AOL's Tim Armstrong is one of more than100 business leaders who have signed the pledge. | AP Photo Close
By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 8/25/11 6:19 AM EDT Updated: 8/26/11 5:56 AM EDT
More than 100 business leaders have signed on to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s pledge to stop making donations to incumbents until Washington gridlock eases, sending a message to lawmakers that they must make real progress in reining in deficit spending.
“As many of our political leaders campaign and vacation, the U.S. economy remains in a cycle of fear and uncertainty,” Schultz wrote in a Wednesday letter addressed to “fellow leaders.” And his initiative, he said, has “triggered a national dialogue and a groundswell of support” since he launched it last week.
In all, more than 100 business leaders have agreed to the pledge, which not only has leaders agreeing to stop campaign contributions until lawmakers “strike a bipartisan, balanced long-term debt deal that addresses both entitlements and revenues,” but also has the leaders agreeing to find ways to accelerate job growth in their companies and the economy as a whole.
“We can provide strong leadership on the employment challenges our nation faces,” Schultz said. “While economic headwinds affect each of our companies in distinct ways, we can all think creatively about how to accelerate job creation and growth as a collective engine for the country. We have to pull this economy forward. We have to lead.”
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