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.
Is Salazar Lowballing Gulf Drilling Applications?
Peter Flaherty
03/17/2011 - 09:52

Ken Salazar photoTwo weeks ago, we asked whether Interior Secretary Ken Salazar considered himself above the law by ignoring court orders to resume the permitting process for deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Now we learn that Salazar may have misled Congress and the public on the number of drilling permit applications he is ignoring.

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Ex-Car Czar Acknowledges GM Problems
Peter Flaherty
03/16/2011 - 17:51

Appearing today on CNBC, Steven Rattner, the former head of President Obama's auto task force, made some surprising observations that undermine his previously articulated optimism about the future of bailed-out General Motors. Although he cleverly tried to lump Ford in with GM, he acknowledged GM's recent reliance on incentives to sell autos:

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Duke Energy CEO Rogers Plays Politics With Shareholder Money; $10M Credit Line for Democrats
Paul Chesser
03/16/2011 - 10:04

Jim Rogers/windmill photoWell, the second-largest banking city in the nation won the rights to host the Democratic National Convention in 2012, so you think the big TARP beneficiaries based in Charlotte might be the ones to step up to guarantee the funds for DNC to do its thing. You know, maybe Bank of America, which is the largest financial institution by assets in the country. Or Wachovia, now Wells Fargo, which has a lot of civic pride and survived thanks to the government intervention.

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Green Pressure Groups Want More Corporate Climate Disclosure
Paul Chesser
03/11/2011 - 11:37

Ceres logoEnvironmental pressure group Ceres, whose primary activity is to drive corporations to report their greenhouse gas emitting activities and disclose climate risk in their Securities and Exchange Commission filings, recently released a report that outlines exactly what companies should be disclosing.

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Consumers Reject Chevy Volt
Peter Flaherty
03/10/2011 - 20:53

Part 4: GM by the Numbers

Last week, the Volt, GM's signature hybrid vehicle, turned in a lackluster performance in its first series of road tests by Consumer Reports.  CR told Reuters on Monday that "when you look at the finances, [the Volt] doesn't make any sense."  The publication went on to note that the Volt was "not particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and not particularly good as a gas vehicle... This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer."

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GM Gooses Sales With Incentives
Peter Flaherty
03/10/2011 - 20:36

Part 3: GM by the Numbersincentive chart

Famed investor Warren Buffett once said, "If you have to have a prayer session before raising prices by ten percent, then you've got a terrible business." So, what does it mean if your business is slashing prices month over month through discounts and other incentives? Take a look at this graph.

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More Management Instability at GM as CFO Leaves
Mark Modica
03/10/2011 - 10:14

General Motors announced today that its Chief Financial Officer, Chris Liddell, will be leaving the company on April 1st. GM shares hit a new low of $30.95 on the news. Mr. Liddell joined GM in January of 2010. Having served for over a year, Liddell has exceeded the average stay of top executives at GM. GM has gone through three CEOs since they emerged from bankruptcy in June of 2009.

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GM Boosts Lobbying; Hires Bailout Specialists
Peter Flaherty
03/08/2011 - 11:40

GM lobbying chartPart 2: GM by the Numbers

From the 1st quarter through the 4th quarter of 2010, GM's lobbying expenses more than doubled from $1.8 million to $3.89 million - a 113% increase.  After all, when the government is your largest shareholder, your company execs will inevitably be spending an inordinate amount of time cozying up to Washington politicians.

Moreover, GM's lobbyist team reads like a who's who of the government bailout business.  And why wouldn't it? When you're lobbying Washington to privatize gains for your clients and socialize their losses among taxpayers, you hire those firms with the most experience representing other notorious companies that received massive bailouts by U.S. taxpayers - Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, AIG and others.

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GM Shares Will Likely Never Break Even for Taxpayers
Peter Flaherty
03/07/2011 - 17:59

Part 1: GM by the NumbersGM chart

News coverage of General Motors over the past few weeks has painted an increasingly glowing picture, but here's a dose of reality:  GM still has not repaid taxpayers for the bailout and it's looking less and less like taxpayers will ever be made whole.

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GM Shares Hit All-Time Low
Mark Modica
03/07/2011 - 12:42

General Motors' stock hit an all-time low today of $31 and change. That's right, "all-time." Today's GM is a new company that did not exist two years ago. In an effort to shed liabilities and force sacrifices from creditors while protecting the UAW, GM emerged from bankruptcy as a totally new company. The media inaccurately reported that GM had its best earnings since 1999, but it has not given a clear picture of the situation at GM. Biased media coverage is a story in itself, but let's look at why GM has not done as well as the pundits predicted, and why it is likely to continue to struggle.

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