The term “greedy corporations” or its equivalent seems to appear regularly in commentaries about oil and gas prices, pharmaceuticals, energy, minimum wage, housing, the mortgage crisis, tax policy, etc. – just about every economic or social issue. “Greedy corporations” and, by implication, their “greedy” owners are said to be responsible for many of the ills that befall our society. However, as Pogo famously said, “We have met the enemy and they is us.”

To begin with, corporations aren’t greedy or generous or socially conscious or anything else, for that matter. They are merely a legal fiction, entities created by the state for the purpose of facilitating the conduct of business. They can sue and be sued in the courts, but they do not eat, breathe, love or hate, or vote, or any of the other things that people do. So, how can they exhibit such human characteristics as greed? And, if corporations can’t actually be greedy themselves, then perhaps it is their owners and managers who are.

And, who might these terrible people be? They are your friends, relatives, neighbors, church and community leaders, directors and executives of non-profit entities, school administrators - just about any leader of any enterprise, perhaps you yourself. No doubt you may think some of them are greedy, but certainly not all, or even most of them. Who qualifies as greedy and who makes that determination? You? Or are others deciding for you?

Major corporations, such as the Fortune 500 companies, are generally owned by many thousands or millions of shareholders, often through union pension trusts, retirement plans, mutual funds and other investment entities, which assemble the power of numbers to make large investments on behalf of their individual investors - “Us.” However, for the most part, small corporations are businesses that don’t have enough economic power to influence anyone. They are usually just vehicles for managing the affairs of a business, providing a way for their owner-operators to make a living. Their profits are often not much more than wages, and not too great a wage at that. Are these the greedy corporations we read or hear about so often?

Out of a total of approximately 5.6 million corporate tax returns filed in 2004 (IRS Statistics: Number of Returns, Receipts, and Net Income by Type of Business), freerepublic.com reported that over three million small businesses were “Subchapter S” (Sub S) corporations in that year. They pay little or no income tax on their earnings because they are treated like partnerships for tax reporting purposes. These are referred to as “pass through” entities, which means they simply pass their earnings through directly to the owners, who include them on their personal income tax returns and pay taxes on the corporate profits at individual rates.

Further demonstrating the extent to which “greedy corporations” are “Us,” in their “Outline of the U.S. economy,” www.usinfo.state.gov noted, “Fully 99 percent of all independent enterprises in the country employ fewer than 500 people. These small enterprises account for 52 percent of all U.S. workers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)…By contrast, 47.7 million Americans work for firms with 500 or more employees.”

If corporations can’t actually be greedy, and if their owners are, for the most part, “Us,” where does the notion of “greedy corporations” come from, and why? The obvious answer is from the media and other special interest groups, such as politicians, who want to influence the public’s view of various issues.

The public is continually duped into accepting broad brush character assassination that is intended to influence their perceptions for political purposes. Just one example is the problem of escalating oil and gas prices, which politicians repeatedly use for political theater in an effort to enhance their own credentials as crusaders who are trying to regulate the market for their constituents.

No one ever seems to point out that the very people who label someone else as greedy are, in fact, often guilty of the same behavior themselves. Taxpayers are called greedy if they want to keep their own money, but politicians who want to take it from them and spend it themselves are not. Or, large corporations, as in drug, oil and energy companies, are labeled greedy when prices go up and their profits increase but not when prices go down and they lose money. It’s Ok to lose money, but apparently it’s greedy to make it, unless, of course, we are the ones making the profit.

© 2008 Harris R. Sherline, All Rights Reserved

NOTE: Read more of Harris Sherline’s commentaries on his blog at “opinionfest.com.”

Some people want God to Damn America, even some pastors believe it or not.

(God’s focus is Redemption, not Damnation. He is a God of mercy, not vengeance. Any theology to the contrary misses the point really. God judges: encouraging certain attitudes, beliefs and behaviors; condemning others. He certainly disciplines his people.)

