Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/02/07/amazon-google-microsoft-and.html
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I mean, why the fuck not when it’s clear the government is about to take a much more alternative stance on corruption and corporate accountability? Don’t want to be the last one to that party do they?
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I’m more than willing to get angry about this, but before I do I want to know how this compares to previous inaugurations. Is there a history of donating services regardless of party? I can see this not necessarily being support for trump but support for government in general.
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I would have used the phrase “equal access bribery”, but I guess “support for government in general” is another way you could put it.
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Props to Apple for not playing that silly game. (Cue the standard “walled garden” comments.)
i’m leaning towards this till i hear more. while our dear leader is evil, not everything involving him necessarily is.
being able to see political events on youtube is a good™.
and while i’m sure the ceos feel it’s nice to grease the wheels – it could also be seen as a simple marketing opportunity… depending on the nature of the contribution, of course.
bags of cash are probably bad™.
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So… Upper management weasels being true to form. shrug, not really surprising.
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Corpoations and employees donating to the presidential inauguration isn’t new or neewly controversial, though Trump did kill the caps Obama instituted in 2009 which lea Trump to setting new records for donations. Open Secrets has a list of corporate donors of over $10,000 for Obama’s 2013 inauguration. People from Microsoft donated more than four times as much Obama as they did for Trump at $2 million. Google and Amazon don’t make the 2013 list. In Google’s case I’d be curious about how much cash was donated; creating a YouTube livestream of a major public event isn’t something I find terribly objectionable even if Trump is terrible and objectionable.
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So it seems like my outrage would be better placed elsewhere. Thank you for the background info.
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I look forward to Corey expressing a similar sentiment.
When it comes to the decisions made by CEOs
It doesn’t take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
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Works like Kool Aid, and tRump gets the profits.
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Well, regardless of what you call a party, those who arrive first help put up the decorations, and those who arrive last are of course the main event…
For whatever it’s worth, OpenSecrets shows Amazon gave HRC almost 400k, compared to 4k to Dampnut. (source)
Google gave more to Republicans this election cycle, also according to OpenSecret (source). Ditto with Microsoft.
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But as the New York Times noted separately today, the tech resistance isn’t coming from the top. Engineers and grunts, not CEOs, are the ones using the #resist hashtag.
We’re the ones who have to live in the real world.
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[quote=“xeni, post:1, topic:94604”]
But as the New York Times noted separately today, the tech resistance isn’t coming from the top. Engineers and grunts, not CEOs, are the ones using the #resist hashtag.[/quote]
Sergey Brin and Google CEO Sundar Pichai gave speeches last Saturday to employees against the ban.
Also Google put together a $4 million dollar fund for the ACLU, with an up to $2 million coming from the company to match funds coming from employees.
Meanwhile Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sent a note to employees coming out against the ban saying:
“We are a nation of immigrants whose diverse backgrounds, ideas and points of view have helped us build and invent as a nation for over 240 years”.
Along with that he mentioned that Amazon was supporting a lawsuit against the ban that the Washington State attorney general was preparing.
Microsoft CEO Nadella sent a not to employees calling the ban “misguided and a fundamental step backwards” also that it was “creating so much collateral damage to the country’s reputation and values.”
Tech CEO’s might not be using the #resist hashtag, but they are coming out against the Trump’s Muslim ban.
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In this case, it seems like a way for corporate America who didn’t donate to his campaign - unlike usual years, where they’re likely to donate to both campaigns - to curry favor now that he’s in office, so he doesn’t smite them.
I would say that there are parts that are one and parts that are the other. For example
is “support for government in general” and a good thing, but [quote=“xeni, post:1, topic:94604”]
… an unspecified cash donation, …
[/quote]
is definitely “equal access bribery” and needs to stop regardless of party.
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Well, the practice is still arguably a corrupt one, and Trump removed any limits, and I’d say it’s fair to be concerned about that. Worse, as noted below, Trump had already publicly attacked companies that peeved him, so he’s created an even stronger than average motive for businesses to bribe their way to his good side. Tech companies in particular don’t look like very egregious offenders, though.
