Elizabeth Warren on why she keeps a focus on corporate America: ‘Markets without rules are theft’
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren joins ‘Influencers’ to discuss the need for taxes and regulations on corporate America.
Video transcript
ELIZABETH WARREN: Corporations have had to acknowledge that what's happening to undermine democracy, this kind of voter suppression, keeping people from being able to go to the polls, is a threat to everything we hold dear in this nation. And so regardless of their political affiliations otherwise, Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian, they want to see democracy continue to work. And they also are cognizant of the fact they have employees, they have customers, and that they need to be willing to embrace people of all colors, people of all sexual identities, people of all genders.
And so what they're talking about, I believe, is what is in their best interests. And in this case, I agree with them. It does not change the fact that I do not believe they should be so politically powerful.
Because most of the time, what they're using that political power for is to cut their own taxes so they pay less to help this country operate-- and that just means middle-class America has to pay more-- that they are less regulated so they can pollute more if that's what they want to do or turn out products that are more dangerous without somebody looking over their shoulder and, to get these things done, that they influence not just our elected officials, but our regulators, everybody throughout the-- the system. Even the courts, seeing more and more former corporate lawyers put onto the courts who-- who maintain this corporate perspective on America.
Look, I am all for seeing corporations get out there, make a profit. I believe in markets. I believe in competitive markets. But markets without rules are theft. And I believe it is powerfully important that we have a government that is independent and that is able to regulate to make sure that markets are transparent and level and not have so much corporate influence that they tilt those markets over and over and over in their favor. So I'm going to stay after them.
