Why am I so hard on CEOs?

A handful of powerful executives have too much influence over your life.

Why am I so hard on CEOs?

I’ve been asked this a few times before, and I firmly believe that we should hold CEOs accountable because their decisions affect all of us.

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How much CEOs pay their workers directly determines if income inequality continues to rise.

When companies make products that are unsafe—from cancer causing talc baby powder to lethal firearms—consumers pay the price.

When CEOs deny parents paid family leave and don’t pay them enough to cover child care costs, we see parents, especially women, leave the workforce in record numbers.

When companies choose to give their top executives massive bonuses instead of investing in new research, our country loses out on innovation that can spur new medical treatments or green technology.

When Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg or Rupert Murdoch make decisions, they determine what information millions of Americans see.

When corporations evade their taxes, we lose revenue that we could invest in schools or roads or affordable housing.

And when Big Polluters make decisions that leave our air, water, and whole climate a mess, already disadvantaged communities often face the brunt of the pollution.

Whether you work for a massive corporation or not, the decisions of executives affect you and your family.

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When I was questioning Jamie Dimon during a Congressional Hearing about the low pay for his Chase Bank tellers, what I found most irritating was that kept saying he “didn’t know” how one of his employees could afford to live on the salary he paid. He hadn’t thought about it, because he was too focused on his biggest shareholders.

It’s Congress’ job to represent the people who are screwed over by these greedy executives—and that’s most of us.

So yes, I am hard on CEOs. All of Congress should be, really. But this is what’s wrong with Washington—most politicians are deeply dependent on corporate cash and big money donors.

Too many CEOs assume they can buy elections. Just today, a crypto super PAC spent $3 million on an ad that attempts to use misinformation to rig this election. This super PAC is funded by crypto billionaires, who want to live oversight and regulation free, and it seems that Adam Schiff is their preferred candidate. 

I’ll always stand up to executives and billionaires, but to make it to the U.S. Senate, I really could use your financial support right now.

Thanks so much for considering,

Katie