None of your business: Survey shows Americans prefer companies that stay out of politics

02/15/2023 / By Ramon Tomey

Americans care more about companies doing what is best for business than pandering to woke interests, according to the results of a recent survey.

The poll that involved more than 1,000 possible voters was conducted by the Atlanta-based Trafalgar Group and the Convention of States Action (COSA). It found that nearly 80 percent of respondents are more likely to buy from a company that is politically neutral. The sentiment was the same among party lines, with 76.9 percent of Democrats and 78.8 percent of Republicans having similar stance about the matter.

Consumers are not the only ones wanting companies to stay out of politics and focus on making money. A 2022 survey by the nonprofit Consumers’ Research that polled 2,000 retail investors reflected this sentiment. It found that 70 percent of investors wanted to either save for retirement or generate income, while only three percent wanted to invest for leftist goals such as fighting climate change or promoting social justice.

COSA President Mark Meckler told the Epoch Times that the survey results send a strong message to company CEOs.

“Go back to doing what you were hired to do, which is to make money for shareholders,” he said. “This is a blowback that’s coming. It’s coming big time against all this ‘woke’ politics in business. It’s not even that folks want their companies to reflect their politics. They want their companies, the people they buy from, to just ignore politics.”

According to Meckler, the capitalist market currently in place “is a force of nature.” He explained: “You either make profits or you don’t. Ultimately, companies that don’t make profits are going to be punished in the marketplace.”

“I think one of the things you’re going to start to see is companies proclaiming their neutrality [by] just staying out of politics. And I think that would be much healthier for the country as well.”

Disney a cautionary tale for the dangers of wokeism

According to Meckler, the story of The Walt Disney Company is a cautionary tale for CEOs about the dangers of being overly political. The entertainment giant’s espousal of leftist ideas about gender and race into its content came at a huge price. Under the helm of former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, the company even had the gall to challenge the state of Florida over its Parental Rights in Education Act – with serious repercussions.

Americans tired of the woke agenda responded in kind by unsubscribing to the Disney+ streaming platform, causing the company’s share price to plummet. The Sunshine State under Gov. Ron DeSantis punished Disney by revoking the privileged states of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the area where the Disney World theme park is situated.

There was also backlash from investors over the woke pivot. One investor, Nelson Pelz, demanded the company to improve its financial performance. In response, Disney fired Chapek and replaced him with the same man he took over from – incumbent Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Iger announced a corporate reorganization of the company on Feb. 8, which included the termination of 7,000 employees and the dissolution of the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED) team. The DMED was a holdover from Chapek’s time in the company.

According to the Disney CEO, the company suffered a loss of $1.05 billion for the first quarter of financial year 2023. This loss was attributed to the departure of 2.4 million Disney+ subscribers worldwide over the past four months.

“The bad news for Disney … is that its growth has stalled out,” Breitbart Senior Writer John Nolte pointed out in a Feb. 9 op-ed. “That … is why Iger is panicking with massive layoffs, consolidations and cost-cutting.”

Wokies.news has more stories about businesses pandering to woke politics.

Watch this clip from the “Rudyk Report” that discusses Disney’s termination of 7,000 employees.

This video is from the Rudyk Report channel on Brighteon.com.