THE FUTURE OF MONEY Bernard A. Lietaer - library.uniteddiversity ...

· and an adjustment reflecting the uncertainty about the cash how of
the project itself.
The third component is completely project-related and therefore
unaffected by the currency used. It would remain identical whatever
the monetary system, and for the purposes of our discussion here
will be ignored.
The first two, in contrast, are directly affected by the monetary
system of the currency involved.
Here is the root cause of the proverbial 'short-sightedness' of the
financial markets, which force corporations into making decisions
which they know may hurt society and even business itself in the
long run.
If a CEO of a corporation were tempted to think in longer-term
social or ecological ways, he would soon be removed either by his
board, or - if needed - by a new board after raiders have taken over.
'A special breed of investors, the corporate raiders, specialises in
preying on established corporations. The basic process is simple,
though the details are complex and the power struggles often nasty.
The raider identifies a company traded on a public stock exchange
that has a "break-up" value in excess of the current market price of
the shares. Sometimes they are troubled companies. More often, they
are well-managed, fiscally sound companies that are being good
citizens and looking to the future. They may have substantial cash
reserves to cushion an economic downturn and may have natural
resources they are managing on a sustainable yield basis.' After the
take-over, they change the policies to suit short-term gains, ironically
often to service the interest on the enormous loans used to make the
take-over in the first place. The net result: one more company has put
on Near-Seeing Glasses ...