2018-08-14 Elizabeth Warren.Companies Shouldn’t Be Accountable Only to Shareholders

2018-08-14 Elizabeth Warren.Companies Shouldn’t Be Accountable Only to Shareholders


Corporate profits are booming, but average wages haven’t budged over the past year. The U.S. economy has run this way for decades, partly because of a fundamental change in business practices dating back to the 1980s. On Wednesday I’m introducing legislation to fix it.
企业利润激增，但过去一年平均工资没有变化。美国经济几十年来一直以这种方式运行，部分原因是自 20 世纪 80 年代以来商业实践的根本性变化。周三我将提出立法来解决这个问题。

American corporations exist only because the American people grant them charters. Those charters confer valuable privileges—such as limited legal liability for their owners—that enable businesses to turn a profit. What do Americans get in return? What are the obligations of corporate citizenship in the U.S.?
美国公司之所以存在，仅仅是因为美国人民授予了它们特许状。这些特许状赋予了公司宝贵的特权，例如为其所有者提供有限的法律责任，从而使企业能够盈利。美国人从中得到了什么回报？在美国，企业公民的义务是什么？

For much of U.S. history, the answers were clear. Corporations sought to succeed in the marketplace, but they also recognized their obligations to employees, customers and the community. As recently as 1981, the Business Roundtable—which represents large U.S. companies—stated that corporations “have a responsibility, first of all, to make available to the public quality goods and services at fair prices, thereby earning a profit that attracts investment to continue and enhance the enterprise, provide jobs, and build the economy.” This approach worked. American companies and workers thrived.
在美国历史的大部分时间里，答案是明确的。企业在市场上寻求成功，但它们也认识到对员工、客户和社区的责任。就在 1981 年，美国大型企业的代表——商业圆桌会议——表示，企业“首先有责任以公平的价格向公众提供优质的商品和服务，从而赚取吸引投资以继续和增强企业、提供就业和建设经济的利润。”这种方法奏效了。美国公司和工人都繁荣发展。

Late in the 20th century, the dynamic changed. Building on work by conservative economist Milton Friedman, a new theory emerged that corporate directors had only one obligation: to maximize shareholder returns. By 1997 the Business Roundtable declared that the “principal objective of a business enterprise is to generate economic returns to its owners.”
在 20 世纪后期，形势发生了变化。基于保守派经济学家米尔顿·弗里德曼的工作，一种新理论出现了，即公司董事只有一个义务：最大化股东回报。到 1997 年，商业圆桌会议宣布“企业的主要目标是为其所有者创造经济回报。”

That shift has had a tremendous effect on the economy. In the early 1980s, large American companies sent less than half their earnings to shareholders, spending the rest on their employees and other priorities. But between 2007 and 2016, large American companies dedicated 93% of their earnings to shareholders. Because the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households own 84% of American-held shares, the obsession with maximizing shareholder returns effectively means America’s biggest companies have dedicated themselves to making the rich even richer.
这种转变对经济产生了巨大影响。在 20 世纪 80 年代初期，美国大公司将不到一半的收益分配给股东，其余用于员工和其他优先事项。但在 2007 年至 2016 年间，美国大公司将 93%的收益用于股东。由于最富有的 10%的美国家庭拥有 84%的美国持有股份，对最大化股东回报的痴迷实际上意味着美国最大的公司致力于让富人更富。

In the four decades after World War II, shareholders on net contributed more than $250 billion to U.S. companies. But since 1985 they have extracted almost $7 trillion. That’s trillions of dollars in profits that might otherwise have been reinvested in the workers who helped produce them.
在二战后的四十年里，股东净贡献了超过 2500 亿美元给美国公司。但自 1985 年以来，他们提取了近 7 万亿美元。这是数万亿美元的利润，本可以重新投资于帮助生产这些利润的工人。

Before “shareholder value maximization” ideology took hold, wages and productivity grew at roughly the same rate. But since the early 1980s, real wages have stagnated even as productivity has continued to rise. Workers aren’t getting what they’ve earned.
在“股东价值最大化”理念盛行之前，工资和生产率大致以相同的速度增长。但自 20 世纪 80 年代初以来，尽管生产率持续上升，实际工资却停滞不前。工人没有得到他们应得的报酬。

