Carly Fiorina, the former Republican presidential candidate and Hewlett-Packard boss, made news last week when she gave voice to a hypocrisy common in the American business community. She insisted that it was “vital” that President Donald Trump be impeached. Yet she wouldn’t rule out the possibility of voting for him, depending on “who the Democrats put up”.
She’s presumably referring to the possibility of an Elizabeth Warren candidacy. I understand why people like Ms Fiorina are allergic to any wealth-distributing progressive. But business people who’ve supported Mr Trump because of cuts to corporate taxes or promises of deregulation are playing a sucker’s game.
They are also part of a bigger dysfunctional dance between business and politics that is explored in a new Harvard Business School report on US competitiveness. More accurately, the report focuses on an increasing lack of competitiveness, evidenced by everything from pessimism about America’s medium- to long-term growth prospects, the divide between the fortunes of business and workers, to the country’s declining fiscal position and skills gap.