Vacuums - Baba Brinkman

Yeah, this goes out to everyone with «rotism»

That’s «rich person autism»

I would say you know who you are…

But that’s a tough one to self-diagnose

Business breeds the most impressive villains

Newscorp, Murdoch, Enron, Jeffrey Skilling

They made the mistake of takin' survival of the fittest

As a guide for business instead of a fact that’s scientific

Anything goes right?

There’s no vice

In pursuit of profits, race to the bottom baby, hold tight

It’s a roller coaster ride, fuck a safety check

I’ll save the cost and take a lawsuit if you break your neck

I can calculate the risk as a function

Of several different assumptions, a mix of evidence and hunches

You sons of bitches with your lack of compunctions

You wonder why people get mad and laugh at your comeuppance?

Why abuses get hurled at News of the World

‘Cause they hacked the phones of kidnap victims, cute little girls

And pollute the mental atmosphere with misinformation

About global warming, and fuckin' traffic in fear?

I can’t say if Murdoch should be on trial even

That’s for the courts to call, but that’s corporate malfeasance

I want personal repercussions, pies in the face

Boycotts, public inquiries, infamy in cyberspace

Here’s my advice to future corporate giants

Avoid the reputation of an extortionate tyrant

Watch your triple bottom line, social and environmental

This is the voice public outrage — I am vengeful

See that space?

That’s a niche to adapt to

Nature hates waste, and hates vacuums

We make trades, from streets to backrooms

Business hates waste, and hates vacuums

Living space degrades;

we breathe mad fumes

Neighbours create waste, and hate to vacuum

They’ll clean up their act, if we make ‘em have to

Roommates create waste and hate to vacuum

A business is a cost externalizing machine

It has to be losing money if the environment is clean

And obviously it’s got some politicians bought off

So what’s gonna stop corporate greed if not laws?

Not that greed itself is wrong, just the kind of greed

That tries to feed itself by dumping on someone else’s lawn

C’mon, the free market’s great for innovation

This is not socialism;

it’s a pro-business statement

The question is how to reconcile it with the common good

Either legislatively, or in the style of Robin Hood

I’m talkin' about the human instinct for justice

Which simply predicts some businesses will get interrupted

Business leaders need to make predictive judgments

Either learn to use a vacuum, or live with limited suction

Business hates vacuums, like nature, it’s opportunist

But it also hates vacuuming, like college students

So how do pollution and profits get put in opposition?

Either with laws, or else with ostracism

Appeals to conscience just don’t work, you gotta banish

No business opportunities left on a dead planet

If you really trust the market and its power to adapt

Then I guess it could adapt to a new environmental act

Or fuck it, treat the world like it’s endlessly bountiful

And find out the hard way whether you get held accountable

See that space?

That’s a niche to adapt to

Nature hates waste, and hates vacuums

We make trades, from streets to backrooms

Business hates waste, and hates vacuums

Living space degrades;

we breathe mad fumes

Neighbours create waste, and hate to vacuum

They’ll clean up their act, if we make ‘em have to

Roommates create waste and hate to vacuum