Published September 4, 2019, by American Promise
It is tempting to see fate in David Koch’s passing away the same week that the CEOs of the country’s largest companies announced that corporations should have a purpose beyond just profit. David and his brother Charles have done more perhaps than any other corporate titans to create the situation in American capitalism that the Business Roundtable seemed to be addressing as it redefined the purpose of a corporation.….
…. One can be angry about these things and still believe very strongly in the virtues of capitalism, the power of free markets, and the benefits of the great wave of jobs America’s companies have created. But if there really is to be a new relationship between corporation and community in this country, that relationship has to begin with corporate respect and support for democracy, this country’s most important and most imperiled asset.
A good place to start would be for all members of the Business Roundtable to pledge their support of the 28th Amendment, which will reverse the curse of Citizens United and allow for reasonable regulations on election spending and fundraising. And state chambers of commerce should get out of the business of blocking reforms that create a more transparent and representative system.