TheCorporateCounsel.net

It seems that ever since Congress passed Dodd-Frank, the House GOP has been trying to repeal major chunks of it. This year is no exception. As noted in this Reuters article, the House Financial Services Committee has passed the “Financial CHOICE Act of 2016” (which I’ve blogged about several times before – remember my reference to choking a horse; see this MarketWatch article). Here’s a new letter from CII opposing the bill…

A few days ago, SEC Chair Mary Jo White threw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game! And the US Chamber’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness has published its latest “Plan to Reform America’s Capital Markets”…

Do CEOs Sway Political Choices of Their Employees?

Given the season we are in – and the heated debate over whether companies should disclose their political contributions – I was struck by this study entitled “Do CEOs Affect Employee Political Choices?” – here’s the abstract ( & here’s a MarketWatch piece):

We analyze how political preferences of CEOs affect their employees’ campaign contributions and electoral choices. Employees donate almost three times more money to CEO-supported political candidates than to candidates not supported by the CEO. This relation also holds around CEO departures, including plausibly exogenous departures due to death or retirement. CEO influence is strongest in firms that explicitly advocate for political candidates and firms with politically connected CEOs. Finally, employees are more likely to vote in elections in those congressional districts in which CEOs are more politically active. Our results suggest that CEOs are a political force.

My own personal experience has been mixed. In a modestly-sized law firm, the managing partner strongly encouraged us to donate money to a particular candidate in another state (I declined). At a Fortune 50 company, we were encouraged to register & vote – but we were never influenced about which party or candidate to vote for. My wife worked for a small business where all employees were strongly encouraged to donate to a candidate – with the subtle promise that a bonus would be forthcoming in about the same amount at the end of the year…

Poll: Have You Ever Been Swayed About How You Vote or Donate?

Please take a moment to participate in this anonymous poll:

– Broc Romanek