A new article in The Washington Post traces the radical shift in America's business economics, from the formerly widespread belief that corporations had a strong duty to the community who buys their products to having no duty above maximizing profits. While many other companies have participated in this culture, IBM is used as a perfect example of how to ruin the culture at a corporation and the fallout that happens after for the broader community and economy.

Major corporations are lobbying heavily for a U.S. tax holiday on their foreign profits. These huge multi-nationals like IBM and Pfizer claim that if they are allowed to repatriate their overseas profits the tax cut—that some say would be as much as $80 billion—will be used to create jobs right here in the United States.  Pass the salt shaker.

Unions representing workers at IBM around the world are coming together to form a new IBM Global Union Alliance to faciliate cooperative efforts to increase union membership in the company and pursue global agreements to improve working conditions of IBM employees worldwide. They also will support workers facing anti-union actions by the company.