Let’s say we have a business that provides services to consumers.


We’ll call it USA Corp.


USA Corp is owned by its customers.


For years, USA Corp was the envy of the world.


Stable. Respected.


Biggest market share, largest return of investment, lots of dividends.


Then, a small group of corporate raiders got a minority stake.


We’ll call them the Kochsuckers.


The Kochsuckers said that business would be even better if USA Corp provided fewer services of a certain type and lowered the prices they charged their well-to-do customers for the remaining ones.


The results were almost immediate.


Instead of producing a surplus (profit), USA Corp began seeing oceans of red ink.


As the losses mounted, the Kochsuckers embarked on a retaliatory campaign against a couple of small competitors – Irock Co. and Afghanistan Inc., who they accused of harming USA Corps headquarters.


Then the Kochsuckers offered USA Corps shareholders prescription drugs, subsidized by USA Corp, which substantially benefited one of the Kochsucker’s other investments, Big Pharma.


Still, the Kochsuckers insisted that lower prices were the way to go.


They promised market expansion and refused to cut the dividends their well-to-do supporters received.


The Kochsuckers borrowed heavily to finance their schemes.


As the years turned into a decade, and the balance sheet ran red, the Kochsuckers increased their stake in USA Corp, and declared that USA Corp was broke.


They demanded that USA Corp stop paying for the programs they themselves had started, and said they would put USA Corp into bankruptcy unless the shareholders agreed to cut other programs that the Kochsuckers didn’t profit from.


But still, the Kochsuckers denied that raising the price of the services USA Corp provided was an option. They declared that their well-to-do supporters would abandon USA Corp if they had to pay one more cent for the benefita they got.


They insisted that cutting more services and lowering prices for the few that remained was the path to prosperity.


There’s an important vote coming up soon.


The Kochsuckers are urging all the shareowners – who are also customers – to support their nominee for CEO and Chairman, and they insist that their plan will be working soon.


How will you vote?