This Is Now A Washington Problem.

This Is Now A Washington Problem.

Blaming Trump for the uncertainty plaguing “normal course of business” is too easy. Why hasn’t the rest of Washington come to its senses? Perhaps because we’ve not demanded it.

It wasn’t the most popular story in the Washington Post this week, but it certainly raised a point worth pondering. The Post reviewed dozens of corporate earnings calls over the past few weeks, and the sentiment was conclusive: The lack of certainty from Washington has left American business leaders rudderless. Yes, the stock market is booming, and employment is full. But CEOs have to think about the future, not the harvests of the past. And when they can’t see past their nose, they stop believing in that future.

That’s when our economy can go south. Quickly.

Listen to the CEO of CSX, a major US industrial company. They move stuff. On trains. You’d think he’d be a huge fan of Trump’s rhetoric. Right? Sure, he agrees with a lot of what the man says. But as for what Washington is actually doing? “I don’t know what’s going to happen in Washington,” he said. “And the scary thing is I don’t think they’ve got a clue, either.”

And here’s the CEO of power management company Eaton: It is “difficult to really take much to the bank in terms of what we’ve heard from the administration to date in terms of their ability to get legislation through.”

Business runs on facts, on truth, on good information. Much of the rally we’ve seen in the past six months was predicated on at least some of the Trump agenda — which initially was simply a conservative Republican agenda — getting done. Tax reform, a new healthcare bill, massive infrastructure spending: None of this has moved forward.

And now we’re threatening nuclear war. Not Trump, us. Because when the political establishment fails to contravene a mad president, we’re all complicit.

For nearly everyone who holds rational discourse, scientific method, and sane business thinking in high regard, this administration has been a like a bad acid trip. But it’s time to sober up and take matters into our own hands. Our elected representatives need to hear our voices, and the message is clear: We can no longer afford to allow this circus to obstruct the engines of our democratic economy. The CEOs of major American companies are already saying as much to Wall St. Now, let’s hear them say it directly to Washington.

Voice Is the New Keyboard, Video Is the New Text

The Wall St. Journal delivers a conceptual scoop: the next billion users will likely eschew keyboards and the written word for voice and video — both out of necessity (many will not be literate) and because technology is heading that way in any case. One major problem: Voice lacks the elegant business model of the written word.

Google Responds, Sundar Comes Home

Many of you told me I was a bit hard on Google in my last column, and when I found out that CEO Sundar Pichai was on vacation when the crisis broke, I was chagrined. I’ve been in exactly that situation — on precious, sanctioned family time when a major crisis engulfs my company. And it sucks. So I absolutely credit Pichai’s decision to not only respond forcefully within the first business day (he fired the engineer), but also to fly home to gather with his team in Google’s headquarters, and promise further action throughout the week. Google (and the entire business community) has a lot of work ahead, but Pichai’s commitment speaks volumes. And I hope his family gets him back, soon. Nothing is more important than that.

Read the previous Daily: Tick Tock, Google, and Tick Tick Tick

Subscribe to this Newsletter.

David Carr, M.A. Blame those who do not take action in the face of adversity. We owe the future to our grandchildren and the 7th Generation #4015Days #Virtualimmersion

Like
Reply
Emmanuel Ariwodo, MBA

Entrepreneur| Business Analyst| People Manager

7y

Great service .

  • No alternative text description for this image
Emmanuel Ariwodo, MBA

Entrepreneur| Business Analyst| People Manager

7y

At Quickwash, wash and dry up to 12kg load of clothes in less than 1hr for #1,400 Call: 08081587532

  • No alternative text description for this image

To view or add a comment, sign in

More articles by John Battelle

  • Tech Has Replaced Finance As Too Big Too Fail

    Tech Has Replaced Finance As Too Big Too Fail

    I opened my annual predictions last week by noting that the technology industry had leapfrogged finance as the most…

    2 Comments
  • 2025: The Year of the Big Tech Flex

    2025: The Year of the Big Tech Flex

    This isn't going to be a normal year. 2025 will be strange, frenetic, and full of surprises, particularly for those of…

    7 Comments
  • Grading My 2024 Predictions

    Grading My 2024 Predictions

    2024 is in the books, so it’s time to grade my own homework. One year ago I posted my 2024 predictions, fresh off a…

    3 Comments
  • Bluesky Is Getting Big. Does That Mean Advertising Is Coming? (Yep).

    Bluesky Is Getting Big. Does That Mean Advertising Is Coming? (Yep).

    I’ve been in the business of making new kinds of media companies, media platforms, and media technologies since before…

    2 Comments
  • Generative AI Won't Work ... Unless We Change Our Approach

    Generative AI Won't Work ... Unless We Change Our Approach

    Listen up, tech oligarchs; lend an ear, simpering brohanions. We’re doing this generative AI thing all wrong, and if…

    2 Comments
  • Why BlueSky Is Taking Off

    Why BlueSky Is Taking Off

    Emily Liu at Bluesky has a timely post that I'd like to respond to. (Back in the day, when blogging was a thing, we did…

    5 Comments
  • It's Not About Brand Safety, It's About Blackmail.

    It's Not About Brand Safety, It's About Blackmail.

    If you want to understand where the zeitgeist is headed in Silicon Valley, you have to study The Information, the…

    12 Comments
  • DOC - The First Chapter

    DOC - The First Chapter

    More than 200 eclectic, incisive, and peripatetically curious folks gathered last week, bound by the pursuit of Truth…

    19 Comments
  • Are We Paying Attention To the Impact of "TechnoCapitalism"?

    Are We Paying Attention To the Impact of "TechnoCapitalism"?

    I’m still digging through some of the pieces I posted at the now defunct NewCo Shift, and found this piece, adapted…

    1 Comment
  • AI: We Keep Making the Same Mistakes

    AI: We Keep Making the Same Mistakes

    Websites are Blocking the Wrong AI Scrapers (Because AI Companies Keep Making New Ones) – 404 Media *** I had a call…

    1 Comment

Insights from the community

Others also viewed

Explore topics