Corporate America does not go hand in hand with Democracy: report
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Capitalism and democracy are compatible only if democracy is "in the driver's seat," Robert Reich said.
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Wall Street, New York City, United States
Robert Reich, a former Secretary of Labor in the United States and current Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, wrote an OpEd article for Eurasia Review about how capitalism is undermining democracy.
According to Reich, capitalism and democracy are compatible only if democracy is "in the driver's seat," meaning the system must be dependant on democracy rather than capitalism, which he sees is not the case in the United States.
He cited a report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington revealing that corporations donated some $18 million to the majority (143 of 147) lawmakers that had voted to overturn the 2020 presidential results in favor of Donald Trump after he lost to President Joe Biden.
Reich highlighted that corporate America is more invested in politics than ever, with a "tsunami of money" flowing into "the swamp of American politics," saying this was undermining American democracy.
Many big corporations had pledged to stop financing the campaigns of the lawmakers who voted in favor of Trump, but 717 companies made the $18 million donations to the majority of those "seditious" lawmakers.
He also cited one particular democratic Senator, Krysten Sinema, who had received $2 million in 2021 in campaign donations despite not being up for re-election until 2024 - most of which came from corporations who had a history of donating largely to Republicans.
Sinema has long been an opponent to any change in the filibuster, voting against the increase in the minimum wage to $15, opposing tax increases on corporations and the wealthy, and pushing further the price reform on drugs. All these policies are supported by the majority of Arizona, the state she represents. It is worth noting that the campaign donations came from corporations outside of Arizona.
With that, corporate PAC spending on congressional elections has more than quadrupled - adjusted for inflation - he said, highlighting that labor unions no longer compared, as union PACs contributed just as much as corporate PACs a few decades back.
Reich also cited a 2014 study published by a Princeton University professor; The study concludes that the typical American has no influence whatsoever on legislation emerging from Congress.
The generous corporate contributions to politicians have largely benefitted corporate America; tax rates on corporations have heavily decreased, regulatory protections for consumers, workers, and the environment have been altered to benefit corporations, and antirust has changed in a manner that benefits them, rendering the market without competition.
Corporations have been benefitting from federal subsidies while attacking labor laws, allowing them to reach record profits, with CEOs making 320 times as much as their average workers when they used to make 20 times more a few decades back, while the wages of workers have barely increased over the past 40 years.
He conveyed a message to CEOs in America, telling them they need democracy though they are actively undermining it as their actions destabilize both society and economy.
Reich's message came as a warning that the measures taken by corporations to serve their interests will have their toll eventually, harming their interests.
