![]() ![]() So is this homeless situation somehow separate from my business? No. It’s our customers who don’t feel safe coming to our conferences. It’s my employees who don’t feel safe going to our transit station. You can’t tell me that this homeless problem is not my problem as the city’s largest employer. Considering that we’ve seen a lot of CEOs across tech and other industries get more involved in policy - and CEOs like you and Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg increasingly control methods of communication in the media - can you see an argument for Friedman’s side, the idea of undermining the basis of a free society? Or unintended consequences, at a minimum?īenioff: Today I can tell you that, especially here in San Francisco, you cannot separate business from our city. The counter argument that you quoted was Milton Friedman saying that companies which get in on social issues can undermine the basis of a free society. Wood: In a New York Times op-ed, you argued that business has to have a purpose beyond profits, and that that can be good for business, too. And the question is: Are you giving back to the city now? And all of this wealth has been built on the back of our city. ![]() Other companies here, add them all up, it’s hundreds of billions of dollars. ![]() And we are also the largest tech company in San Francisco. Do you think that’s fair? Should this industry shoulder the blame for the homelessness crisis and other social problems in San Francisco or anywhere else?īenioff: Well, I think, you know, Salesforce is the city’s largest employer. Molly Wood: You know, in some way, a business tax in San Francisco is really a tax on the tech industry, which has come under fire for all kinds of problems, including the housing crisis and economic inequality. And you just have to ask yourself, “What has happened to our great city here?” And that’s why I’m supporting Proposition C. Marc Benioff: I could tell you how many phone calls and e-mails and stories I’ve had from people who had adverse interactions with homeless, terrible situations with the cleanliness of our streets, including encountering human feces and other terrible things. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation. He said Salesforce recently held its annual Dreamforce conference downtown, and attendees from all over the world were horrified at the city’s homelessness crisis. He’s stumping for the ballot measure called Proposition C. Molly Wood talked with Marc Benioff, the co-CEO of Salesforce (and yes, the guy who just bought Time Magazine). Seattle’s city council, bowing to pressure from Amazon, recently overturned a tax on large employers that would have funded affordable housing efforts.īut in San Francisco, the leader of the city’s biggest tech employer is backing a similar measure. In San Francisco next week, voters will decide whether the city’s largest companies, most of them tech firms, should pay a tax that will raise money to help homeless families. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |