Because it would greatly increase the cost and risk of investment. Think not just for billionaires, but for anybody.
Imagine somebody buys a couple tens of thousands of dollars of a stock as part of their retirement, that company does something bad, and now not only do they lose their investment but they lose the rest of their retirement also.
I am all for wiping out shareholders, especially big ones, when a company does something super stupid. There should be an incentive for shareholders to hold companies they invest in accountable.
But suggesting that company owners become personally liable for the actions of those companies, especially when those equity owners have little or no control over the decisions of the company, that is a recipe for disaster.
Isn’t that the whole point of insurance? They assess the risk of that liability and average it out over time so you just pay a little bit of your return.
Oh I’m sure there would be insurance for that, but it would be expensive. It would dramatically reduce the amount of overall investment in the nation. That is a very bad thing, it would slow down the rate of our economy and innovation.
Don’t get me wrong, the current setup where companies treat your data like an asset and then lose it and nothing happens is broken. There need to be stiff penalties for it. Corporate death penalty even, especially with an ending of all too big to fail. I’m talking penalties scary to the point that whatever profit could be made from your personal information isn’t worth the risk of having it, companies are scared to collect info.
This would especially be true if there is negligence involved, like when companies put their databases on open S3 buckets. Companies should be scared shitless of that.
But destroying our system of investment is not the answer.
The cost of that insurance doesn’t just disappear - today it’s paid by ordinary folks left holding the bill. A company that can’t afford to pay for its expected damages is doing more harm than help to the economy.
This isn’t just an answer to leaked databases. Companies can deliver profits when things go well, and then disappear after they ruin thousands of people’s lives.
Because it would greatly increase the cost and risk of investment. Think not just for billionaires, but for anybody. Imagine somebody buys a couple tens of thousands of dollars of a stock as part of their retirement, that company does something bad, and now not only do they lose their investment but they lose the rest of their retirement also.
I am all for wiping out shareholders, especially big ones, when a company does something super stupid. There should be an incentive for shareholders to hold companies they invest in accountable.
But suggesting that company owners become personally liable for the actions of those companies, especially when those equity owners have little or no control over the decisions of the company, that is a recipe for disaster.
Isn’t that the whole point of insurance? They assess the risk of that liability and average it out over time so you just pay a little bit of your return.
Oh I’m sure there would be insurance for that, but it would be expensive. It would dramatically reduce the amount of overall investment in the nation. That is a very bad thing, it would slow down the rate of our economy and innovation. Don’t get me wrong, the current setup where companies treat your data like an asset and then lose it and nothing happens is broken. There need to be stiff penalties for it. Corporate death penalty even, especially with an ending of all too big to fail. I’m talking penalties scary to the point that whatever profit could be made from your personal information isn’t worth the risk of having it, companies are scared to collect info. This would especially be true if there is negligence involved, like when companies put their databases on open S3 buckets. Companies should be scared shitless of that. But destroying our system of investment is not the answer.
The cost of that insurance doesn’t just disappear - today it’s paid by ordinary folks left holding the bill. A company that can’t afford to pay for its expected damages is doing more harm than help to the economy.
This isn’t just an answer to leaked databases. Companies can deliver profits when things go well, and then disappear after they ruin thousands of people’s lives.