Monday, November 2, 2009

Are You Worth More Dead Than Alive?

dead peasants insurance

Capitalism: A Love Story has exposed yet another shady practice used by corporations to increase profits and overpay executives: “Dead Peasant” insurance policies. These are life insurance policies taken out on rank-and-file workers, usually without their knowledge, with the corporation named as the beneficiary.

More than six million workers at hundreds of companies have these secret policies taken out on them. Bank of America has over $17 billion in life insurance on its employees and, according to The Wall Street Journal, is using the tax-free money to pay executive salaries and bonuses.

Working people deserve better than a system that squeezes every last drop of profit out of our lives and deaths. Join Socialist Alternative and fight for a world where CEOs don’t laugh all the way from your funeral to the bank.