# No corporate donations -- what's the likely outcome? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 16, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959 "2011-08-16T21:47:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/1 "2011-08-16T21:47:54Z")
[Link](http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/16/news/economy/starbucks_boycott_washington/index.htm?hpt=hp_c2) > [@](#): > > Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is fed up with Washington…Spurred by what he describes as a failure of leadership on the part of lawmakers, Schultz is mounting a one-man bull rush against a political culture that has “chosen to put partisan and ideological purity over the well being of the people.” > > What does that mean? No more political donations – not for anybody. > > And he’s recruiting other CEOs to join him. “I am asking that all of us forgo political contributions until the Congress and the President return to Washington and deliver a fiscally, disciplined long term debt and deficit plan to the American people,” Schultz wrote in a letter that was passed on to members of the NYSE and Nasdaq. Do you think anyone will join him? If so, will it get results? And what results? ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/2 "2011-08-16T22:05:54Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > [Link](http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/16/news/economy/starbucks_boycott_washington/index.htm?hpt=hp_c2) > > Do you think anyone will join him? If so, will it get results? And what results? Works for good publicity for a company like Starbucks, most other CEO’s should be fired for considering such a thing. A corporations role is to make money, if the person in charge chooses to sacrifice that goal in order to bring about a greater good, he’s a good person but a shitty CEO. My cynical prediction. It will get some press, people will think isn’t that nice, a year from now Starbucks will be buying politicians like any other company, the news will never run the Starbucks hypocrite story and people will still give them credit for being non-political. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/3 "2011-08-18T16:51:15Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Works for good publicity for a company like Starbucks, most other CEO’s should be fired for considering such a thing. A corporations role is to make money, if the person in charge chooses to sacrifice that goal in order to bring about a greater good, he’s a good person but a shitty CEO. Not neccessarily, if he thinks that the U.S. is headed towards being a third world nation if we stay on this course (which I agree with), then he is looking out for his company’s long term interests which would make him a good CEO. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/4 "2011-08-18T18:40:10Z")
Was there ever such an innocent time that one’s duty to the country was more important than one’s duty to shareholders? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/5 "2011-08-19T03:01:38Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Not neccessarily, if he thinks that the U.S. is headed towards being a third world nation if we stay on this course (which I agree with), then he is looking out for his company’s long term interests which would make him a good CEO. To most stockholders, _long term_ is a few weeks, at most to the next quarterly dividend. A ‘good CEO’ like this would get fired quickly at most corporations. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/6 "2011-08-19T04:03:40Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > To most stockholders, _long term_ is a few weeks, at most to the next quarterly dividend. A ‘good CEO’ like this would get fired quickly at most corporations. In America, you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/7 "2011-08-19T04:17:26Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > To most stockholders, _long term_ is a few weeks, at most to the next quarterly dividend. A ‘good CEO’ like this would get fired quickly at most corporations. > [@rogerbox](#): > > In America, you mean. so much truth, so few words ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/8 "2011-08-19T04:49:57Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > In America, you mean. Well, the OP mentioned Washington twice, Congress and the President, New York Stock Exchange, etc., so I kind of figured it was America being talked about. And I’m not sure CEO’s are much different in other parts of the world. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-corporate-donations-whats-the-likely-outcome/592959/9 "2011-08-19T07:47:41Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Well, the OP mentioned Washington twice, Congress and the President, New York Stock Exchange, etc., so I kind of figured it was America being talked about. > > And I’m not sure CEO’s are much different in other parts of the world. It’s late so I cannot find a cite right now, but unlike America where leaching CEO’s get paid 1000x the average worker pay to slash jobs to show profit on their quarterlies for short term, Japanese CEO’s rate in the 300k USD/yr range with no stock options, which is about 1/10th the us CEO average, and Japanese companies think MUCH longer term than U.S. corporations. I’m sure at least part of it is the quarterly reports we have that they do not, but their corporate culture in general thinks much longer term than ours do. I can find cites when it’s not 1am for me.