Please be responsible for your own actions and words, and avoid blaming others or making excuses for your behavior. If you make a mistake, apologize and take steps to correct it.
- Manlobbi
Investment Strategies / Mechanical Investing❤
No. of Recommendations: 30
I can’t remember a time when business leaders would be afraid to express their opinions for fear of revenge from a president.
https://www.wsj.com/business/inside-the-room-where...
Inside the Room Where CEOs Say What They Really Think of Trump’s Policies
America’s top executives worry about moves that many see as state capitalism and pressure on the Federal Reserve
By Chip Cutter, The Wall Street Journal
Business leaders voiced concerns over tariffs, immigration, and a chaotic business environment at a Yale School of Management meeting….
“They’re being extorted and bullied individually, but in private discourse, they’re really upset,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale management professor who organized the event, referring to recent deals that give the U.S. government a cut of certain Nvidia chip sales and a “golden share” in U.S. Steel….
Other attendees included the heads of major manufacturers, consumer brands, automakers, technology companies and investment firms. Many who shared their concerns Wednesday in the confines of a private conference room didn’t want to speak publicly for fear that their companies could be targeted by the administration or that they could attract criticism from Trump….
Asked if tariffs had been helpful or hurtful to their businesses, 71% of respondents described the levies as harmful….About three quarters of respondents said courts were correct in saying the tariffs are illegal as executed….Executives also said U.S. consumers and domestic importing companies were the ones bearing the brunt of the costs on tariffs, not international exporting companies or countries….
CEOs were nearly unanimous in expressing displeasure about Trump’s efforts to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates: 80% of respondents said Trump wasn’t acting in the best long-term interests of America by doing so. In another question, 71% of respondents said the Fed’s independence had been eroded by Trump’s actions…. [end quote]
State capitalism is the current jargon for Trump’s strong-arming companies. The execs don’t like it. But they were afraid to attract the malign attention of Trump by stepping up and saying so by name in the WSJ (the CEO of Snap-on tools).
These execs have succeeded in the free market. It’s a sad day when they are afraid to stand up and say so.
Trump is the Godfather. The U.S. is turning into a criminal, corrupt fascist country which has abandoned the rule of law with astonishing rapidity.
Wendy
No. of Recommendations: 7
Over the years, the US has supported the exiled wealthy of countries which have become more egalitarian which I would call more democratic by representing the will of the vast majority of their population. Whether they were or not, we tended to call those government "Communist" and would support the anti-government side in civil wars. Whether Iran, Cuba, San Salvador, Chile, Vietnam, Korea, Venezuela, China et al, we always supported the wealthy - generally associated with authoritarians, and opposed governments elected by "the people".
I've always considered this odd, considering the emphasis we place on our own government being a democracy. That word (democracy) has recently been explained as "we live in a republic, not a true democracy" which, considering the Electoral College electing the president rather than the majority of the voters is probable true.
So, who was responsible for this? Believe it or not, college educated presidents, cabinmate members and the majority of those in Congress. Despite their education (because of it?), they were willing to mislead the US population that they were doing "the work of the Lord", when in reality they were bringing back to power the wealthy upper crust who were willing to make deals with US business.
In the election of our latest president, there has been an undercurrent supporting the fact that higher education was left-leaning and not worthy of the concern of the MAGA world of high school graduates.
As a sense in the sincerity of this position amongst the current government, check this out:
So far, Trump has appointed 35 people to lead departments and agencies or serve in key ambassadorial roles—positions that are subject to Senate confirmation. Together, they have 65 degrees from 46 institutions. All of the picks except one have bachelor’s degrees, while 14 went to law school. Another five went to medical school. The appointees went to small private liberal arts colleges and public land-grant institutions, among other types. Two graduated from for-profit colleges. About 25 percent of the appointees attended an Ivy League university. Harvard awarded seven of the degrees—the most of any college on the list thus far.
The major difference between their views and their predecessors, is that formerly, it was pretended that we were supporting democracy in our choices, but the current on doesn't make much attempt to pretend - except to present a facade that they are "just like" the political support of their boss.
