Executives of big banks and corporations usually like to conceal how they exercise their political power, using the two-party system as a cover. So, it was unusual for a gathering of some of the wealthiest banking and corporate execs, including Steve Schwarzman, CEO of the $545 billion Wall Street firm Blackstone, to publicly call on Trump to not block the transition to a Biden administration. Soon after, the Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers, which together represent nearly all of the capitalist class, said the same thing.
These execs fear that Trump’s effort to hold on to the White House in spite of losing the election threatens to undermine belief in the charade of the two-party system. They particularly fear that Trump’s undemocratic maneuvers might provoke angry demonstrations that could threaten the stability of the political system, especially at a time when the COVID public health crisis has hit the economy hard. These execs, whether they supported the election of Trump or Biden, know both parties protect the big business system, even if the parties disagree over policy details.
These big business execs know they have nothing to fear from a Biden administration. But the rest of us do. The Democrats like to say, “yes, we can,” but then they don’t, unless they are pushed by big movements that won’t take “no” for an answer. The Obama-Biden administration promised “hope and change,” but delivered only disappointment. We do indeed need both hope and change, but we will get neither until we decide to organize and fight for what we need, like full unemployment insurance for the duration of the COVID crisis, and stop listening to leaders who have always let us down.
