The Corporate Loyalty Myth: Why Taxing Capital Is Better Than Chasing Billionaires
The Ghost of the "Patriotic" Corporation
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the way we talk about success in this country. We are often told that if we work hard and play by the rules, the system will look out for us. But have you noticed how the rules seem to change depending on how much money is in your bank account?
History shows us that the idea of a "loyal" corporation is mostly a fairy tale. Think back to the British East India Company. It wasn't loyal to England; it was a sovereign power that served its own bottom line, even when that meant harming the crown's interests.
Modern corporations operate the exact same way. They don’t have hearts, and they don't have passports. They have balance sheets.
Profit Over People: The Silent Agenda
When a corporation decides to move a factory overseas or lay off ten thousand people, they aren't thinking about the local community. I’ve seen how these decisions tear through towns like ours, leaving people to pick up the pieces. They do it because their primary loyalty is to the shareholder, not the citizen.
This isn't just a "business decision"—it's a scientific reality of how modern capital is structured. Economically, these entities are designed to externalize costs, like environmental damage, while internalizing profits. They use our infrastructure and our educated workforce, but they feel no obligation to pay for the upkeep.
Debunking the Myth of the Fleeing Billionaire
You’ve probably heard the common talking point from the right: "If we tax them, they’ll leave." This is one of the most persistent myths in modern economics. In reality, billionaires and mega-corporations are tied to the markets where they make their money.
Research into "millionaire migration" shows that wealthy individuals rarely move just because of a tax hike. They stay for the social networks, the legal protections, and the lifestyle that only stable, developed nations can provide. They use the threat of leaving as a leash to keep governments from asking for their fair share.
Why We Must Tax the Source
If we want to fix the system, we have to stop chasing individuals and start taxing the entities directly. When we tax the corporation at the point of profit, it doesn't matter where the CEO decides to go on vacation. The money is made here, and the tax should stay here.
This prevents the "race to the bottom" where countries compete to see who can have the lowest standards. If we tax the capital itself, we fund the dreams of the people who actually do the hard work. We stop the cycle of letting billionaires hold our economy hostage with the threat of a moving van.
Reclaiming the Future
I believe that the only way to make the world fair is to stop pretending these corporations are our friends. They are tools for wealth generation, and like any tool, they need to be regulated and maintained. We need a system where hard work actually pays off for the worker, not just the person at the top.
It’s time to look at the reality of how we are being utilized by these systems. If you feel like the current economic structure treats people more like assets than human beings, you aren't alone. We need to start having the hard conversations about who is really in charge.
If you want to dive deeper into how the system treats people like commodities, you need to read my book. Check out Farming Humans at
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