Morally Bankrupt Companies

Have you ever heard of a 'Dead Peasant' life insurance policy?  No? A Dead Peasant life insurance policy is a policy an employer takes out on the life of an employee.  When the employee dies, the employer collects life insurance--not to help them survive the death of that employee (as would a spouse), but to profit on that person's death.  Just when I thought it couldn't possibly get anymore deplorable than that I discovered that these policies are usually tax write offs--that's right, they get to reduce the tax they pay based on how many of these policies they carry, and they get to pocket the policy payout. 

I am appalled and disgusted that such policies are even legal.  Companies claim the right to do this by forcing their employees to sign a consent form for the company to carry life insurance on their life.  The companies, however, do not usually tell the employee that the payout goes to the corporation and not to that person's family.  Further, how is it a 'choice' if you are denied employment for refusing to sign the consent form?  In this economy you have to take whatever job you can get.  This is no choice.  This is corporate America getting fat and wealthy off the blood of their employees, literally. 

And think about the name of these policies:  Dead Peasant policies.  What is a peasant?  Well here's the definition provided by dictionary.com:

Peasant:  -Noun
1. a member of a class of persons who are small farmers or farm laborers of low social rank.
2. a coarse, unsophisticated, boorish, uneducated person of little financial means.

The World English Dictionary provides the following definition for 'peasant':  a member of a class of low social status that depends on either cottage industry or agricultural labor as a means of subsistence.

Historically, peasants were tied to a plot of a land and a Lord who served as their master.  Peasants were little more than slaves.  Peasants could not even leave to find a better life without the permission of their landed noble Lord. 

So these employers are relegating their employees to the status of 'peasant,' effectively tying employees' very lives and subsistence to their company.  These employers have found a way to profit on death, to profit at the expense of their employees' loved ones.

If that is not deplorable, then I do not know what is.  This is one of the most immoral, dishonest acts of depravity I have ever heard of.  These companies are shamelessly unethical and I think it is time to teach them a lesson.  I think it is time to call these companies out for their reprehensible behavior.  I think it is time to boycott.  I think it is time to stand together and say, "We are mad as hell and we are not gonna take it anymore!"  Because I am mad as hell folks, and I am not gonna take it anymore.

Here is partial list of companies believed to hold Dead Peasant policies, thus profiting on the deaths of their employees:

American Express Co.
American Greetings Corp.
AT&T Communications
Avon Products, Inc.
B.F. Goodrich
Bank of America
Bank One Corp.
Bassett Furniture Industries
Citibank, N.A.
Citizens Bank
Clorox
Coca-Cola Company
Dow Chemical
GNC Corp.
Hershey Foods Corporation
IKON Office Solutions
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Marriott International
Nestle
Panera Bread
Sherwin-Williams
Wachovia
Walgreens
Wal-Mart
Walt Disney
Wells Fargo
Zales

SHAME ON YOU!  For a more comprehensive list, please click here.  If your employer required you to sign a waiver allowing them to profit on your death, please feel free to add their name in the comments section.  Lets hold these companies accountable for their depravity.