Adjusting to a new reality

by Zain Jaffer

Let’s face it. No matter how much you want to avoid politics and just go about with your business and life, you run right smack into it every time there is a US Presidential election and the opposing party wins and takes over. There are some advantages to some and disadvantages to others, but it is probably safe to say that everyone needs to adjust.

An Overton window, named after political scientist Joseph Overton [https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/04/what-overton-window-politics] is the range of political and policy discussions that are acceptable during a particular time. Thus during the Biden administration, talk of “drill, baby drill” was not acceptable and DEI was, while the opposite is happening with the incumbent Trump administration. Britain has a similar predicament with what is and is not acceptable under the Keir Starmer regime. Court rulings, particularly from the Supreme Court, and

Every time the Overton window changes.we all need to adjust. For business in particular there are a few that have changed in recent times.

Those in the farming, hospitality (e.g. hotel and restaurant), and other businesses heavily reliant on manual labor, will be impacted heavily by their inability (or difficulty) now to hire illegal migrants at below market rates with no social security and medical protections. DEI and other affirmative action type of hiring practices are now disallowed in government, and will likely be discouraged in the private sector, to make way for meritocracy as the basis for hiring. Each private company will need to decide how to move forward on DEI, but at the moment many have disengaged.

While clean energy and electric vehicles (EV) are not specifically banned, these will no longer have mandates against fossil fuel power generation and internal combustion engines. Companies will have to decide on their own if they want to continue. However leaders like Tesla will develop their EV technology and business but it remains to be seen if GM, Ford, and other traditional automakers will continue theirs.

The new SEC is expected to pursue a policy of not “regulating by enforcement.” This was something that the crypto and blockchain industry had to contend with during the Biden administration under the Gary Gensler led SEC. Basically there were no clear rules on what could be done and not done, and the SEC had wide discretion on whether they wanted to issue Wells notices that would often lead to legal action against private blockchain companies like Coinbase.

From a Supreme Court perspective, one of the more important rulings that came last June 2024 was the overturn of the 40 year old “Chevron deference” doctrine [ https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-451_7m58.pdf] which originally held that courts should defer to the pronouncements of government regulatory agencies in interpreting ambiguous statutes under their domain. The June 2024 SCOTUS ruling in LOPER BRIGHT ENTERPRISES ET AL. v. RAIMONDO, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, ET AL. now puts the responsibility of interpreting the statute unto the court making the decision itself.

Business is a journey with its own winding ups and downs. It is hard enough as it is to develop products and services for the market that people and customers like, market, price and position it properly, manufacture it at a good cost, and protect ourselves from legal and other concerns. We also need to factor in changes in government policy.

Those who have been in business for decades will tell you that.

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