Silicon Valley needs to focus on business, not politics: Dobbs
CEOs of major corporations have decided to go political, casting aside tradition, political constraint and attacking not just policies, but the president himself.
The corporatists who are attacking the Trump administration so far haven't been called to account by their customers, shareholders or regulators.
Apple CEO Tim Cook this week called immigration "the biggest issue of our time," saying Congress needs to continue the DACA program and protect young illegal immigrants.
Apple is one of 800 companies, including Amazon, Facebook and Google calling on Congress to preserve DACA. No business sector is more focused on politics and efforts to undercut President Trump than Silicon Valley and technology companies.
The five largest companies in the country by market capital are all tech companies, and they've spent around $50 million on lobbying last year -- double what the five largest banks spent. But financials and tech are planning to spending much more
The CEOs of these companies aren't adding anything to the debate on immigration, while obviously losing focus on elements of their businesses. Demand for the iPhone 8, which hit stores today, is tepid at best. Apple's Series 3 Watch already has cellular connectivity problems, and there are supply concerns about the iPhone X, which is scheduled to hit stores in November.
As for facebook, the only known collusion with Russia during the 2016 election appears to be between Facebook and the Russians. Facebook is now saying it will turn over ads bought by Russians to congressional investigators after Russian operatives spent about $1,000 on $3,000 ads.
The Chamber of Commerce and The Business Roundtables have spent billions of dollars lobbying for amnesty for illegal immigrants and open borders for the past decade, and now the CEOs of the member companies of the chamber and business roundtable are desperate.
They've spent vastly more money to lobby on immigration than they've spent on any other issue over the past decade. They spent billions, and still they can't silence the American people. And now, the multinationals and their CEOs find themselves on the losing side of the argument and on the wrong side of history. How about that: Citizens may yet count for something in our politics after all.