“The fish rots from the head,” so the saying goes, and in this country we’re seeing that axiom manifested almost every day.
But there’s another saying, “nature abhors a vacuum,” and the leadership gap left by our elected officials is being filled increasingly by leaders in the private sector.
Some examples:
► Kroger and Walgreens announced last week that they would stop selling e-cigarettes in light of the surge in severe lung illnesses associated with their use. They followed Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, by a couple of weeks in announcing a halt to sales of the products. And even before Walmart took action, Rite Aid, Dollar General and Costco had stopped selling e-cigarette products.
► Walmart announced last month that it would end sales of short-barrel rifle and handgun ammunition and that it was asking customers to refrain from openly carrying firearms at its stores unless they are law enforcement officers.
► Edward W. Stack, the CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, said last week that the retailer had destroyed more than $5 million in semiautomatic rifles and was considering whether to continue selling guns. Stack acknowledged that the step might not stop mass shootings, “But if we do these things and it saves one life, don’t you think it’s worth it?”
► Automakers Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen have volunteered to meet stricter tailpipe-emissions standards than those put forth by the Trump administration. They’re seeking to defuse a conflict between the Trump White House and the state of California, which has long set its own standards.
These decisions may just be good business for some of these enterprises, which have gauged that public sentiment is on their side. Nevertheless, we appreciate business executives stepping up to make hard, even controversial decisions. We see so little of that these days.
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