A. Mcmullian on government-business relations
From Leaders and Legends - Amos McMullian · · Johns Hopkins University
“Our political leaders are not focusing on the answers; most of them are not even aware we have the problem. Over the last few decades, government has evolved into an adversarial relationship with business. I suggest to you that is something America can ill afford. In a global economy, we're going to have to have a government cooperating with business to start up new industries, build new plants, and train employees for the workforce so that we can compete on a global basis.”
On , A. Mcmullian, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of Board at FLOWERS FOODS INC, spoke about government-business relations during Leaders and Legends - Amos McMullian on Johns Hopkins University.
About A. Mcmullian
In a 2009 lecture at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Flowers Foods Chairman Emeritus Amos McMullian discussed the relationship between business and government, arguing that U.S. policies placed American companies at a competitive disadvantage. He stated that the United States had the second-highest corporate income tax rate among 25 industrialized nations and was the only one where businesses, rather than the government, paid for healthcare. McMullian said manufacturing jobs had declined from over 40% of the workforce to 17%, and he attributed this to cost advantages held by foreign competitors, adding that those jobs would not return without policy reforms. McMullian also offered advice on management and career development. He said that "opportunities come disguised as problems" and urged leaders to "learn to be bold" after understanding the difference between boldness and recklessness. He emphasized the importance of early accountability in business, stating that his company tested employees early so that mistakes were small and costs low. McMullian criticized what he described as an adversarial relationship between government and business, and he encouraged greater political involvement, noting that only 7% of Americans were active in politics while 97% followed sports.