It doesn’t matter if you’re reading this from American soil or not, an eligible voter or not, an employee or an entrepreneur: the decisions Americans cast and count over the next 7 days are crucial.
Not because America is “so important” or because we just love politics soooo much, but because “politics” is just a word for the norms and rules governing the interactions between individuals, organizations, towns, counties, states, and countries.
Yes, we are all sick of “politics.” But while we can try to avoid thinking about politics, politics will never stop thinking about us.
People aren’t political, but there are those with power trying to make our bodies, our thoughts, and our sheer existence political. And it is getting increasingly toxic and dangerous out there for anyone who doesn’t fit the incredibly narrow conservative window of “desirable.”
And that’s why Alex and I must take a stance in this presidential election, just as we have before:
The obvious choice for president is Kamala Harris.
Obviously.
This year, I’m a single issue voter: I like democracy, and would like ours to persist.
But if, for a moment, we set aside the very real, very serious existential risk posed by a second, better-prepared and abetted Trump presidency, there are a ton of reasons Kamala Harris is the only logical choice for entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship rests on the architecture of society:
- people who are housed, fed, safe, and free to work;
- people who are educated and able to work;
- schools where kids can learn while their parents get things done;
- consumers who have jobs (and manageable expenses) giving them money to buy things and services, and time to shop for and enjoy them;
- businesses which are able to successfully trade with those consumers, and find and hire the staff they need;
- and businesses which have the time, energy, and positive outlook to be interested in new products and services for themselves, and money to buy them;
- institutions that function: the mail, the tax service, the SBA and federal underwriters, health insurers, the courts, the enacting and enforcement of laws that protect us and empower us;
- trustworthy marketplaces where scams and fraud are rare and dealt with swiftly;
- the infrastructure of the power grid, internet, banking, international trade;
- a healthy stock market;
- an aggressive intolerance for corruption
In short: entrepreneurship requires a functioning economy, which is a web where we are all connected, and everyone is important.
The web that Republicans seem bound and determined to destroy…
With a trade war.
By oppressing and endangering women.
By oppressing racial, cultural, sexual, gender, and religious minorities.
With a mass deportation program — aimed at eliminating millions, both documented and undocumented, even naturalized citizens — creating an atmosphere of fear and violence.
By threatening political rivals, donors, and voters — even corporations — with retaliation.
By promoting monopolistic business practices and industry concentration…
By not only allowing corruption, but embracing it.
By promising that they will “fix it so you never have to vote again.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I would literally vote for Ronald Reagan’s reanimated corpse over Trump.
But this time, we have a good option.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz stand for democracy, personal autonomy, the freedom to be who you are… and a functional economy, in every sense of the word.
And their plans include a lot of things that entrepreneurs of today, and would-be entrepreneurs of tomorrow, need and want, the architecture of an innovative economy:
- generous tax breaks for new businesses (10x more than currently!);
- stronger SBA support for new and existing ventures;
- student loan forgiveness and more affordable education;
- improving healthcare coverage and lowering drug prices;
- an end to price gouging and landlord rent price collusion, and vigorous building program for new housing;
- affordable childcare and tax credits for families with children;
- and in-home medical care to free disabled people and their loved ones to live their best lives and pursue their dreams
In other words, the things that help people at every level of society below “billionaire” — the things that enable us to pursue our dreams.
And there’s more, of course. But this is so, so much better than just “not Trump.”
So, if you’re an American voter, please vote for your own future, and for your neighbors’ too.
Your vote matters. Even now, conservative groups are trying to suppress and discourage voters. And they’re doing that because you have power.
Voting is important and powerful, and never pointless; many of our ancestors fought and even died for the right to vote. And it wasn’t because they had perfect choices in an ideal world.
So, please — make your plan to vote, and vote by mail, early voting, or in-person on election day, Tuesday, November 5th.
Vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and the House and Senate we need to enact these policies.
And if you can, join me and volunteer to text bank, phone bank, or knock on doors to help get the vote out. Text banking is my favorite! They train you, your phone number is always private, you get tools for standard replies and you can help voters find their polling place or answer other questions to help them vote!
Let’s get Kamala Harris elected… and then immediately start pushing her admin even further in the direction we want.
Amy
PS: Donald Trump has repeatedly announced he will be a dictator. He wants absolute power. "Donald the Dove" was always a lie; the man is violent on a personal level and absolutely bloodthirsty on a global one, dangerously in love with — and in cahoots with — the global community of dictators and "strongmen," including Netanyahu and Putin, and terrifyingly obsessed with nuclear weapons. He is gleefully anticipating punishing voters, activists, and political rivals. He has been roundly denounced and opposed by many Republicans, including a huge number of his former staff who saw him up close, including his vice president, 2 national security advisors, director of national intelligence, 2 secretaries of defense, White House chief of staff, White House special counsel, 6 White House press and communications directors, and many, many cabinet secretaries and cabinet members. The full list is breathtaking. To top it off, he's physically and mentally unfit (and always has been), which creates a dangerous power vacuum to be filled by his unqualified vice president and unelected viziers.
Is Kamala Harris giving us exactly what we want to hear about the global stage? No, but also she can't; as the sitting VP, she has no power to set her own agenda and is tightly constrained, legally, in what she can even say about international relations. But she has straight-up said:
"My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden's."
Tim Walz, who is freer to speak, has said:
"This [Israel-Palestine] war must end, and it must end now."
If you believe Kamala's stance on the genocide in Gaza disqualifies her from receiving your vote, please consider watching this video and this video from voices who feel the same way you do.
With a candidate who respects democracy, their election is never the end, only the beginning… after we celebrate, we can begin to wield the power of our vote to influence the Harris-Waltz administration and pull them in the direction of justice.
This is how our ancestors did it. This is how we will do it.