All US corporations enjoy the privilege of corporate personhood; as such, they can claim a number of individual rights, although the US Supreme Court has not (yet) recognized a Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination for a corporation, since the right can be exercised only on an individual basis (at this time). In theory if not fact, a corporation's authorized representatives can engage in felonious conduct for which the corporation itself may be later held solely responsible, since these individuals may often exercise their right against self-incrimination (as well as retain the best legal counsel the corporation's money can buy).

In practice, to my knowledge, no convicted US corporation has ever been incarcerated, although such a corporation may be allowed to plead guilty, pay a fine and accept some kind of regulatory oversight (of which the corporation should have been subject to but evaded all along) or, alternatively, the corporation can pay a fine and admit no wrongdoing. Occasionally, corporate legal counsel can successfully petition the court that an adverse judgement regarding the corporation's latest transgression be sealed to avoid public scrutiny. Regardless, the same authorized representatives of a convicted corporation that may have acted illegally on behalf of that corporation may escape retribution or even scrutiny with their reputations unscathed, while remaining upstanding members of the national and global community. A recent and notable exception to this trend may be Don Blankenship.

In the end, as a result of public life or notoriety or both, the general public tends to remember the last thing one does, as an individual or as a corporation...so it makes perfect sense for Microsoft to start a charity...well played ladies and gentlemen!

Maybe the rich will stay on Earth and the poor will go to Mars, similar to forced migration of 162,000 convicts to the British penal colonies in Australia from 1788 to 1868. Nothing more than an exaggeration? The Australian dialect, English (AU), is considered to be a direct derivation of English Cockney. Specifically, many Australians may trace their lineage to those born within earshot of Bow Bells as well as the bells of St Mary-le-Bow in the eastern Cheapside district of the City of London. Why? Because the United Kingdom, more so England, suffered from the effects of rampant overpopulation, unemployment, poverty, pollution, crime (of course), social unrest, etc. When the American Colonies declared their independence, the British had to find an alternative dumping site for those who were considered undesirable based on class, creed, lineage, political affiliation, speech, conduct, etc. In Britain circa 1750, the terrain of Australia was considered unfit for human habitation; thus, it was deemed an ideal repository for undesirable humans. Similarly, Mars must first be terraformed, which is unavoidably labor-intensive. If you're going to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs. I for one welcome our new Terran overlords.

When repeated words of warning fall on deaf ears, vile deeds committed in the name of patriotism must take their place. For this nation may only endure when we the people are periodically reminded of the unalterable and self-evident truth, that even democratic republics may give birth to despots and tyrants.