Multiple Corporate Personality Disorder

The Ten Worst Corporations of 2003

by Paul Schafer

Russel Mokhiber and Robert Weissman have published their new annual list of the worst corporations, summarized below from the winter issue of the Multinational Monitor.

Bayer (pharmaceuticals): Defrauds the federal government (Medicaid) out of $100 million.

Boeing (aerospace): Pentagon official cuts a sweetheart deal with Boeing and then gets hired there.

Brighthouse (advertising, consulting): Measures activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex caused by exposure to advertising, with the purpose of targeting ads to cause positive brain activity.

Clear Channel (communications): Violates its broadcast license by coming afoul of the law on 36 separate occasions over the last three years.

Diebold (electronics): Manufactures machines for electronic voting, machines that have shown serious security flaws; also, in a glaring conflict of interest, its CEO is a major fundraiser for George W. Bush.

Halliburton (construction, etc.): This company's overcharging is well known, as are its ties to former CEO Dick Cheney, to whom it still sends deferred compensation.

HealthSouth (health care): Cooked its books. $2.7 billion fraud.

Inamed (implants): Trying to market silicon breast implants not shown to be safe.

Merrill Lynch (investments): Various securities-related crimes, including a 1999 deal allowing Enron to "park" assets at Merrill Lynch, thereby fraudulently enhancing its financial numbers.

Safeway (groceries): Demanding healthcare givebacks from striking and locked-out workers, while remaining hugely profitable. Ultimate goal: "elimination of health benefits in Safeway stores and ultimately in the entire industry."