In a New Letter, Corporate America Admits It’s Greedy as Hell

Almost 200 CEOs just confirmed that shareholder value optimization is bad for everyone. I agree! So what’s the next step?

Yesterday morning, nearly 200 corporate leaders from the lobbying group Business Roundtable signed on to a letter (PDF) arguing that immediate profit for shareholders should not be the highest priority of an American corporation.

Signed by leaders of corporations including American Airlines, Amazon, Boeing, Fox, JP Morgan Chase, Nasdaq, and Walmart, the letter begins, “Americans deserve an economy that allows each person to succeed through hard work and creativity and to lead a life of meaning and dignity.” It concludes that corporations “ share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders,” which they define as including customers, employees, suppliers, and communities—and creating “ long-term value for shareholders.”

The letter enjoyed a prestigious rollout in the Washington Post, where business reporter Jena McGregor noted that it “ represents at the very least a symbolic change in the group’s thinking.” McGregor quotes a labor economics professor named Peter Cappelli, who praises the letter as a “corrective.”