Business Praise for Business Roundtable "Statement of Purpose of a Corporation"
WASHINGTON
The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), representing the public policy interests of more than 250,000 responsible businesses, praised the "Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation" announced today by the Business Roundtable (BRT). ASBC is focusing on steps to turn principles like those in the BRT statement into substantive reforms to capitalism at its summit in December.
"We welcome Jamie Dimon and the leaders of the other companies now agreeing with what we have been saying for ten years," said Jeffrey Hollender, ASBC CEO. "Business can and should be a force for good - for people and the planet. It is great news that we finally have that shared understanding. The next question is how all companies can make this switch quickly and throughout their operations. We are focused on accelerating that shift at our summit in December, "Making Capitalism Work for All."
ASBC's annual summit is aimed this year at helping business leaders reshape capitalism to broaden prosperity and better protect the environment. Hollender believes the Business Roundtable statement in support of a stronger focus on all stakeholders is part of a trend among businesses, academics and policymakers to transition away from the short-term, profit-at-all-costs business perspective of the last 40 years.
One example of the negative effects from the extreme focus on shareholders during the past four decades is the widening gap between average employee pay and CEO pay. A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that since 1978, CEO pay has risen 940 percent, while average pay for employees went up only 12 percent. The president of the EPI, Thea Mei Lee, will be speaking at ASBC's summit. Other speakers include Chris Lu, Former Deputy Secretary of Labor.
"Making Capitalism Work for All," the ASBC Sustainable Business & Advocacy Summit, will be held in Washington, DC, December 10 and 11, 2019. Information and registration: https://www.asbcouncil.org/asbc-2019-summit .
The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) advocates for policy change and informs business owners, policymakers and the public about the need and opportunities for building a vibrant, broadly prosperous, sustainable economy. Founded in 2009, its membership represents over 250,000 businesses in a wide range of industries.
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Senators Sound Alarm on Push to 'Undermine the Goals of Dodd-Frank'
"We urge the commission to continue to focus on its vital work preserving market integrity and protecting the public, uphold the letter and spirit of the Dodd-Frank Act, and withdraw the proposed rule."
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Passed in the wake of the 2008 global financial meltdown, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act—which was partially rolled back during the Trump administration— overhauled federal financial regulation. In a letter to Behnam, Sens. John Fetterman (Pa.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), and Tina Smith (Minn.) assert that the CFTC's proposed rule is a "step in the wrong direction" that would increase market instability by decreasing collateral requirements for certain transactions.
The Global Markets Advisory Committee, largely made up of finance industry insiders, recommended the proposed rule in 2020 during the Trump administration.
As the letter explains:
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The collapse earlier this year of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank—both of which benefited from regulatory relief thanks to the 2018 rollback—brought renewed scrutiny on Dodd-Frank's Republican-engineered shortcomings. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who wrote the 2018 banking deregulation law, insisted in March that "there is no need for regulatory reform" in the wake of the banks' failures.
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