# Would you prefer to use a company which took a similar-to-yours stance on political issues? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 29, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836 "2019-07-29T22:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/1 "2019-07-29T22:10:48Z")
Had to edit the thread title which was: > [@](#): > > Would you prefer to use a financial services firm which took a similar-to-yours stance on political issues? … mentioning this, because I don’t want y’all thinking “Walmart” or “Chevy” when answering… Anyway… Here in San Antonio, near my home, is [Kercheville Investment Advisors](https://www.kercheville.com/), who have a prominent office along the frontage road at I-10/1604. They do very well for themselves as they are located ½ of the way between one of the richer bedroom communities and downtown San Antonio. They have a digital billboard facing the highway where they make a number of pro-Trump, pro-conservative comments along with the standard financial industry stuff about retirement, insurance, and… oddly… an announcement that they refuse to work in derivatives. In short, for the purposes of this thread, _they are incorporating their political leanings as part of their brand identity_. So, for those of you who buy insurance, have a financial advisor of some sort, or hell, just want to answer the damn question: _all things being equal_\*, would knowing a financial firms’ (or your advisor… or agent… or whatever) political leanings make you more or less likely to invest with/buy insurance from the person/company? **Anonymous** poll, which is kind of against my religion, but I want answers. Also, if you “don’t want to know”, for purposes of this poll, that’s “agnostic”. \*You get the same Buffet-quality returns at E-trade prices. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/2 "2019-07-29T22:20:11Z")
Hard to say. I’m okay with using a company that has more conservative views than I do. I guess all things being equal, I’d rather support a company with progressive values, but all things are seldom equal. I don’t mind having business associates across the normal political spectrum. I would not, however, knowingly patronize a company that supported Trump. There are plenty of companies that don’t hate America. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/3 "2019-07-29T22:20:22Z")
I voted Center and prefer agnostic. The agnostic bit is pretty weak. I don’t particularly care what a company’s political lean is. That’s still a slight preference for not putting time, effort, and cost into branding themselves with politics…but if they do I ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/4 "2019-07-29T23:09:39Z")
I don’t go out of my way to identify Trump-supporting businesses, but if I should happen to learn of it by chance, I WILL then boycott them from that point on. Same goes for any outspokenly anti-democratic, anti-labor corporations who use their weight to bully governments, like Amazon. Under our system of government, every economic transaction is also a democratic one, and dollars have way more impact than a measly ballot checkbox every four years. We live in a society that has legalized bribery and legalized voter suppression. The more you support right-leaning companies, the more funding they have to subvert democratic checks and balances in favor of the wealthy and corrupt, the more they work to dismantle the American dream, the more anti-labor and anti-humanist the government gets, etc. From bank bailouts to climate change denial to for-profit healthcare and for-profit prisons… they’re all bankrolled by corporate dollars given by people who don’t want to look past the cash register to see the impacts of their spending. Calling it a “preference” is disingenuous, like it’s some inane Coke vs Pepsi thing. At this point, I’d consider knowingly doing business with Trump allies to be an act of treason. Why would I knowingly pay a company to destroy America? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/5 "2019-07-29T23:22:37Z")
I voted left/left, but I’m also perfectly sanguine with companies that scrupulously avoid taking a political stance whatsoever. But I could only pick one, so yeah. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/6 "2019-07-29T23:25:36Z")
I’m not attempting to be disingenuous, but did want to use neutral language as to not bias the respondent. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/7 "2019-07-30T02:27:23Z")
I’m on the left in most things and basically don’t care. Just don’t screw the job/product/thing up. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/8 "2019-07-30T04:21:25Z")
Of course I would prefer that a company I do business with agrees with me on political matters, all else being equal. Said company would not then go on and give that money to the other side, and likely will donate to causes I do support. Sure, said company could be lying, but hopefully I’m savvy enough to check and see if they put their money where their mouth is. And currently there is the added issue that, if they support Trump (rather than being a proper conservative), then they likely think highly of him for his cheating and swindling, which means they’ll try to swindle me too. Though that guy in the OP may just be trying to take advantage of Trump supporters, the same way some people will try to take advantage of Christians. I do suspect they may think those who fell for Don the Con would be easy marks. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/9 "2019-07-30T04:24:41Z")
When I deal with a company, I care about the goods and services they are to provide me. I could care less about their politics. Outside of extreme stuff, like, I dunno,\* we make this in slave factories in South America \* ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/10 "2019-07-30T05:11:35Z")
Why does the poll require that we self-identify our political leanings? Why not a “don’t know, don’t care” option? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/11 "2019-07-30T05:21:50Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Outside of extreme stuff, like, I dunno,\* we make this in slave factories in South America \* So, like, almost all electronics, textiles, meats, crops, license plates, college furniture, …? All the shit you buy is unavoidably political, and almost all entirely exploitative. You may not care about the politics, but the companies you buy from certainly do, and guess what? Slave labor drives profits, whether that’s in South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, China, or US prisons. It’s ALL pretty extreme. If you earn $30k USD ($15/hr) or more, [you’re already part of the global 1%](http://www.globalrichlist.com/) exploiting the rest for cheap consumer products, subsidized by commoditized and devalued global labor, weak governments, sabotaged whenever possible by free trade deals, sanctions, and the US military. There is no such thing as being apolitical. There’s just being willfully ignorant or callously malevolent. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/12 "2019-07-30T05:22:52Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Why does the poll require that we self-identify our political leanings? Why not a “don’t know, don’t care” option? 😕 It’s right there at the end: “I just want to track the poll options!” ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/13 "2019-07-30T09:18:56Z")
I didn’t have a choice for “I don’t care what a company’s politics are.” > [@Reply](#): > > There is no such thing as being apolitical. There’s just being willfully ignorant or callously malevolent. Bullshit. If you want to believe every choice reflects some political ideology, knock yourself out. It is most certainly possible to be apolitical. There is no person, organization or corporation which exactly matches my beliefs. Attempting to match spending to my politics is a foolish waste of time, and is guaranteed to fail. Someone, somewhere, back along the lengthy supply chain to me, is working against my wishes. If you are literally living in the woods growing/raising your own food and building your own structures from hand-hewn logs you cut yourself, then feel free to brag about your politically driven choices. Otherwise you’re sending money somewhere, somehow to your political opposites – just like the rest of us. Sometimes I just want a good chicken sandwich. And I don’t give a flying fuck at a rolling donut about what the CEO thinks. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/14 "2019-07-30T11:52:54Z")
As in the OP, “I don’t care about the company’s politics” is, for this poll, “agnostic”. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/15 "2019-07-30T12:17:21Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > So, like, almost all electronics, textiles, meats, crops, license plates, college furniture, …? All the shit you buy is unavoidably political, and almost all entirely exploitative. You may not care about the politics, but the companies you buy from certainly do, and guess what? Slave labor drives profits, whether that’s in South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, China, or US prisons. It’s ALL pretty extreme. If you earn $30k USD ($15/hr) or more, [you’re already part of the global 1%](http://www.globalrichlist.com/) exploiting the rest for cheap consumer products, subsidized by commoditized and devalued global labor, weak governments, sabotaged whenever possible by free trade deals, sanctions, and the US military. > > There is no such thing as being apolitical. There’s just being willfully ignorant or callously malevolent. :rolleyes: I have seen these factories…I live in a country full of them. And I know, the people who actually work there, love them. It beats unemployment. $15 an hour? $15 a day would be a pretty good wage in most places. Exhange rate is very very poor reflection of the cost of living. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/16 "2019-07-30T13:29:39Z")
I believe there are various [“ethical” investment funds](https://www.kiplinger.com/article/investing/T041-C000-S002-the-7-top-funds-for-ethical-investing.html), that don’t hold stock in companies that do what the fund managers consider un-ethical, like exploitative labor standards and whatnot. They tend, usually, to under-perform regular funds. I used to work for a financial services firm on Wall Street, and IME they didn’t care so much about politics as who was going to win elections. They tended Democratic more than Republican, but their commitment to making money very much outweighed anything else. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/17 "2019-07-30T13:34:18Z")
I’m very liberal, particularly when it comes to abortion and gay rights. I work in a store owned by Orthodox Jewish people, and one of their policies is to keep politics out of the store. Answers your question, and works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/18 "2019-07-30T13:35:15Z")
I’m a left-leaning libertarian. Generally, all I care about is that the company is able to satisfactorily supply the goods or services I want at the price I am willing to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/19 "2019-07-30T13:41:26Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :rolleyes: > I have seen these factories…I live in a country full of them. And I know, the people who actually work there, love them. It beats unemployment. > > $15 an hour? $15 a day would be a pretty good wage in most places. > Exhange rate is very very poor reflection of the cost of living. Well, even taking the moral questions out of it, most sectors of our economy rely on the labor of individuals who could never afford the products they’re being paid to make. In America, our economic success relies upon the relative economic depression of the nations that supply our goods. There are arguments in both directions as to whether or not that’s “right”, but buying into or opposing the continued reliance on that system is 100% a political position. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836/20 "2019-07-30T14:07:05Z")
In this country you vote for the puppet who will do as bidden by the corporations that pull its strings. I’m voting with my wallet, so it makes sense to favor a company whose values are aligned with my own. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-to-use-a-company-which-took-a-similar-to-yours-stance-on-political-issues/837836.md?page=2)