Damnation is something we visit on ourselves in the act of rejecting God. By His grace, if we are obedient to take care of the widow and the orphan, love God and our neighbors, He richly blesses, and He has done so over and over here in America for many years.

So, some ask God to Damn America while other people pray and ask God to bless America.

God, being God, does as He pleases. As the Good Book says, He causes it to rain on the just and the unjust, and exalts His chosen. The lost, if they choose to remain so, remain so.

Looking at the evidence it appears God has brought judgment on America for national sins, in particular, the sin of slavery. The Civil War with 600,000 dead and many more wounded and maimed for life would certainly qualify as judgment “on a biblical scale.” All the turmoil and violence and heartache brought by the sin of slavery before and after the Civil War bears witness to God’s judgment.

The lingering sting of discrimination against people of color, and racial tension, are reminders of judgment and evidence of the need for more repentance.

Many people believe God is judging and disciplining us today for the sins of sensuality, permissiveness and moral relativism resulting in a holocaust against the unborn, STD epidemics, and hordes of other spiritual, emotional, and psychological plagues.

Many more believe God has blessed the world through America, and continues to do so despite our many shortcomings.

Now a super power, as a 2nd world power, we were the only hope for Europe in the dark years of WWI. Later, the world trembled in the face of Fascism, Japanese Imperialism, and later Communism, a world nearly lost for good to the yoke of bondage if not for a bunch of American farm boys, city slickers, and women munitions workers. Panama was a freedom fight. Granada was a freedom fight. Nicaragua was a freedom fight. The Cold War was a freedom fight. Vietnam and Korea were a freedom fights. And Iraq and Afghanistan are freedom fights today.

Ask any of the people affected and liberated and given hope.

We did more than bat an eye when atom bombs exploded over Japan, we wept. Then we turned and helped Japan become a world power, a friend and an ally. Same thing with Germany. Enemies become friends. What a blessing for everyone. (We’re still working on Russia.)

Today, America feeds the world.

America ministers to the world.

America fights for justice around the world.

We are leaders in the fight for human rights, and without America, the global attention to environmental preservation would have gotten a late start and run out of steam long ago.

Without America there would be no United Nations, no Red Cross, no Salvation Army, and thousands of other charitable organizations would never have been formed.

More than any other nation America gives of her blood and treasure in disproportionate amounts, gifts springing from a benevolence sparked by the God of mercy and love.

Whenever a cyclone hits Burma, a tsunami devastates Indonesia, an earthquake destroys Pakistan, or a hurricane slams the Gulf Coast, Americans are there to help, supplying the most relief, ready to shoulder any burden, render any assistance, fill any need.

According to The Index of Global Philanthorpy researched by the Hudson Institute, America is the most giving nation on earth, and most of our giving comes from private contributions (reference).

“For example, U.S. foundations gave more — in money, time, goods and expertise — than 11 of the 22 developed-country governments each gave in 2005, and U.S. private voluntary organizations totaled more than the governments of Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and France each.”

Internally we spend $36B per year to provide food stamps for the poor.

In 2007, the federal budget was $2.7 Trillion dollars. The three major federal entitlement programs — Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security — made up 45% of the total (reference).

Private contributions from Americans for Americans amounted to $260B in 2005, up six percent from the year before (reference).

When you factor in all the state and local government programs, the rest of the federal benevolence programs, and the millions of hours of volunteerism each year in America and overseas by Americans, it is clear we give far more than we take, and we bless far more than our critics acknowledge.

Finally, the freedom we enjoy “under God” is what continues to attract people from all over the world, and even though there are tensions, we continue to treat the foreigners among us with hospitality and kindness for the most part, even when they march in protest carrying our flag upside down and condemning us.

So the next time a critic of America points the boney finger of accusation, let’s listen to heed areas of conviction and improvement needing attention, but let’s also remember that, on balance, the blessings of America far exceed her shortcomings.

And before we start patting ourselves on the back, let’s give God his due, and think about blessing Him, and thanking Him.