USA Today International - 30.08.2019 - 01.09.2019

NEWS USA TODAY❚ FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019❚ 7A

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NICOLE CARROLL

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OPINION

MIKE THOMPSON/USA TODAY NETWORK

For all of us concerned about the era-

sure of civility in this country, have no

fear, because there’s a new super hero

on the scene. A friend asked me the

other day whether I could guess which

politician is launching a civility initia-

tive. Put that way, the sure fire answer

had to be President Donald Trump.

Wrong, he shouted. It’s Chris Christie!

“Whoa, of course!” I replied, "That

makes perfect sense."

After all, Christie, the bombastic for-

mer governor of New Jersey, is certainly

known for “bridging divides.” Remem-

ber “Bridgegate” — when a member of

his staff and several of his political ap-

pointees colluded to create traffic jams

in New Jersey by closing lanes at the

main toll plaza of the George Washing-

ton Bridge. He’s also known for a long

history of name-calling and bullying,

which — natch — makes him the right

choice to lead The Christie Institute of

Public Policy.

The stain to Christie’s reputation

from Bridgegate helped tank his bid for

the 2016 Republican nomination for

president, with the former governor

even citing the scandal as “a factor” in

why Donald Trump skipped over him

as a candidate for veep.

With news of the institute, Twitter

roared to life with flashbacks to many

of the ex-governor’s best hits. Among

those insults: “Take a bat to her,” in ref-

erence to state Sen. Loretta Weinberg

in 2011, when she was 76. “Your rear

end’s going to get thrown in jail, idiot,”

to a former Navy SEAL. “Are you stu-

pid? ... I’m sorry for the idiot over there,”

to a journalist. “Sit down and shut up,”

to a protester asking the governor about

the distribution of Hurricane Sandy

aid. And — of course — “numb nuts,” to

a gay New Jersey lawmaker.

Fast-forward to last week and listen

to Christie bemoan the political land-

scape. “Our politics have gotten so ugly

and divisive in the country that people

are not having civilized conversations,”

he told NJ Advance Media, taking no

responsibility for his role in helping to

create this crisis in civility.

Even with 20/20 hindsight, Christie,

who maintains a “close friendship”

with Trump, defended the president

who threw him under the bus. “I think

the negative tone in our politics existed

long before Donald Trump,” he has

been quoted as saying. “You’re never

going to agree with anyone 100% of the

time, and I have a lot of Democrat

friends who are using a lot of language

that is very hot.”

If I may, Governor, let me remind you

that civil discourse does not require

people to agree with each other. That is

actually un-American, a limit to our be-

lief in free speech. It does, however, ask

us to listen with open ears, and it does

prohibit bullying and name-calling.

“Civility does not mean appease-

ment or avoiding important differ-

ences. It means listening and talking

about those differences with respect,”

says Carolyn Lukensmeyer, the former

executive director of the nonprofit,

nonpartisan National Institute for Civil

Discourse.

Nowhere in recent interviews with

Christie does the word “respect” ap-

pear. That’s telling. But then, his past

bad behavior really tells us all we need

to know — that The Christie Institute of

Public Policy is a poorly veiled attempt

to rebrand New Jersey’s most bombas-

tic governor as a leader who seeks “to

bring people together, not drive them

apart,” as he told NJ.com.

Still, there’s some hope on the civili-

ty front.

Cindy McCain, the wife of the late

Republican Sen. John McCain, used the

one-year anniversary of his death this

week to encourage Americans to be

more civil. “We’re missing John’s voice

of reason right now in so many ways,”

McCain told NPR, referencing her late

husband’s friendships with Democrats

like former Vice President Joe Biden.

In a YouTube video, McCain urged

people “to join together across the aisle

— or whatever divides us — to make our

world a better place.”

She asked viewers to post about

their experiences using #ActsofCivili-

ty. She said, “Agree to disagree, but just

be civil about it.”

That’s an initiative I can get behind.

Steven Petrow is the host of “The Ci-

vilist,” a new podcast produced by PRI

and WUNC that discusses today’s

toughest political and social issues.

Look who’s seeking

civility: Chris Christie!

Ex-governor of N.J.

certainly knows bridges

Steven Petrow

YOUR SAY

Wanda Tucker’s poignant ancestral
story involving America’s first slaves
and Angola is another compelling rea-
son why there should be centers in ev-
ery state for the American promise of
equal justice under the law. William
Tucker, the first named African born
here, has every right to be recognized as
a forefather.
“Equal justice under law,” the phrase

above the entrance to the United States

Supreme Court that was approved by its

chief justice in 1932, is the essence of the

meaning behind cries like “I can’t

breathe” and “Hands up, don’t shoot”

that have accompanied the Black Lives

Matter movement and also captures

what’s at the heart of the #MeToo

movement.

It may be too late for Tamir Rice, Mi-

chael Brown, John Crawford III and

countless others, including enormous

numbers of women whose treatment in

the workplace has been anything but

just, to gain equality.

Perhaps the NFL or NBA, since they

have the financial resources and plenty

of players committed to the cause of jus-

tice, can lead our nation by opening a

center for equal justice under law in

each city with a team.

