Bigger and badder corporations

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Globe-spanning corporations may have taken a big public-relations hit in the streets of Seattle and other cities over the past year, but it sure doesn’t seem to have slowed them down any.

Recent Must Reads

12/7 – Talking ourselves out of conservation

12/6 – Tennessee’s death row cam

12/5 – Racial profiling goes global

12/2 – Stock options for the poor

According to a new report from THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES, 51 of the world’s 100 largest economic entities are now corporations, not countries. Moreover, the world’s top 200 corporations account for over a quarter of the planet’s economic activity — but employ less than one percent of its workforce.

Where does all that money go? Not back to the rest of us, anyway. Forty-four of the US corporations on the list paid less than the full standard 35 percent federal corporate tax rate between 1996 and 1998 — and seven of them paid no federal taxes at all.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

December is make or break for us. A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. A strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength. A weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again today—any amount.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

December is make or break for us. A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. A strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength. A weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again today—any amount.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate