Network Schools – Wayne Gerseny to https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/03/magazine/thomas-piketty-interview u w B l.html?h I’ll smid=url-share the Is for

A recent NYTimes article on the quandary corporate leaders face in Georgia downplayed the impact of the Delta and Coca Cola CEOs on democracy in general…. and in doing so downplayed the pickle the GOP finds itself in for supporting legislation that is clearly undemocratic and rooted in lies. 

As the title of this post indicates, the ultimate winner in the fight over voting rights is democracy. The laws the GOP passed to make it difficult to vote were so clearly anti-democratic that businesses could not abide their passage or the impact they might have on their workforce. In response to pressure from civil rights and religious leaders in their home state of Georgia, the CEOs of Delta Airlines and Coca Cola who are headquartered in Atlanta issued public statements expressing general support for voting rights. When a bloc of black business leaders joined a bloc of moral and civic leaders in Georgia and across the country, both Delta and coca Cola denounced the passage of Georgia’s law and the local Atlanta businesses were joined by over 100 national corporations AND Major League Baseball in denouncing Georgia’s law. 

The GOP pushback was swift and predictable: they objected to businesses interposing their new “woke” ethos into politics and threatened to retaliate in some form. But how that would work is unclear. Would they, for example, support higher taxes for businesses the Democrats are seeking to address infrastructure upgrades? If not, what would they do with the revenues from those taxes? Would they impose regulations on those corporations to help address climate change? Would they support legislation to help workers unionize in “right to work” states? would they work to repeal Citizens United so that corporations are no longer viewed as individuals? Given the track record of the GOP when it comes to supporting legislation businesses want it is difficult to imagine exactly what they will be able to do in terms of “punishment” without siding with the Democrats who tend to seek higher taxes, more regulations, and more wages, benefits, and improved working conditions. 

The only clear victor in this battle is democracy, because the brouhaha over voting rights is making it clear that laws designed to restrict voting are laws that undercut democracy and the recent efforts by the Democrats to modestly increase the taxes on businesses are designed to meet needs virtually every American supports but require funding to complete. Shifting the revenues from shareholders to the general public to help cover the costs of needed repairs would reinforce the role a democratic government can and should play.