BTRTN:What Can Brown Do For You? UPS, MLB, Delta...the Role of Business When Democracy is Threatened
Born To Run The Numbers observes that when Mitch McConnell thinks something is "stupid," he is probably nervous about it. The subject of his scorn: the growing number of corporations protesting Republican efforts to suppress the vote of people of color. McConnell thinks that voter suppression is none of business’s business. BTRTN looks at the issue of whether corporations should take a stand on voter suppression efforts, and how companies can exert pressure on public officials who pursue these measures:
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2021/04/btrtn-what-can-brown-do-for-you-ups-mlb.html
Excerpts: "UPS is actually ranked higher on the Fortune 500 than two other Georgia-based companies -- Coca Cola or Delta Airlines -- that have been in most of the headlines when people ask where corporate America stands on Georgia’s new voting law. Major League Baseball and Will Smith’s new film have actually taken strong actions in light of Georgia’s new law. But UPS, an $84.6 billion colossus, seems to be preferring that unobtrusive approach in more than just its corporate color...
"So we decided to find out: what is UPS doing about the new voter suppression laws in its home state? Indeed, does corporate America have a role, an interest, and a responsibility to take a stand when the institutions of our democracy are under attack?
"Perhaps private sector leaders are finally realizing that if Republicans successfully choke off the right of many Americans to vote, the result will be an increasingly authoritarian state in which the government will be permanently run by the same idiots who ignored the coronavirus and left our economy in a shambles. In an increasingly authoritarian state, companies that align with the authoritarian leaders would be favored, and corporations would no longer be competing on a level playing field...
"Come on, Corporate America: we should be making it as easy as possible for every citizen to vote. If not for the principle, then how about for the practical? What’s good for authoritarians is bad for business. What’s good for democracy is good for business."
