Even before I was laid off by a huge multinational firm, I was infuriated by the repeated statements that investors are the stakeholders in a company. Wall Street investors are like the folks lining the rail at a horserace: if their bet pays off, they collect their winnings and place another bet; if their bet doesn’t pay off, they tear up their ticket and place another bet.

If you ask me, the true stakeholders are the employees whose livelihoods are tied to the company’s fortunes in a very real and immediate way. (This is even more true if their retirement savings are linked to the company’s stock.)