Corporate Integrity Project

Scandals involving Enron, Tyco, Global Crossing, Boeing and WorldCom have shaken confidence in America's corporate leaders. NLPC seeks to promote integrity in corporate governance, including honesty and fair play in relationships with shareholders, employees, business partners and customers. In doing so, NLPC places special emphasis on:

  • Asserting that the social responsibility of the corporation is to defend and advance the interests of the people who own the company, the shareholders. True responsibility is fidelity to one’s own mission, not someone else’s, or someone else’s political agenda.
  • Exposing the seeking of influence on public officials by corporations, which is the inevitable result of high levels of government spending and intervention in the marketplace.
  • Combating practices that undermine the free enterprise system, including philanthropic giving to groups hostile to a free economy.
Wells Fargo Succumbs to DOJ's 'Civil Rights' Shakedown; Agrees to Pay $175 Million
Carl Horowitz
07/25/2012 - 11:50

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage logoObtaining mortgage aid by claiming "discrimination" has become a high art. The problem is that someone always has to pay. Just ask Wells Fargo & Co. On July 12, the San Francisco-based bank, the nation's largest mortgage originator, agreed to spend $175 million to settle accusations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that for several years it steered black and Hispanic homebuyers toward high-cost loans, so it could charge excessive interest and fees. The agreement, in which Wells Fargo admitted no wrongdoing, ostensibly will defray borrower losses and expand homeownership opportunities in lower-income areas.

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GM Trying to Limit Tax Credit Abuse on Chevy Volt Returns
Mark Modica
07/25/2012 - 11:12

When General Motors announced its 60 day return policy for the Chevy Volt over a week ago, I contacted them to make them aware of the potential for tax credit abuse on returned vehicles that qualify for federal and state subsidies. At the time, GM spokesman Jim Cain did not think that it would be an issue and it was up to purchasers to decide if they would submit for tax credits on Volts that they returned for refunds. I spoke with Mr. Cain to follow up on the story.

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Consumers Complain Nissan Leafs Lose Power in Hot Weather
Paul Chesser
07/25/2012 - 11:10

Nissan LeafSo far American taxpayers have been forced - through stimulus loan guarantees from the Department of Energy - to “invest” $1.4 billion in a Japanese car company to build an unproven, impractical, expensive vehicle at a Tennessee power plant.

And now it can’t stand the heat.

Nissan has been dealing with complaints from owners of its Leaf electric car who reside in hot-weather states like Arizona, who say their vehicles have lost range capacity.

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Former Temp CEO Rebuts Allegations of Duke Energy's Jim Rogers
Paul Chesser
07/20/2012 - 08:26

Bill Johnson photoAs the North Carolina Utilities Commission tries to make sense of the farcical events that surround its approval of the merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy into the largest public electricity company in the nation, the deeper they dig, the dumber Duke looks.

Yesterday the 6-member panel (one seat is unfilled due to political wrangling) heard from former Progress CEO Bill Johnson (pictured). Throughout the 18-month merger process the two companies proclaimed to anyone who cared – including federal regulators, utilities commissions in at least six states, and Wall Street – that Johnson would carry that role over to the combined company, while former Duke CEO James Rogers would elevate to chairman.

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UAW’s Wall Street Friend Takes Over GM Europe
Mark Modica
07/17/2012 - 06:22

General Motors has announced that Vice Chairman, Steve Girsky, will be taking over its European Operations. According to one article, "Several trade union bodies are broadly welcoming the appointment of Steve Girsky." That makes sense, as Mr. Girsky was appointed by the UAW to serve on GM's board.

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Jim Rogers and Duke Energy Face Music Over Merger Power Grab
Paul Chesser
07/12/2012 - 13:23

white Coke canThe tempest that followed the “boardroom coup” after Duke Energy’s merger with Progress Energy, in which former Progress CEO Bill Johnson was dismissed in favor of Duke CEO James Rogers, has only worsened since the North Carolina Utilities Commission approved the deal last week.

Rogers testified before the NCUC on Tuesday, after the directors of the newly combined Duke jettisoned Johnson just hours after the regulatory approval, even though both companies asserted beforehand – ever since the expected deal was announced last year – that he would lead the united company, while Rogers moved up to chairman. Utilities commissioners, former Progress directors who approved the merger, and the public were deceived into believing Johnson would oversee day-to-day operations.

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Chevy Volt 60-Day Return Makes Tax Credit Abuse Likely
Mark Modica
07/11/2012 - 13:41

General Motors has announced a 60 day money back guarantee policy for all new Chevy models, including the Chevy Volt. The move sets up a scenario where purchasers can buy a Volt, claim the $7,500 federal tax credit (and most likely state credits) and return the vehicle for a refund within 60 days. Did GM really not consider this glitch, or is this just another way for Government Motors to prop up politically important Volt sales leading up to November elections?

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Obama Falsely Implies General Motors Never Went Bankrupt
Mark Modica
07/09/2012 - 08:09

Just how uninformed does President Obama think that American voters are? Judging from the misrepresentations coming out of the Obama camp regarding the General Motors' bankruptcy process, it would appear that the Administration believes it can get away with rewriting history as the President continues to imply that GM never even went bankrupt. The obviously false implication continues to go unquestioned by mainstream media.

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Jim Rogers's Power Grab Underscores Politicization of Duke Energy
Paul Chesser
07/09/2012 - 08:04

Jim Rogers and windmill photoAfter a lengthy process that overcame a demanding review at the North Carolina Utilities Commission and two rejections by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Duke Energy won approval to merge with the Tar Heel State’s other major investor-owned utility, Progress Energy.

Then Duke’s board immediately pulled a fast one and fired the man they said all along would be the joint entity’s CEO, Bill Johnson, who would have continued from the same role he had with Progress. Instead leading the new combined company will be Duke’s current CEO, James Rogers. Throughout the merger approval process everyone understood he would abdicate that role to Johnson while remaining as company chairman.

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GE Solar Delay Shows Timing Will Never Be Good
Paul Chesser
07/09/2012 - 07:20

solar panelsWe’ve heard this story before.

Much like taxpayer-backed Abound Solar – which just revealed it would declare bankruptcy – General Electric announced last week it would suspend construction of a solar panel manufacturing plant in Colorado. The excuse given was that GE plans to focus on research and development to improve the technology and efficiency of the panels it wants to produce.

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