An Open Letter to Glaxo Smith Kline

Dear GSK,

You are protected by tax loopholes and charitable deductions and legal maneuvering. This is how you can donate $5 million to an ailing urban school district under the guise of corporate concern when it is really for a massive charitable deduction and damage control. This is also how you manage to demand an additional $5 million in property tax money be refunded to you from the Spring-Ford School District so that you can add what amounts to ten million dollars to your books which will then appease your corporate handlers and the gods of Wall Street. As you can see here: http://bx.businessweek.com/glaxosmithkline-plc/view?url=http%3A%2F%2Fc.moreover.com%2Fclick%2Fhere.pl%3Fr4622880574%26f%3D9791, your numbers seem to be just fine so far, and increasing.  So I have to ask, GSK, at what point does the bottom line become so base that even corporate greed can’t stand it anymore?

I’m sure you will defend yourselves by touting the groundbreaking research and development for the next super-pill that might cure whatever it is that ails us. And, you’ve certainly set your sights on constructing a healthcare conglomerate in Africa by potentially helping, and most certainly taking advantage of, that country’s burgeoning development and wealth: http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/1071525/glaxosmithkline-getting-high-giving/. I do not dispute the need for vaccinations and medical care and world-wide standards, mind you. What I have trouble with, however, is the manipulative, calculated, and frankly, warped, manner of value, dollars and cents you’re using to get there.   

One example of publicly known information comes in the breakdown of your CEO Andrew Witty’s salary:  http://people.forbes.com/profile/andrew-witty/37081. If you look to the lower right on this webpage, there are additional links to other top GSK executives, all of whom make exceedingly large sums of money annually.  I find it hard to believe that you really, really need the $5 million dollars back from my school district to do anything more than line your already well-padded pockets. So while you are protected by stilted laws and loopholes, the almighty dollar and lack of a moral compass, you are not protected from people who will continue to speak out about the unfortunate and damaging effects of your actions.

Sincerely,

Christina Hoffmann