Some commentators try to paint the Occupy Wall Street movement as a bunch of anti-capitalist hippies with no ambition greater than to live long enough for the next toke. But the movement has reiterated numerous times that its protests center largely on income inequality and the corporate welfare that has been handed out like fashion citations at a Star Wars conference.
Protesters have focused largely on financial companies such as Bank of America
But they've also heaped disdain on financial companies, such as mortgage REITs Annaly Capital
Occupy Wall Street also has positive ideals, including fairness, social justice, and even innovation. And those ideals can help create businesses that are sustainable for the long term, a fact that Foolish investors should be scouting for.
There are certainly American companies that try to embody those values in their corporate codes, and so I asked some of my Foolish colleagues to come up with companies that the movement could approve of. Here's what they said.
Jesse Keyser
If the protesters are concerned about corporations that gouge them for every dollar, they should love my stock recommendation -- Costco
CEO and co-founder Jim Sinegal and his management team intentionally keep product markups to a maximum of 15%, in order to pass along the savings to their customers. This means the protesters can stock up on soup, toilet paper, and flannel shirts for the approaching winter -- and rest assured they get it at a great price, from a company that's committed to helping keep its customers' pockets lined, instead of its executives'.
Yervand Khoranian
eBay
Anne Baynes
C-level compensation got you down? Then Whole Foods Market
Jim Royal, research analyst, Motley Fool Special Ops
Innovation that brings goods and services that benefit society at large is also prized by the Occupy Wall Street movement, and Apple
Foolish bottom line
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