Right Wing Stereotypes About Business Leaders

We all hold stereotypes about people. Hopefully, as time goes by we learn and we grow so that we are not the prisoner of limited and narrow views.

Writing for the right-wing Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, George Lightbourn expresses disbelief that a prominent business owner lacks appreciation for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce's (WMC) effort to defeat Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler in the April, 2008 spring election, Epic Systems Should be WMC's Biggest Fan.

He writes, "...WMC put Justice Louis Butler in its sights simply because he had demonstrated a taste for judicial activism, particularly aimed at the business liability." He argues that by electing Gableman to the Supreme Court, WMC helped Epic, freeing the company from taxes and regulation.

Nowhere does Lighbourn recognize that a business owner might share other values than low taxes and and the errant WMC-Gableman-Lightbourne judicial philosophy that the only thing business cares about is making sure that plaintiffs cannot sue.

When I was in my early twenties, I assumed that all Republican business leaders cared about was low taxes, making money and being free of government regulation. Then I met Madison businessman Dan Neviaser.

Dan was an exceptional man. He made a lot of money in real estate, housing, and hotels. Actually what made him exceptional was that he had other values that he placed ahead of the lowest taxes possible. Time after time I saw him place community, education, the arts, and the environment ahead of profits. Dan went out of his way to combat racism.

Fortunately there are many business leaders who share Dan's values when it comes to evaluating competing priorities.

There are business owners of all kinds of political views and values in this state. I happen to think that those who do not appreciate spending public money on infrastructure and human development are shortsighted and wrong. I know many business leaders who will say, "I think my taxes are high, but as long as I feel the money us spent wisely, I do not mind paying them."  

I also recognize that not every business leader shares my viewpoint.

 

 

 

Comments

[Jon]

The Carley brothers are another example of smart business people who care about more than just making money.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes people need to make appearances to get along with the culture they live in. I think Madison culture is well known and a smart businessperson wants even the commies on their side. In my view, anyone claiming that a business owner is not concerned about their bottom line is lying, naive or both. Business people do not have a tax based cash flow where their only concern is how much can they spend and where to spend it.

[wondering]

"I think my taxes are high, but as long as I feel the money us spent wisely, I do not mind paying them."

As long as I feel the money is spent wisely. There's the rub, isn't it? (I'm serious, no snark intended.)

[Pathetic]

Commies?

Give me a fucking break? If Madison really was run by "commies" there wouldn't be any opportunities for business at all.

There's more hypocrisy from the resident rightards. They regularly and appropriately compare Stalin/U.S.S.R/etc. to Hitler/Nazis in terms of their inhumanity, casually use the term "commie" whenever referring to somebody to the left of Ike, and then start clutching their pearls whenever somebody dares call someone of their ilk a Nazi or fascist. What a bunch of freakin' crybabies.

WMC and its comrades, with their constant trashing of Wisconsin and guttter policy prescriptions in league with the companies shipping all of our jobs overseas have done more do destroy this state's economy than their worst fever dreams about whatever their commie-du-jour of the momemnt is. Pathetic.

[jimbo]

They use the perjorative "commies" because organized repetition of their previous pejorative "socialist" did nothing to move the polls in their favor. The Republicans are going to lose, and badly, so there's nothing left for them to do but lash out in ever-more strident ways.

They can call us "commies" and "socialists" and "unpatriotic" and on and on. It doesn't change the fact that the name for them is *losers*. Admit it guys, you had your time in power and you blew it. The people are itching for November 4, when they will give you your walking papers.

[John]

Losers? Really? Why you would want to give corporations more power than we the people have in this country? They care so little about you. It never ceases to amaze me.

Here's my response to Prof. Schweber's editorial of Epic System "Threat to free Expression."

http://democurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/07/freedom-of-expression-or-moral-compass.html

[Mpeterson]

Hi everybody, just a sidebar about Ike and the, increasing, neo-con conceptual dissonance.

I suspect that Eisenhower's assessment of the military-industrial complex would have the current neo-con crop calling *him* out as a Commie. Frankly, Barry Goldwater is probably too soft on privatization for most of them. So, maybe it'd be better to say "to the left of Rush." :^)

hiho
Mp