Businesses Feel Electing an American President is Like Choosing Between Coke and Pepsi

Why Any American President has to Necessarily be Pro Market and Pro Business

A long-standing joke about the impact of the Presidential Election on the American corporates and businesses is that essentially one is choosing between two flavours of the same product, just that the brands are different.

In other words, what this means is that whoever comes to power after the election, the policies formulated by them would always be favourable to corporates and businesses.

This is because the United States is a Free Market Capitalist Economy where the economic considerations rule over everything else and hence, the only difference between competing candidates is how much they lean towards the businesses.

Of course, for political rhetoric, each candidate claims that they are ready to buttress their credentials as far as being friendly towards business is concerned whereas their opponents are labelled as being less pro-business.

For instance, while President Trump claims that his opponent, Joe Biden, is a socialist, in reality there is nothing to suggest this and in his long career, Biden was more pro-business than other Democratic hopefuls such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who stood for very radical ideas not seen elsewhere.

American Politicians Need to Continuously Raise Money and From Businesses

The reason why any candidate, Republican or Democrat, usually follows the standard formula as far as business and economy are concerned is for one due to the nature of the funding that they get during the campaign trail.

It is hard for them to raise funds from grassroots voters and the lay American public whereas, it is easier to raise money from Wall Street Banks and the like.

Indeed, even though President Obama did raise money from individual voters, he too had to take huge donations from corporate sponsors as the sums needed for fighting the election cannot be raised from individual contributions alone.

Of course, Bernie Sanders ran a campaign that promised not to take money from businesses, though it would have been difficult for him to continue right into the Polling Day.

In addition, the Political Economy of the United States is such that it is impossible for anyone who is not capitalist to get through their policies as laws passed by Congress.

Indeed, despite holding both houses of Congress, President Obama was unable to convince his own party colleagues to support him on much vital legislation that were either watered down or not passed at all.

Where the Flavours Differ! Democrats Are More Pro Poor than Republicans

Having said that, it is also the case that Democrats are more pro poor than Republicans whereas the latter are more pro-business.

Indeed, President Trump never tires of Tweeting about the Booming Stock Market whereas Joe Biden often points to cuts in Medicare and Social Security to drive home the point that he cares about the ordinary person.

This is one of the reasons why the upcoming election is significant as Four More Years of Trump would mean that the Rich would Get Richer and the Poor Poorer.

Also, measures such as the Tax Cuts that favor the Top Earners more than the others are likely to be trashed by Biden which is another reason why Corporate America is watching how the election turns out to be.

On the other hand, Big Tech would probably cheer a Biden victory as the Silicon Valley elite are mostly liberal.

Having said that, small businesses might benefit from a Democrat administration as is the rapidly growing and huge Freelancer Community.

Moreover, the middle class might be less impacted by a Biden Wave than a Trump victory.

However, as we said at the beginning, it might really be choosing between Coke and Pepsi.

The Paradox of Republicans Going Against Globalization and Democrats Embracing It

An interesting paradox about the present election is that a Democrat is looking pro globalisation whereas a Republican is talking about trashing deals with foreign powers and decoupling from China.

Indeed, the reason why Trump was regarded as a renegade candidate even in 2016 is that he promised to MAGA or Make America Great Again instead of sending jobs overseas.

While this worked in 2016, one has to see whether this would repeat again. Of course, the Covid Pandemic might come in handy as it is widely perceived as originating from China and spreading due to global integration.

Talking about the pandemic, Trump has been complaining that he was sailing to victory before the Covid hit and he insists that he has done his best in containing the outbreak.

It remains to be seen as to whether the repeated attacks by the Democrats about his supposed mishandling would translate into votes for them.

On the other hand, Trump can also stoke paranoid conspiracy theories about the Covid to turn it to his advantage as Election Day approaches.

Of course, businesses would love to see the economy reopen and hence, they might just help President Trump cross over the finishing line.

American Businesses and Law and Order

Last, a key point here is that the ongoing race riots are being resented by many businesses and hence, instead of agitating for social justice, the protestors might be helping Trump.

Indeed, he has taken to the theme of Law and Order in recent days which is something that the Right-Wing Establishment loves.

In addition, he is also invoking socialism to keep Biden down and just uttering it would drive away many voters.

To conclude, while elections in the United States have a commonality as far as businesses are concerned, the points discussed here might prove decisive and conclusive.


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Globalization