Shortly after January 6, 2021, Toyota announced that it would reassess "our future PAC criteria" in light of "the horrific attack on the U.S. Capitol." That review did not last long. Within weeks, Toyota resumed donating to Republican members of Congress that voted to overturn the election.
It’s like a full-time job for you to constantly monitor the actions of these corporations. With great fanfare they announce they don’t support those who act to overthrow our elected congressmen/congresswomen, then in a few weeks or months when the furor has died down & they think it has been forgotten, they start contributing again. Like so much these days, it’s all about power & money, not what’s good for the voters. I think we need limits on contributions, and full disclosure of who is contributing those funds. If wishes were horses….
Thank you for continuing to disclose the hypocrisy & hold these companies accountable.
I appreciate the continued updates. I continue to modify my purchasing decisions to reflect my values. There are times it is hard to avoid Amazon, and the alternative isn’t much better. At least I can look myself in the mirror most days and know my bit protest matters to me.
The corruption and greed is not just those business leaders. The retirement portfolio of most is heavily invested in all the companies with leaders who dream of being the next James Dimon, etc. It is honestly disgusting.
I just sent this note to the Toyota dealer where I purchased my Rav. Hi - I bought my Toyota Rav from your dealership and love the service. BUT I was shocked to discover that Toyota is giving substantial financial support to the Republicans who voted to overthrow our election. (I paste an article from Judd Legum's Popular Information below. I find his work to be fact based). I think Toyota will listen to dealers who are concerned more than to individual customers, so I share my concerns with you. I will of course also write to Toyota and see if there is going to be another national campaign to boycott Toyota. thank you.
As usual with this type of reporting, I am thankful for the knowledge and yet feeling like it's hard not to be discouraged by the uphill battle we face in curbing the influence of money in politics.
Please keep pointing out the hypocrisy of all these corporations. Keep the list going and hopefully it gets picked up by bigger outlets and is more widely reported. Great work!
This activity to reinvest in these Republican candidates obviously has significant meaning to these corporations above and beyond the obvious risks. The most obvious of which would be long term disruption of fair capitalism, increased political corruption and a much more authoritarian state for which these politicians openly practice and preach. What ever it is, it is most likely illegal and in the short term quite profitable. As actuaries have made the calculations and the leaders have acted on what they believe to be solid information. The strength and core weakness within these corporations is their desire for increased quarterly profits, share value increases, and personal gain of power through wealth. There are some Achilles heals to be recognized/utilized in order to rein in their collaborative profiteering, one of which you are undertaking through you publication, although there are a couple that you are not fully exploiting that may reach a more activist group of loud and somewhat obnoxious active consumers. Think about what has taken down major corporations in the past, there in lies the solution. The other reality is these corporations don't play by the rules, never have and most likely never will. Power corrupts, is addictive and allows the participants to act more recklessly in their day to day activities. Are you catching my drift ?
This is a remarkable public service. Maybe I misread, but it seems as though the only print/broadcast news organization that contributes is Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal. (I’m not counting WaPo/Amazon since you didn’t connect them.) Also, I honestly don’t know how we avoid Verizon, ATT, T-Mobile and Comcast and still stay on the grid given that all the smaller companies appear to be resellers and prepaid brands. Finally, am I the only one surprised that Facebook held their ground?
It’s almost as if they’re trying to snow the public! But no, that couldn’t be…? We The People really must ramp up the pressure since the Corporate Overlords think they’re snowing us.
It’s like a full-time job for you to constantly monitor the actions of these corporations. With great fanfare they announce they don’t support those who act to overthrow our elected congressmen/congresswomen, then in a few weeks or months when the furor has died down & they think it has been forgotten, they start contributing again. Like so much these days, it’s all about power & money, not what’s good for the voters. I think we need limits on contributions, and full disclosure of who is contributing those funds. If wishes were horses….
Thank you for continuing to disclose the hypocrisy & hold these companies accountable.
What’s the value of a “pause” that doesn’t even last an election cycle? Zero.
I appreciate the continued updates. I continue to modify my purchasing decisions to reflect my values. There are times it is hard to avoid Amazon, and the alternative isn’t much better. At least I can look myself in the mirror most days and know my bit protest matters to me.
The corruption and greed is not just those business leaders. The retirement portfolio of most is heavily invested in all the companies with leaders who dream of being the next James Dimon, etc. It is honestly disgusting.
I am disappointed in Toyota. Thanks, Judd.
I just sent this note to the Toyota dealer where I purchased my Rav. Hi - I bought my Toyota Rav from your dealership and love the service. BUT I was shocked to discover that Toyota is giving substantial financial support to the Republicans who voted to overthrow our election. (I paste an article from Judd Legum's Popular Information below. I find his work to be fact based). I think Toyota will listen to dealers who are concerned more than to individual customers, so I share my concerns with you. I will of course also write to Toyota and see if there is going to be another national campaign to boycott Toyota. thank you.
As usual with this type of reporting, I am thankful for the knowledge and yet feeling like it's hard not to be discouraged by the uphill battle we face in curbing the influence of money in politics.
It's all about avoiding retribution by legislators who might take actions that diminish profits, ala DeSantis and Disney World in Florida.
Please keep pointing out the hypocrisy of all these corporations. Keep the list going and hopefully it gets picked up by bigger outlets and is more widely reported. Great work!
Judd,
This activity to reinvest in these Republican candidates obviously has significant meaning to these corporations above and beyond the obvious risks. The most obvious of which would be long term disruption of fair capitalism, increased political corruption and a much more authoritarian state for which these politicians openly practice and preach. What ever it is, it is most likely illegal and in the short term quite profitable. As actuaries have made the calculations and the leaders have acted on what they believe to be solid information. The strength and core weakness within these corporations is their desire for increased quarterly profits, share value increases, and personal gain of power through wealth. There are some Achilles heals to be recognized/utilized in order to rein in their collaborative profiteering, one of which you are undertaking through you publication, although there are a couple that you are not fully exploiting that may reach a more activist group of loud and somewhat obnoxious active consumers. Think about what has taken down major corporations in the past, there in lies the solution. The other reality is these corporations don't play by the rules, never have and most likely never will. Power corrupts, is addictive and allows the participants to act more recklessly in their day to day activities. Are you catching my drift ?
Keep exposing the deceptions. Glad I'm a subscriber to real journalism!
This is a remarkable public service. Maybe I misread, but it seems as though the only print/broadcast news organization that contributes is Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal. (I’m not counting WaPo/Amazon since you didn’t connect them.) Also, I honestly don’t know how we avoid Verizon, ATT, T-Mobile and Comcast and still stay on the grid given that all the smaller companies appear to be resellers and prepaid brands. Finally, am I the only one surprised that Facebook held their ground?
It’s almost as if they’re trying to snow the public! But no, that couldn’t be…? We The People really must ramp up the pressure since the Corporate Overlords think they’re snowing us.
Guess that my next care will NOT be a Toyota.
Thank you for keeping the pressure "on". It is only by shining this persistent light that we see any kind of change.