The Democratic Voice

By William Crandell

Even though many business owners tend to vote Republican, there is a growing number of merchants across the nation that are Democrats and believe that you can run a successful business and still be a liberal.

For example, the three wealthiest men in America all profess to be liberals: Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Larry Ellison.

All three of these men believe that corporate America can help to lift the underprivileged out of the chasm of poverty and guide our country through this fiscal crisis. Here in Michigan a group of businessmen have banded together with the Democratic Party to form the Michigan Democratic Business Council or MDBC.

They believe that by working together with their employees and their unions they can fix Michigan’s ailing economy, build successful businesses and share in the newfound prosperity.

The MDBC is chaired by Micheal Magdich, a Hamburg Township Democrat with 20 years experience in the automotive and renewable energy industries. According to Magdich, one of the main goals of the organization is “to gather information from the business community in Michigan on issues that are affecting them the most so that we can all address them together. The MDBC wants to become the conduit of new ideas that are in line with our values as Democrats. We want to help direct new policies and reform the outdated ones for the betterment of the business community here in our state. The organization also wants to help the Democratic Party build strong relationships with Michigan businesses and increase support for candidates and the Democratic Party platform.”

On the national level,  Costco is a prime example of how a business that is willing to partner with its employees can enjoy great success that everyone can benefit from. It is the fifth largest retail store and recorded an estimated $90 billion in sales in 2011.

The average cashier working for Costco makes $17 per hour with an excellent healthcare plan. Their employees only pay 12 percent of their insurance premiums as opposed to 40 percent which is the rate of their No. 1 competitor,  Sam’s Club. They have one of the lowest employee turnover rates of any corporation in the nation and they are an excellent example of a company investing in their workers to be more successful instead of writing big bonus checks to the upper echelon. As a corporation,  they honestly believe you do not have to cheat your customers or employees to be successful.

To Costco, loyalty is every bit as important as profit and a company is only as good as its employees.

This great country was built on the success of its business acumen but unfortunately decency has been lost along the way. Profit at all cost now guides corporate thinking and it is damaging our economy and our society. By working together,  America has overcome tough economic challenges in the past and we will do so again. Costco and the MDBC are two excellent examples of how our nation’s business sector can be the main catalyst to rebuild this country by working with and embracing our labor force so that we can all be prosperous.