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ITALIANJEWELRYexpecting blowback from
their policies, and they’re
trying to get ahead of it,” he
said.
He said the latest mes-
saging reminded him of how
business leaders responded
to “It’s a Wonderful Life”
when the movie opened in
- Executives were
aghast at the depiction of
Old Man Potter, the banker,
as a greedy, coldhearted
villain.
“They wanted people to
know that they weren’t
really like that,” Cull said.
Ensuing propaganda fo-
cused on all the good things
bankers do for society.
The Business Round-
table ran the same playbook
by featuring the sentiments
of a number of individual
CEOs along with their gen-
eral statement — a clear
attempt to humanize an
otherwise dry document.
“This new statement
better reflects the way cor-
porations can and should
operate today,” Alex
Gorsky, CEO of Johnson &
Johnson, was quoted as
saying. “It affirms the es-
sential role corporations
can play in improving our
society when CEOs are truly
committed to meeting the
needs of all stakeholders.”
Margaret Peacock, a
history professor at the
University of Alabama who
studies propaganda, said
the Business Roundtable is
indulging in “a clear and
pretty heavy-handed at-
tempt” to obscure reality.
“In the marketing world,
they call this ‘Everyman’
propaganda,” she said.
“Sure, Alex Gorsky has a
50-foot yacht, but darn it, he
caresabout communities.”
The most striking thing
about the Roundtable’s
statement is its near-total
lack of specifics. Instead,
the CEOs serve up vague,
noncommittal pledges to do
the right thing. For exam-
ple:
8 “We will further the
tradition of American com-
panies leading the way in
meeting or exceeding cus-
tomer expectations.”
8 “Investing in our em-
ployees.... Compensating
them fairly and providing
important benefits.”
8 “Supporting the com-
munities in which we work.
We respect the people in our
communities and protect
the environment by em-
bracing sustainable prac-
tices across our businesses.”
When will workers re-
ceive fair compensation and
important benefits? The
statement doesn’t say. Nor
is there any mention of
reducing CEO compensa-
tion, which is Exhibit A for
many people when dis-
cussing executive greed run
amok. As I reported Tues-
day, compensation for
CEOs increased by 940%
from 1978 to 2018, while pay
for the average worker rose
by a miserable 12% over thesame 40-year period, ac-
cording to the Economic
Policy Institute.
A cynical person — not
me, of course — might ob-
serve that if the issues
raised by the Business
Roundtable are things
CEOs really care about, why
are they issuing mission
statements? Why aren’t
they just doing this stuff?
Why haven’t they been
doing it all along?
And what’s all this high-
minded pontificating on
shareholders and stake-
holders, as if CEOs are
incapable of walking and
chewing gum at the same
time? It’s not possible to
make shareholders happy
while still doing right byeveryone else?
The CEOs of the Busi-
ness Roundtable act as if
they’ve just made a startling
discovery. However, broad-
ening your horizons isn’t an
act of enlightenment. It’s
being a leader — which
these guys already get paid
millions to do.
Adam Winkler, a law
professor at UCLA who
specializes in how compa-
nies are run, said it’s not a
bad thing for business to be
on the record as supporting
positive change.
“This is how you shape
corporate culture,” he said.
“I think there is a measure of
sincerity here.”
Perhaps so. Just as com-
panies are probably sincerewhen they say they support
tolerance and diversity and
other things most people
like.
“Today more than ever,
customers are looking for
businesses that share their
values,” Winkler noted.
But he also said this: “At
the end of the day, busi-
nesses exist to make mon-
ey.”
Which is why it’s hard to
escape the conclusion that
the Business Roundtable is
telling us what we want to
hear, not what CEOs actu-
ally believe.
“They’re saying they’re
not just CEOs making gobs
of money,” said Osgood at
Colorado School of Mines.
“They’re concerned citizensjust like you.”
The proof, of course, is in
the pudding.
“The best propaganda
often emerges from an
element of truth,” Osgood
said. “They may be sincere
when they say these things.
But if this is just a rhetorical
statement, divorced from
action, it’s virtually mean-
ingless.”
As is often the case with
even the best propaganda.David Lazarus’ column
runs Tuesdays and Fridays.
He also can be seen daily on
KTLA-TV Channel 5 and
followed on Twitter
@Davidlaz. Send your tips
or feedback to david.lazarus
@latimes.com.Vague vows by CEOs to do the right thing
JAMIE FOXX, left, dances onstage with Walmart heirs Jim Walton and Alice Walton at Walmart’s annual shareholders meeting last year.Rick T. WilkingGetty Images[L azarus,from C1]