• stoy@lemmy.zip
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    7 days ago

    CEOs of publicly traded companies doesn’t have the option to show empathy, they are there to maximize the company value for the shareholders.

    Going against that would be a crime.

    This is not an excuse for not doing it, this is an explanation of a faulty system.

    Insurance companies should not have shareholders.

    • xanu@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      And not a “that was a bad business move and we’re going to vote to fire you” crime, but an actual white collar prison crime.

      It is against US law to prioritize customers (remember, in matters like health insurance, food, and housing, “customers” means literally everyone. you cannot opt out and you must be a customer to live) over shareholders.

      Although the term “shareholder fraud” is mostly about CEOs themselves stealing from their shareholders for their personal piggy banks, there are plenty of lawsuits from shareholders claiming the company and/or CEO made decisions that didn’t directly generate value for shareholders or didn’t generate the maximum value it theoretically could have.