As early as 1954, tobacco companies fully understood the carcinogenic nature of their product and had evidence that nicotine was addictive and caused chemical dependency in their customers. With that knowledge, the tobacco industry (“Big Tobacco”) initiated the most comprehensive, orchestrated, industry-wide obfuscation of scientific fact ever seen in the history of this country. Keep in mind the ramifications of this program. The WHO estimates that tobacco use caused over 100 million deaths globally during the 20th century. 100 million people dead for using a product that had no benefits. Today, the mention of “Big Tobacco” brings to mind a roomful of rich, white men sitting around a table while ruthlessly consigning millions of people to death and disease in the name of unseemly profits. Of course, the industry continues to manufacture, market, and sell their lethal product domestically and globally even to this day.

In the early 1960’s, the sugar industry, through its lobbying group called the Sugar Research Foundation (I’m not making this up), hijacked nutrition research in the US by paying 3 Harvard scientists to cherry-pick studies for a published review that showed unsaturated fat, not sugar or carbohydrates, as the primary driver linked to heart disease and weight. For years, these influential scientists (one became the Chair of Harvard’s nutrition department and one the head of nutrition at the Dept. of Agriculture) and their sugar-funded “research” held enormous sway over public health and dietary policy by encouraging Americans to reduce fat intake and by ignoring the role of carbohydrates. Many nutrition researchers believe that ignoring the critical role of refined sugar and overall carbohydrate intake to focus on fat is a major reason for the current obesity epidemic in the US.

And yet, coordinated industry deceptions that caused over 100 million deaths and led to an epidemic of obesity covering 2 generations in the US may not be the worst examples of corporate mendacity.

We now have overwhelming documentation of a calculated, closely coordinated disinformation campaign on climate change orchestrated by the world’s largest fossil fuel companies. Hundreds of documents uncovered through lawsuits and leaks clearly show that this industry was aware of the reality of climate change for over 20 years, but continued to spend millions of dollars to successfully influence legislators and confuse the American public. The Global Climate Coalition, comprised of 50 US corporations, funded a multimillion dollar blitz of lobbying and public relations despite being told by THEIR OWN SCIENTISTS that “The scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases on climate is well established and cannot be denied.”

Well, they continued to deny. Three years after that memo, this group set about derailing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement to meet emission reduction targets and begin to reduce the impact of climate change on the globe. Big Oil’s disinformation campaign has been particularly effective. Kyoto was signed by 192 countries, but not by the biggest polluter on the planet.

The science is indisputable that our climate is changing and that man’s activities are the major driver of that change. Industry knows this. Yet, industry continues to delay, misinform, and lie. Meanwhile, we are witnessing climate changes impacts domestically and worldwide  – flooding, drought, sea-level rise, and famine. The clock is ticking.

These examples make it abundantly clear that corporations are not our friends, but they do not convey the breadth of recent corporate malfeasance perpetrated on the American public: predatory lending, lethal air bag inflators, mortgage-backs securities, and tampered air pollution control devices are just a few more examples. Despite what a ridiculously misguided Supreme Court ruling claimed, corporations do  not behave like individuals in society. Corporations have no conscience. They have no feelings – no fond bucolic memories of family trips to national parks. Corporations don’t care about neighborhoods or “nice towns where you can settle down and raise a family”.

Corporations don’t act like humans. Right, we all know that. But, we really don’t.We still say things like, “How could they do that to their customers?” or “They’d never let that happen to their employees.” We need to realize that there is no “they”. There is an “it” and it is a rapacious, profit-obsessed corporation.

The 3 main purposes of a publicly held corporation are to increase profits, to increase stock value, and to grow. That’s it. Employee safety, retiree pensions, workforce contentment, environmental protection – they don’t enter into the big equation. They are not even considerations. If you don’t believe me, look around with a discerning eye. The evidence is unequivocal.

I’m not calling for any attempt to change the fundamental underpinnings of a capitalist society with run-away consumerism, however unsustainable that society may be. My point is, given industry’s goals and history, there is an obvious and important role for government oversight and effective regulation to protect the American people from unbridled corporate actions.

A continual mantra from conservatives since the Reagan era has been that regulations cost jobs. Stop and think about that for a minute – how is that possible? Show me any evidence that the Clean Water Act cost anyone their job. The OSHA standards have made manufacturing jobs much more safe for thousands of workers. None of those regulations cost anyone their job. That claim has been made so often by conservatives that progressives just sort of shrug and take it. It is not true. Government regulations have reduced injuries, saved lives, and cleaned our environment. They did not cost jobs.

We must not allow this administration to undo what has taken us decades to achieve in the arenas of health, safety, and a clean environment. Progressives must be informed and active on this front and not let the duplicity and lies wear us down. The “fox in the hen house” metaphor doesn’t adequately convey the dire nature of this situation. It is much worse that that. Suffice to say – Trump is president!