Medtronic was (emphasis on "was") a Minneapolis-based company until it decided it would move to Ireland under a "tax inversion" that would lower its corporate tax rate from 35% to 5%. With the savings they had repurchased $5 billion in shares giving shareholders $5 billion in value that would have otherwise been given to parasites via government programs had it been taxed. Abbott Labs did something similar. And Halliburton also moved it's corporate headquarters to Dubai.
These are moves we expect from corporations because it makes sense. It lowers their expenses and increases profits.
But then there are companies, especially those in from Silicon Valley, who do not seem to be the quintessential "right wing, pro-capitalist" corporations. Instead they're actually quite leftist not only taking leftist positions, but donating monies to the democrat party. Naturally lobbying the socialist party of the US is nothing new, but this goes beyond that with companies and their executives taking outright politically left-stands when it would only serve to increase their corporate taxes.
Apple's CEO telling people Apple doesn't want global warming deniers' money (fine by me).
Mozilla's firing of Brendan Eich for making a anti-gay marriage political donation several years ago.
Don't get me started about all the Fortune 500 companies that brag about their commitment to diversity.
And companies like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's that purposely target leftists with their organic and fair trade foodstuffs (though admittedly that's marketing).
Still, it doesn't make sense to most people as to why an increasing number of corporations would advocate and advance leftist political issues when in the end it just means higher corporate taxes. But if you stop thinking logically and instead look at this phenomenon through a different set of eyes it's actually quite apparent what corporations are doing. And what you'll find is that it's a combination of today's Gen X'ers taking over corporate leadership roles combined with a lack of any new ideas or talent.
Welcome to the new marketing strategy of corporate America.
Let us be very clear why there's a seemingly leftist bend in corporations - the current generation of business leaders plain have no new plans or ideas. Gen X is not particularly bright, most business leaders aren't real leaders as much as they are obedient, very average MBA clones. And until the millennials came on the scene we were hands down the laziest generation this country had ever begotten. But worse, Gen X is the first generation and "SJW prototype" to have been brainwashed by leftist indoctrination as it pertains to businesses.
This laziness and ineptitude, combined with the brainwashing they received is now infecting corporate American in full force. And it shows in the often confusing leftist policies FOR-PROFIT corporations endorse and enact. They enact these policies NOT because it's going to help the corporation. They enact those policies because it's the only marketing strategy they can think of. They enact these policies because it (in their minds) improves their reputation with the American people. They pursue these policies because, in short, they think leftism sells. And we see this every day.
It originally started about 30 years ago with "diversity." Diversity was being shoved down college students throats since the late 80's. When we hit college in the 90's it didn't matter, we knew it for the BS that it was. But after three decades of telling people they're special because of traits (and not hard work or accomplishments) that's a sales pitch even Oprah can't match.
Then came "going green" or CSR (corporate social responsibility). A corporation wasn't just a private entity owned by and completely beholden to its shareholders. No, now it was part of society and must put profits below it's "corporate social responsibility" to society. Under this BS was diversity, sexual harassment training, sensitivity training, etc., but it also laid the ground work for the "green" and "organic" fads that rushed through America in the past decade. Of course none of this did anything to improve the bottom line, increase shareholder value, or improve products for the customer, but it was just like the latest business management fad textbook - it provided nothing of value, but took nothing to enact, but still looked like you were doing something. A dream come true for most lazy business managers.
And most recently, and we see this especially so in our entertainment industries, is the rebooting of old shows or movies because we just don't have the creative juices to create another Indiana Jones or Harry Potter.
A new Star Wars.
A new Mad Max.
Call of Duty 57
And now they're rebooting Scooby Doo
It would be one thing if they were just too lazy to come up with new ideas, but these reboots have a particularly cute and leftist twist - replacing traditionally white male characters with non-white male characters.
The Hulk is now Asian.
Ms. Marvel is a female Muslim.
Chris Bechtloff can tell you about all the new gay or lesbian charcters.
The new Ghostbusters is just a blatant pandering to women.
And they even tried floating a balloon to see if they could make James Bond black (please do and launch the "White Shaft" while you're at it Hollywood).
I could go on, but the strategy here is something very simple and one politicians have been using for years - divide and conquer. Of course corporations and their newest generation of "leaders" don't really want to "conquer" anything. They just want to sell their wares. But reliably and predictably, despite all claiming to be "independent minded," the brainwashing in school and college worked. Today's business leaders really do think taking political positions on race, sex, privilege, the environment, etc., is a genuine and effective business strategy. They think bragging about how they hire "minorities" but not "the best" is a long term managerial strategy. They think donating 5% of their pre-tax profit (because a corporate tax rate of 40% just wasn't enough) will win people over.
Alas, this is the newest generation of business leaders. People who use "fads," "political correctness" and "leftism" to sell their products. And if you thought the Baby Boomers were bad business managers, just wait for these over-educdated, political-correct-crusaderist Gen X'ers to fully be at the helm.
Heaven help us.
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18 comments:
Brendan Eich's new browser company:
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The left wing slogan has changed from "For the workers" to "F**k the workers".
Progressive means lots more regulation
a distinct business advantage for a large established corporation
a disaster for the small and startups
Over the top PC / SJW primetime TV indoctrination;
http://www.cbs.com/shows/supergirl/
Laughably PC - or maybe nauseating.. prepare to lose dinner!
As an aside; How is the show's title "SuperGIRL" *not* considered "sexist"?
i cant take it anymore. most new movies are for the LCD(tahnk you adam sandler) and even sports is political theatre.
i'm ready for the robots to take over as athletes. they'll still have company markings over every spot possible, but at least i won't have to know what they think.
while you are hating on generation X please remember one important truth: every generation learns from the one before it.
who was teaching generation X how to be productive members of society?
what is it you say in situation like this? oh right the father could not be reached for comment.
Many old movies and TV shows are quietly being destroy by the SJW-bots.
As for today's corporate leaders. I must agree, they are lefties raised without a father and/or the father was neutered by the power-bitch mother... and the lawyer she was banging during the divorce. I can tell when a new hire teen was raised exclusively my a female. He is just as helpless and hapless with hard physical work as his teen sister. He also can't drive or park a car well and is too dangerous to allow on a forklift. He might as well cut his balls off now and get it over with.
Conquest's second law: Any organization not explicitly and constitutionally right-wing will sooner or later become left-wing.
Rent-seeking corporations want government grants, cheap workers, and closed markets for their products or services. Lefty politicos will give them all those things, that's why they give more money to Democrats and re-spout the BS.
The F500 company I used to work at would send emails about how "47% of its management team is diverse (aka not white male)." Umm, last time I checked "diverse" is a characteristic of a group of people, not a race.
We also had people who held positions like "gender diversity manager" and "inclusion director"(fuck me dude seriously). Presumably since they were at middle management level, there would be other people working underneath them in the department.
Then you have to send out like 300 resumes, 10 interviews, etc. just to maybe get an IT job at a company.
I think every thing here is nailed right on the head except assigning this stupidity to GEN-X.
A few points:
1) An article I recently read defined each generations political attitude. Gen-X was summed up for wanting the freedom "not to do something". In other words Gen-X is all about not having shit jammed down out throat. I thought the author had peered into my sole.
2) Corporate "leadership" with the leftist bent is comprised mainly of the baby boom's tail end, or maybe that in-between unnamed generation that wore Sasson, listened to Abba, and watched the Partridge Family.
3) Gen-X was not the brain washed, politically correct, get a trophy for showing up generation. That stuff came around half a decade later. Gen-x kids were the last latch key generation, today parents lose their kids to DCF, for the very same behaviors the parents of Gen-X did every day, as a matter of course. Gen-X was more ignored than brainwashed.
For evidence I submit:
- Gen-x lived on sugary cereal and Hostess No one watched what Gen-x ate, let alone bothered to brain wash.
- Saturday morning cartoons: Grab a box a sugar smacks and settle in for 6 hours of scooby doo, and Hanna Barbera.... there was no recycle message, no moral overtone (except commies are bad ie. Rocky IV, Wolverines, etc). By the time kids shows became leftist propaganda, Gen -x was already off to college Keg parties; and sex on campus did not require an affirmative communication ask for permission between each stroke.
- We had toy cowboy guns at school on Halloween. Oh yeah... we celebrated Halloween, Christmas, and Thanksgiving.
4) Gen x grew up in the the cold war, we knew communism was evil, and it caused Levi jeans to cost a fortune in the soviet union. We grew up under Reagan's two terms, just after seeing our parents stressed from Carter's sorry performance. Disney World & EPCOT were new trophies to the awesomeness of capitalism and corporate achievement. Thatcher fixed England, Regan fixed the US and ended the Soviet Union. The word loved us because we were right wing individualist cowboys. We watched Stallone kick ass in Rocky IV then wrap himself in the flag. Rambo showed us one bad-ass could win a war.