Companies also are setting themselves up to fail. Retained earnings were once the foundation for long-term investments. But from 1990 to 2015, nonfinancial U.S. companies invested trillions less than projected, funneling earnings to shareholders instead. This underinvestment handcuffs U.S. enterprise and bestows an advantage on foreign competitors.
公司也在为失败做好准备。留存收益曾是长期投资的基础。但从 1990 年到 2015 年，美国非金融公司投资的金额比预期少了数万亿，而是将收益转给了股东。这种投资不足限制了美国企业的发展，并赋予外国竞争对手优势。

The problem may get worse, because executives have a strong financial incentive to prioritize shareholder returns. Before 1980, top CEOs were rarely compensated in equity. Today it accounts for 62% of their pay. Many executives receive additional company shares as a reward for producing short-term share-price increases. This feedback loop has sent CEO pay skyrocketing. The average CEO of a big company now makes 361 times what the average worker makes, up from 42 times in 1980.
问题可能会变得更糟，因为高管有强烈的财务动机优先考虑股东回报。在 1980 年之前，顶级 CEO 很少以股票形式获得报酬。如今，这部分占他们薪酬的 62%。许多高管因短期股价上涨而获得额外的公司股份作为奖励。这种反馈循环使 CEO 薪酬飙升。现在，大公司的平均 CEO 收入是普通工人的 361 倍，而 1980 年时是 42 倍。

Corporate charters, which define the structure and obligations of U.S. companies, are an obvious tool for addressing these skewed incentives. But companies are chartered at the state level. Most states don’t want to demand more of companies, lest they incorporate elsewhere.
公司章程定义了美国公司的结构和义务，是解决这些不平衡激励措施的明显工具。但公司是在州一级注册的。大多数州不想对公司提出更多要求，以免它们在其他地方注册。

That’s where my bill comes in. The Accountable Capitalism Act restores the idea that giant American corporations should look out for American interests. Corporations with more than $1 billion in annual revenue would be required to get a federal corporate charter. The new charter requires corporate directors to consider the interests of all major corporate stakeholders—not only shareholders—in company decisions. Shareholders could sue if they believed directors weren’t fulfilling those obligations.
这就是我的法案的作用所在。《负责任资本主义法案》恢复了美国大型企业应关注美国利益的理念。年收入超过 10 亿美元的公司将被要求获得联邦公司章程。新的章程要求公司董事在公司决策中考虑所有主要公司利益相关者的利益，而不仅仅是股东。如果股东认为董事没有履行这些义务，他们可以提起诉讼。

This approach follows the “benefit corporation” model, which gives businesses fiduciary responsibilities beyond their shareholders. Thirty-four states already authorize benefit corporations. And successful companies such as Patagonia and Kickstarter have embraced this role.这种方法遵循“公益公司”模式，赋予企业超越股东的信托责任。已经有三十四个州授权公益公司。像 Patagonia 和 Kickstarter 这样的成功公司已经接受了这一角色。

My bill also would give workers a stronger voice in corporate decision-making at large companies. Employees would elect at least 40% of directors. At least 75% of directors and shareholders would need to approve before a corporation could make any political expenditures. To address self-serving financial incentives in corporate management, directors and officers would not be allowed to sell company shares within five years of receiving them—or within three years of a company stock buyback.
我的法案还将赋予工人在大公司决策中更强的发言权。员工将选举至少 40%的董事。在公司进行任何政治支出之前，至少 75%的董事和股东需要批准。为了解决公司管理中的自利财务激励问题，董事和高管在获得公司股份后的五年内或公司回购股票后的三年内不得出售公司股份。

For the past 30 years we have put the American stamp of approval on giant corporations, even as they have ignored the interests of all but a tiny slice of Americans. We should insist on a new deal.
在过去的 30 年里，我们对大型企业给予了美国的认可，即使它们忽视了除少数美国人以外的所有人的利益。我们应该坚持一个新的协议。

Ms. Warren, a Democrat, is a U.S. senator from Massachusetts.
沃伦女士是一位来自马萨诸塞州的美国参议员，隶属于民主党。

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