In the meantime, let us hope that our

Constitution and our free press, and

therefore justice, prevail.

Lou Horwitz

St. Peters, Mo.

Wanda Tucker is an inspiration. This

story brought me to tears. Thank you for

lifting up this story and recounting his-

tory.

Camille Manning-Broome

Project that chronicles slave history shows we must recognize all US forefathers

LETTERS

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The Business Roundtable, an associ-
ation of senior corporate executives, is
worried about growing populist and
anti-business sentiments.
Last week, it released a statement
saying that corporations need to focus
on broad societal issues that go beyond
shareholder returns. Some of these in-
clude treating employees better and
supporting the communities in which
companies operate.
It’s not hard to see why the Round-
table would do this. Four in 10 Ameri-
cans now embrace some form of social-
ism. Many others back a president who
bashes free trade, politicizes monetary
policy, and rewards or punishes busi-
nesses based on their political fealty.
The Roundtable should be com-
mended for realizing that it can’t take
support for capitalism for granted. It
has more work to do, however, starting
with an acknowledgement that Sen.
Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and President
Donald Trump aren’t the biggest
threats to capitalism. Capitalists are.
To be sure, capitalism, or free enter-
prise as it is more generously called,
has been very good to America and the
world. In the past century, it has creat-
ed educated middle classes and lifted
billions of people out of poverty. Its
track record is far superior to that of
communism or socialism. But capital-
ism, particularly unfettered capitalism,
has a dark side.
When Americans look at U.S. busi-
ness circa 2019, they don’t see rising
wages. They see income inequality.
They see CEOs who rationalize their
seven-figure salaries by slashing jobs;
banks and brokerages that routinely
sell out their customers; blue-chip
companies that promote dangerously
addictive opioids; fossil fuel interests
that endanger the planet; and a cruel,
confiscatory health care system that
charges an average $19,865 for a family
insurance policy but still expects peo-

ple to spend an average of $3,020 per

year out of pocket.

Yes, there are problems with capital-

ism, ones that can’t be solved with

vague policy statements.

One concrete step is to align execu-

tive compensation with long-term suc-

cess rather than maximization of the

next quarter’s profits. CEOs of late have

been paid fortunes by boosting bottom

lines through the elimination of jobs —

either through automation or outsourc-

ing. This leaves the distasteful appear-

ance that they are profiting from other

people’s misery.

Also important is an acknowledg-

ment that some of America’s most prof-

itable industries are less exemplars of

free enterprise than of for-profit tax

collection. These industries, including

significant parts of health care, provide

services to individuals but then bill so-

ciety, placing enormous burdens on the

U.S. economy.

The Business Roundtable is not go-

ing to improve Americans’ dim view of

corporate America overnight. Never-

theless, it is on the right track to ac-

knowledge that corporations serve a

variety of constituencies — and have a

purpose that extends beyond juicing

stock prices.

TODAY'S DEBATE: CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Our view:Protect capitalism

from the capitalists

Protest in 2013 in New York City.

ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES

Last week, the Business Roundtable
launched a major attack on property
rights, the bedrock of capitalism. In a
stunning new mission statement, the
Roundtable, which represents nearly
200 of America’s blue-chip companies,
downgraded shareholders. According
to the Roundtable, the purpose of a cor-
poration will no longer be to conduct
business with the sole objective of gen-
erating profits for shareholders. Own-
ers of corporations (read: sharehold-
ers) will now just be one of five “stake-
holders”— alongside customers, work-
ers, suppliers and communities — that
will call the tune for corporations.
The Roundtable’s new anti-capital-
ist mission statement promises to di-
lute and muffle shareholders’ voices
and further politicize corporate govern-
ance. In 1848, John Stuart Mill clearly
saw where the Roundtable’s road map
would lead. In his classic “Principles of
Political Economy,” Mill wrote: “Lais-
sez-faire, in short, should be the gener-
al practice; every departure from it, un-
less required by some great good, is
certain evil.”

When it comes to economics, busi-

nessmen are notorious for talking non-

sense. The Roundtable’s statement is a

case in point. Any business that isn’t

focused on its customers, employees,

suppliers and communities does not

have its eye on the ball. And that “ball”

is profits for shareholders.

When it comes to the Business

Roundtable’s recent manifesto, it ap-

pears that the authors simply suffer

from a logical lapse and case of eco-

nomic illiteracy.

The great Austrian economist Jo-

seph Schumpeter concluded in his 1942

classic “Capitalism, Socialism and De-

mocracy” that businessmen would

“never put up a fight under the flag of

their own ideals and interest.” Indeed,

he foresaw that, rather than educating

capitalism’s enemies, businessmen

would allow themselves to be educated

by them. Schumpeter concluded that

businessmen, through their ignorance

and cowardice, would assist those who

wished to destroy capitalism.

Steve H. Hanke is a professor of ap-

plied economics at The Johns Hopkins

University.

Opposing view:Roundtable

suffers from economic illiteracy

Steve H. Hanke