and have no appreciation for all the efforts that have been made to make my life secure and comfortable.” It is the same as holding up a sign that says, “I don’t care how much harm I do to other innocent people as long as I feel good about myself and feel superior to others.” It is the same as holding up a sign that says, “I am stupid. Kick me.”
All the spoiled brats who have benefited from the hard work of people earning profits without having to lift a finger themselves should be offered a taste of reality. Let’s take away their electronic gadgets and high-tech tents, sleeping bags, and other gear that were produced by the evil, profit-seeking corporations and give them a plot of land far away from civilization where they can survive based solely on their own efforts. No evil money, no evil profits, no evil fat cats or corporations. Just the holier-than-thou sign holders and their beloved Mother Earth. If they could survive a few months in that environment, they might develop a whole new appreciation for the people they now treat with disdain. In any case, at least their stench would be far away from the rest of us so we could go about our profitable business in peace.
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