> guessing that dissolving your LLC as a punishment would include the forfeiture of all the associated assets, not distributing them to shareholders

This is just expropriation. Which is legally complicated. And raises questions around what the government should do with a bunch of seized assets and liabilities that may or may not be in a going condition, and whether some stakeholders should be reimbursed for their losses, for example employees owed pay, also do pensions count, and if so executive pensions as well, and look at that the discussion got technical and boring and nobody is listening anymore.

On the other hand, a massive fine punts that problem to the company. If it can pay it, great. It pays. If it can’t, we have bankruptcy processes already in place. And the government winds up with cash, not a Tesla plant in China.

Corporate death penalties are stupid. They’re good marketing. But they’re stupid. If you want to hold large companies unaccountable, bring it up any time someone serious threatens a fine.

>And raises questions around what the government should do with a bunch of seized assets and liabilities that may or may not be in a going condition, and whether some stakeholders should be reimbursed for their losses, for example employees owed pay, also do pensions count, and if so executive pensions as well,and look at that the discussion got technical and boring and nobody is listening anymore.

Bullshit they aren't listening. Executives get no payout. Whatever happened happened on their watch. Summary dismissal. Keeps the incentives aligned. Otherwise you're just incentivizing unlawful behavior behind the corporate veil. Pensions do count. Since we've got such a fucked up social safety net in the U.S. that doubles as a mandatory investment slush fund for our corporate overlords, stewardship of said retirement funds should obviously be escrowed until such time as a new more compliant set of execs can either be installed, or the assets can be unwound.

There is no point in leaving something in the hands of the provably reckless/malicious. Which is exactly what these type of people are (executives making decisions that are traceable to reasonably foreseeable loss of life) are.

I'm done with victim blaming when we've made a habit of building orphan mulching machines that we just happen to call corporations.

The entire company should be turned over to the government.

The “LL” in LLC stands for Limited Liability. The whole point is to financially insulate the owner(s).

“Piercing the corporate veil” is a viable way to hold individuals accountable so they doing hide behind the limited liability in certain cases, like fraud.

To be fair, I think they’re talking about seizing the LLC’s assets. Not the members’.

Which is why you see execs get golden parachutes for failing. The assets get transferred to private parties who walk away to repeat the exact behavior they were just rewarded for at another firm.

"Limited" doesn't mean impenetrable. Try not paying employees.