In 2008, the recession in America hit hard, and many Americans were foreclosured and lost their jobs. People still believe the recession is not over and because of their fear they are not restoring the economy back to normalcy. The economy functions based on how consumers save money, or put their money into the market to stimulate it. Currently many Americans are not stimulating the market for fear of a stronger recession to occur and are worried they may lose financial stability. The economy will not be able to recover unless Americans start investing in the market and stimulating the money flow.

Stephanie Strom’s article, CVS Vows to Quit Selling Tobacco Products, discusses a strong ethical dilemma about selling products that lack societal benefit. CVS announced they will no longer be selling cigarettes or other tobacco products, which will cost them about 2 billion dollars in sales. Although this is not a huge setback in their revenue, they will most likely be loosing those valued customers to competitors. CVS believes that since they are both a pharmacy and retail store, they should promote healthy living. In comparison to Milton Friedman’s article, The Social Responsibility of Businesses is to Increase its Profits, CVS is willing to accept the loss of profits in order to enhance their public image and promote healthier living. By removing tobacco products, CVS is doing nothing unethical, and in fact is benefiting society more than the company itself. When R. Edward Freeman discusses the stakeholder theory, he describes one reason businesses are in decline is due to lack of customer satisfaction and societal benefit. CVS is far from a business in decline because of their willingness to put their customers health first. CVS is making an impact on society that will affect similar businesses as well as customers.

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