Understanding US Politics In Four Easy Bullet Points - Forbes

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Understanding US Politics In
Four Easy Bullet Points

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz comes forward and wonders just who exactly Congress is working for in
Washington. On CNBC Aug. 16, he called on business leaders to stop funding political campaigns until
both parties stop the partisan bickering over the fiscal problems facing the country.

On Tuesday, Starbucks Corporation CEO Howard Schultz called

on business leaders to stop funding political campaigns until
Congress stops the partisan bickering. A CNBC poll on political
donations in light of the debt debate fiasco last month showed that
89% of respondents agreed with Schultz. Shortly after, CNBC
showed a comment by political commentator Robert Reich saying
that the reason companies contribute to U.S. politicians is because
they see it as an investment. With that in mind, will Schultzs view
prevail? Unlikely.
Here is the best way to understand U.S. politics in four bullet
points.

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Republicans and Democrats both play to the rich 1% and to the

following industries: big oil, big pharma, defense contractors, and
banking and insurance.
Republicans either take their talking points from Fox News or say
things to get picked up on Fox News, but are really laser focused on
bullet no. 1.
No matter who is elected, it is never as good, or as bad, as voters
expect it to be. President Bush never banned abortion and we didnt
get Martial Law. President Obama failed to save the economy and we
didnt go socialist (or soshilist; same thing).
The vote that matters is the vote thats local, like a town hall vote
for the school budget or a zoning law. As a result, voting for
selectmen, city council and maybe the mayor and governor, matters
and voting actually changes things. For Congress and the Senate, see
bullet points 1 and 2.

CNBC Squawk on the Street hosts asked why Schultz was

making these statements and not bigger name CEOs. In
particular, they asked why executives like Jamie Dimon, JP
Morgan Chase CEO, are not coming forward to complain about
Washington, too. After all, lack of confidence in Congress has been
something nearly every average trader and money manager in the
market has been talking about all summer long, including in
interviews here at Forbes. For that answer, see bullet point No. 1.
Im not a politician and Im not here to prescribe policy. But as a
business man who employs over 100 thousand peopleI want to
see congressional leadership, Schultz told CNBC Tuesday
morning. We have a profound crisis of confidence in America and
that problem stems from Washington, he said.
See: Schultzs Pledge on CNBC

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