Corporate goals are not societal goals

Susan Pagan’s 9-year-old daughter recently made the honor roll, but when the Florida mom saw the report card, she was appalled. There on the envelope was a cartoon of Ronald McDonald along with a potential “food prize” for elementary school students who had good grades, behavior or attendance.

“Reward yourself with a Happy Meal!” the report card jacket urged. And to further associate fast food with praise, approval and success in the minds of young consumers, the offer also stipulated that the “report card must be presented at the time of ordering.” Julie Deardoff 16 December 2007

This sort of thing happens when we assume that corporate objectives are necessarily congruent with society's. They aren't. Neither does a strong economy, as measured by such flawed indicators as Gross Domestic Product, mean a successful society. Unfortunately, in the absence of clear, broad goals for the education - and nutrition - of our children, the corporations feel they can move in. And they're not mistaken:

The saddest part about this whole story? [Susan] Pagan was told that she was the only parent who thought it was inappropriate to put fast-food ads on the report card jackets and that the district would consider her complaint next year.