ColorOfChange is reporting that eleven more companies have ditched Glenn Beck. Does the Michigan Chamber of Commerce still feel that right wing entertainers are the direction they want to take when it comes to discussing the serious issues that affect the Michigan business community, especially in light of the fact a total of 57 companies have now dropped their support of Beck?
Eleven new companies whose ads were recently seen during Beck's program--Binder & Binder, Capital One, The Dannon Company, Discover, HSBC, ICAN Benefit Group Insurance, Infiniti, Jelmar (manufacturer of CLR All-Purpose Cleaner), Jordan McKenna Debt Counseling Network, Mercedes-Benz and Simplex Healthcare (creator of the Diabetes Care Club) --have pledged to ColorOfChange.org to take steps to ensure that their ads don't run on Beck's show. Fifty-seven companies have now committed not to support Beck's show since ColorOfChange.org launched its campaign four weeks ago after the Fox News Channel host called President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred for white people" during an appearance on Fox & Friends.
Over 173,000 members of ColorOfChange.org have signed a petition asking sponsors to stop advertising during Beck's show. With more than 600,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the largest African-American online political organization in the country.
Race-baiting may be acceptable to the MCoC, but classy Mercedes-Benz sees things differently.
"Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) considers its commitment to Diversity and Inclusion [sic] an integral part of its corporate culture and business strategy," Shi added. "We believe that MBUSA's success is dependent on embracing the various cultures, nationalities and convictions of our associates and market that translate into meeting consumer needs and expectations for relevant products and services."
How many members does the Chamber have? How many of their members represent minority owned companies? And the question I find myself asking the most is this: Does the Chamber not care that African-Americans have lots of money to spend?
According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, the annual buying power of African Americans will grow from $318 million in 1990 to $1.1 trillion in 2011 - a 237 percent increase in 22 years. And further...
By 2011, the combined buying power of Blacks, Asians and Native Americans nationwide will be $1.8 trillion - nearly quadruple its 1990 level of $454 billion, a gain of $1.3 trillion or 289 percent, the Selig report continued. The combined buying power of these three ethnic groups will account for 14.3 percent of the U.S. total buying power in four years. [emphasis added]
I don't see how ticking off minority consumers with cash to spend is a good idea. Maybe business owners should stop to think about a point Wizardkitten recently made:
"Time to start questioning whether the MCoC really has Michigan businesses best interests in mind here." |
