From Swords into Dow Shares

Contemporary legal doctrine holds that corporate managers have obligations, first and foremost, to maximize profits for their shareholders. This doctrine is based on the assumption that shareholders alone bear the financial risks and contribute the equity necessary for production. But what if other groups contribute assets and also risk losing their investments? What if other groups actually shelter shareholders from financial risks? Such is the case with the nation's prime defense contractors. By examining the case of defense contracting, where the federal government and, indirectly, the taxpayers assume most of the risks and costs of producing weaponry, Rachel Weber critiques the assumptions underlying our system of corporate governance. The Department of Defense provides contracts for billions of dollars, specialized components and facilities, interest subsidies, tax breaks, and regulatory relief. These public contributions make the record shareholder returns and executive compensation packages of the early 1990s all the more problematic. This book follows the case of General Dynamics, the nation's largest military shipbuilder and considered a trendsetter in the industry for its explicit shareholder orientation. The behavior of contractors like General Dynamics in the post-Cold War period raises serious concerns about the private stewardship of public funds. How can the government make contractors accountable to other public interests? In Swords into Dow Shares Rachel Weber offers some original suggestions for redirecting defense resources to foster innovation, decrease the tax burden of military spending, and help to retain and create high-wage jobs in a civilian-industrial economy.

ISBN 0813397901   DEWEY edition DC21 ISBN13 9780813397900 (What's this?)   Pages 234 Publisher The Perseus Books Group   Volumes 1 Imprint Westview Press Inc   Weight (grammes) 500 Format Hardback   Published in Boulder, CO Publication date 05 Jan 2001   Height (mm) 229 Non-book description xii, 221 p. :   Width (mm) 153 Library of Congress 00046225   Spine width (mm) 15 DEWEY 355.62120973   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Professional / Scholarly

		List of Acronyms
		Preface
		Acknowledgments
		Introduction		1
1		The Crisis of Corporate Governance		21
2		Governing Defense Contractors		41
3		Adjusting to the Drawdown		71
4		General Dynamics: The Shareholder Success Story of the 1990s		105
5		Redistributing Risks and Rents at General Dynamics		135
6		Accomodating Public Interests in Corporate Change		163
		References		187
		Index		211

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