Let's turn to the issue of voting rights and corporate chief executives. A statement organized in recent days by the former CEO of American Express, Kenneth Chenault, and Merck's chief executive, Kenneth Frazier. A large number of companies signed it. A number of celebrities and activists also signed it. Then again, too, a large number of companies did not sign it. In some cases, CEOs signed it but didn't identify their company. When I say a large number, I mean a large number of very big companies. According to reports, it's a couple of hundred.
Don’t forget, though, that there are a total of 5.6 million companies in America. Most of them are small businesses, not publicly owned corporations. They — not these high-falutin CEOs — are the backbone of this country . And I’m going to respectfully bet you that millions of the 5.6 million American businesses do not agree with these CEOs. The issue surged with some state legislative changes to Georgia’s voting laws, while a number of other states are proposing voting reforms. In the news reports, I see words like “fair,” “accessable,” “equitable,” “defend the right to vote,” “oppose discriminatory legislation” or “equal and fair opportunity” to cast a ballot.
I don’t know of anybody that would disagree with such sentiments. The CEOs intentionally stayed away from specifics, and acknowledged as much in interviews. “We are not being prescriptive,” Mr. Chenault told the New York Times. “There is no one answer.” “These are not political issues,” he said. “These are the issues that we were taught in civics.” Merck’s Mr. Frazier emphasized non-partisanship, saying these are issues we were taught in civics.
Well, those are good ideas but in fact, the issue has become politicized. Regrettably so.............. To Read More....
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