Jeff
No. of Recommendations: 0
I've always considered this odd, considering the emphasis we place on our own government being a democracy
It was more than a pretense of democracy. There was a lynching last night in Mississippi. The "investigation" with "no sign of foul play" would lead one to think of suicide. Don't believe it.
No. of Recommendations: 2
I can’t remember a time when business leaders would be afraid to express their opinions for fear of revenge from a president.
The trend has been in place for a long time. How long ago did the "DEI risk to corporations" thread start on the Fool board? A year ago? Two years? That thread started with companies being sanctioned or boycotted by state governments, like Florida and West Virginia, for their alleged "DEI" policies and the thought crime of "woke". Now, the effort has risen to the Federal level.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 2
This stuff is bipartisan. The Trump crew is very in your face and public in their approach. Obama and Biden wielded regulatory and legal hammers against anything that wasn't on the "approved list." As a confirmed I really dislike both parties kinda person, it's funny in a sick way to watch the R side pummel the D side with the tools built and refined by the D side.
Cancel culture and woke is the new bipartisan approach to disagreement. Red woke and Blue woke, marvelous, just marvelous.
No. of Recommendations: 3
Traditionally, each president has had a party-based agenda which was supported by their party on a partisan basis. This president, while he has coopted leadership of one of the parties, has clearly separated people into his friends and his enemies. Those republicans who he deems his enemy are simply given names like RINO or "Democratic asset".
He is also far more likely to use the court system as a bludgeon against his enemies. (He just fired the US attorney for Virginia when he said there was no evidence that Latisha James, the NYS Attorney General had lied about her primary residence on a mortgage application - yet he didn't pay attention to claims that some of his allies had done what he blamed on her.
While this make it easy for those who get their news from social media and silo sources to "understand" things, it is a far more open "in your face" approach than other presidents used in the past.
Jeff
No. of Recommendations: 14
Trump is the Godfather. The U.S. is turning into a criminal, corrupt fascist country which has abandoned the rule of law with astonishing rapidity.
When a voice as eminently moderate and reasoned as yours raises alarm bells in these extreme terms, it’s time to consider the possibility that our individual futures may be very different than the past predicts for us. I mean this in terms of not only our personal and political freedoms, but assumptions that may have driven our financial planning in the recent past. I’m nearing retirement and am not at all certain I can guarantee a comfortable retirement in this political and economic environment.
No. of Recommendations: 2
The tenor/gist of this administration is certainly different from previous administrations. Corporate CEOs always look for ways to get along with whomever is in power. And make moves to facilitate their business objectives.
An example is the Kilmmel & Colbert's TV show cancellations. Voice was given to the idea that presidential power was behind those cancellations.
The following story from Yahoo News I believe is the real reason Kimmel & Colbert were tossed under the bus as a sop to the "Orange" One.
With businesses; its always about the bottom line.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/ki...the decision to target Kimmel appears to have very little to do with the public interest and quite a bit to do with the private interests of the parties concerned.
In the least surprising news in the world, Nexstar is seeking approval from President Donald Trump’s FCC to acquire Tegna, another media company. The $6.2 billion dollar deal would transform Nexstar-Tegna into an unprecedented mega-company whose reach would grow to 80 percent of U.S. households. There’s a hitch: A long-standing broadcasting rule prevents any one company from reaching more than 39 percent of U.S. households. So Nexstar doesn’t just need the FCC’s approval; it also needs the FCC to change that rule, or the deal can’t go through.
If this all sounds oddly similar to the circumstances surrounding Colbert’s cancellation — which also took place around a gigantic prospective merger awaiting FCC approval — it should.
A quick review of the events leading to Colbert’s cancellation: Trump sued CBS in October 2024 for content he deemed unfair to him. In July, Paramount Global paid the president $16 million to settle rather than fight the lawsuit. The other party in the merger, Skydance Media, promised to “eliminate DEI” — referring to diversity, equity and inclusion policies — and hire an ombudsman to address “bias.” Paramount canceled Colbert’s show July 17. One week later, Carr’s FCC approved the Paramount-Skydance merger.
