[shepwalker]

I'm a big 'ol fan of Stripe, but large scale change isn't going to happen through corporate self regulation.

I wish tech companies that insist they want to make large, positive changes would come to terms with the fact that putting pressure on political levers is fundamentally necessary. I would be far more aggressive in my support of this effort if it was explicitly "we're doing this effort to cover our own tracks and we're contributing to a PAC that will support politicians who prioritize sensible environmental policy."

[mikeg8]

I disagree. While there is no guarantee large scale change will be fully driven by corporate self regulation, I'd argue that corporate self regulation, and initiatives like this, have the potential to be substantially more impactful than waiting on help from dysfunctional big government.

yes we need political levers to move, but I'm not holding my breath, and I welcome any and all corporate efforts.

[mLuby]

>I wish tech companies that… want… large, positive changes would [accept] that putting pressure on political levers is fundamentally necessary.

I agree that corporate self-regulation is the laziest political solution. But instead of doubling down on a mistake, let's get all company hands off the political levers and have real separation of corp and state. Company influence on politics is an arms race that entrenches the most powerful firms, many of which are fundamentally opposed to climate change regulation.

[shepwalker]

Absolutely, agreed. But unilateral disarmament isn't the way to do so. If Stripe has a nice post about vehemently supporting politicians and policies that aim to get corporate money out of politics, they will quietly get my upvote and thoughtful nod of approval.

[mLuby]

100% I realize I was unclear that I meant corporate lobbying should be used to end corporate lobbying.

[rtpg]

OTOH let’s say you spent $1M a year on a PAC. In this political environment how far would you be able to go?

This feels like trying to establish some sort of technological catalyst. This also might not be enough but it’s something.

[shepwalker]

You can't throw a wifi-enabled juicer 5 feet without hitting half a dozen companies that are trying to be 'technological catalysts'. You're giving extra credit for unproven rate of return, which I'd still argue won't amount to meaningful change unless the political status quo is aggressively challenged.

The reason you spent $Xmil on a PAC is the same reason we (inclusive, hopefully) vote. Will one significantly contributor turn the tide? Probably not. But it requires good (corporate) citizens to put up or shutup instead of leveraging a tweak on a pet environmental project to gain a positive press cycle.