6) A recent lefty article lamented Rubio, Cruz, Palin, Jindal, Paul Ryan, and others are a charged up power surge for the right. Reagan's presidency inspired them, and left an indellible mark. Small Government, free thinking, and undying faith in free markets / individual liberty. There is no similar group for the left to draw from today. This is why Harry Reid, Hillary, and other wrinkly old Woman (yes Harry is really a woman) are the newest face they can paint on the pig known as old school failed liberal philosophy. Heck even Obama's leftist views are fueled by his families resentment over Regan's success and influence; one could say that Obama is the leftover byproduct, or "excrement" of the Regan Generation
7) No seat belts, we never heard the word "inclusion", and if our football watching Dad's heard us supporting the hippie dippy baloney kids do today, we'd have gotten a smack. It was still legal then.
8) We grew up watching a friggin fleet of Shuttles blast back and forth from space like giant right wing phallic symbols telling communism and socialism, to bend over. We felt our free way of life was superior to any other, and we were right.
In short, as baby boomer senior managers spam employees with email propaganda promoting the GLOB-T business councils, and donate to socialist organizations, bowing to the green agenda gods, the Gen-X bench is fuming because of the time we had to waste deleting the email, and taking the company forced training indoctrination.
We are a generation that grew up thinking WWGGD (What would Gordon Gecko Do?)
Although there are more reboots, there are more movies overall. It works in such a way the studios use the profits to fund less profitable movies or movies where profit is less certain
A year or two ago, Walmart decided to raise their minimum wage from $9 to $10 an hour. Of course, employees higher up complained, so they all had to get raises too. Walmart tried unsuccessfully to cram-down the extra cost onto their suppliers. Now they're laying off hundreds of salaried employees at headquarters (so now they're stuck with no jobs in Bentonville AR and can't sell their homes), and closing hundreds of stores around the country.
And for this possibly fatal unforced error, they receive not a smidgen of gratitude from the SJW crowd.
It is now time to take control of AARP and make this bunch of whips pay our way all the way to the grave. SJW welfare for anyone over 55... includes country club membership of recipients choice.
Medtronics is also caught up in the nonsensical ObamaCare "medical device tax" based on revenue, not profit. I can see where a foreign domicile can help that, too.
Interesting theory there Cappy and it might be right. I would like to offer a different theory --
* A company offers the trappings of leftism cause it is cheaper to bow in the wind that fight the hurricane.
* A company embraces all of leftism because they are hoping for regulatory capture.
The first case is fairly straight forward, a feint. 'Paying' their social tax to be left alone.
The second is a little more complex. Right now the most direct way to clobber competition is to prevent it from sprouting. The best way to do that is to be regulated. (Phone companies are a good example.) Once a company or companies can afford 'K' Street assholes there is a big push to create regulations, foster rules and erect barriers to entry.
Now there are two ways to earn regulation. Screw up really bad or play patsy with the leftist Pols who favor govt intervention. The problem is if you screw up that bad your firm will likely go under. So playing the Leftist game is the play. So what if the company has to pay for a few sex change operations? You end up with a market that you and three or four other firms play in.
What's not to like making that play? Guaranteed share, limited competition, golf with your paid for senator and all for a couple of extra % of the EBITDA.
"And if you thought the Baby Boomers were bad business managers, just wait for these over-educdated, political-correct-crusaderist Gen X'ers to fully be at the helm."
And if you thought Boomers were bad, and Gen X'ers were worse, wait for the Millennials to take over.
Thoughtful. And you are productive, which also is to your credit.
"Let us be very clear why there's a seemingly leftist bend in corporations - the current generation of business leaders plain have no new plans or ideas."
Yes. They hate and blame their forbears, but cannot create or invent worth a shit by themselves. So, like the Executive Office, they have to be satisfied with stealing power and projecting endless resentments against their betters.
The corporate issue runs much deeper tho, because it's collectivist organization and mentality are essentially anti-masculine. Corporations mimic female collective values, strategies, and policies, and as long as you place your trust and faith in The Market, in Corporations, and in consumerism/materialism, you will have female-ruled nations. With males (hello Barry O!) acting as their figureheads and enforcers.
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