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The term "greedy corporations" or its equivalent seems to appear regularly in commentaries about health care, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, energy, minimum wage, housing, the mortgage crisis, tax policy, etc. -- just about every economic or social issue. "Greedy corporations" and, by implication, their "greedy" owners are said to be responsible for many of the ills that befall our society. However, as Pogo famously said, "We have met the enemy and they is us."

To begin with, corporations aren't greedy or generous or socially conscious or anything else, for that matter. They are merely a legal fiction, entities created by the state for the purpose of facilitating the conduct of business. They can sue and be sued in the courts, but they do not eat, breathe, love or hate, or vote, or any of the other things that people do. So, how can they exhibit such human characteristics as greed? And, if corporations can't actually be greedy themselves, then perhaps it is their owners and managers who are.

And, who might these terrible people be? They are your friends, relatives, neighbors, church and community leaders, directors and executives of non-profit entities, school administrators - just about any leader of any organization, perhaps you yourself. No doubt you may think some of them are greedy, but certainly not all, or even most of them. Who qualifies as greedy and who makes that determination? You do, of course.

Major corporations, such as the Fortune 500 companies, are generally owned by many thousands or millions of shareholders, often through union pension trusts, retirement plans, mutual funds and other entities that make large investments on behalf of their individual investors - "Us." However, for the most part, small corporations are businesses that don't have enough economic power to influence anyone. They are usually just vehicles for managing the affairs of businesses that provide a way for their owner-operators to make a living, and their profits are often not much more than wages. Are these the greedy corporations we read or hear about so often?

A total of approximately 2.5 million corporate tax returns were filed in 2007 (IRS Statistics), and in 2005 over 3.7 million small businesses were organized as "Subchapter S" (Sub S) corporations. These corporations pay little or no income tax on their earnings because they are treated like partnerships for tax reporting purposes. Generally referred to as "pass through" entities, their earnings are simply passed through directly to the owners, who include them on their personal income tax returns and pay taxes on the corporate profits at individual rates.

Further demonstrating the extent to which "greedy corporations" are "us," U.S. Department of Commerce statistics indicate that "Small firms (less than 500 employees) represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms...Employ just over half of all private sector employees...Pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll...Have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years." These small enterprises account for 52 percent of all U.S. workers (U.S. Small Business Administration)...By contrast, 47.7 million Americans work for firms with 500 or more employees."

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