The Democrats’ impeachment of Donald Trump has made us all familiar with Joe Biden’s son, Hunter — for his Burisma boardroom gig, anyway. Raking in millions despite lack of knowledge of the country or the business of the Ukrainian corporation in question certainly has the appearance of corruption.
But don’t forget Chelsea Clinton, also recently in the news.
“Chelsea Clinton reaps $9 million from corporate board position,” read the headline at The Hill, referring to her position on the board of IAC/InterActiveCorp (ticker: IACI). That’s a bit of spin, since the Barron’s article it’s based on has a more informational headline: “Chelsea Clinton’s IAC Stock Is Now Worth $9 Million,” which clearly shows that it is not her $50,000 per annum retainer that’s making her rich.
It’s her annual booty of $250,000 in restricted IAC stock units that’s the source of her boon.
And the fact that IAC stock has increased “89%, 50%, and 36% in 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively.”
Since the company is going gangbusters, her position doesn’t look worthless.
But why would she be valuable?
There’s no more evidence for her ‘business genius’ than for Hunter’s.*
It’s connections that matter, especially those that make up the systemic corporatism of our Big Business/Big Government reality.
And that family angle? Well, economist Joseph Schumpeter argued that class is based on family success, coordinated and accumulated generation by generation. But since the advantages that the children of Democratic pols bring to corporations actually depend on government policy, this makes modern technocracy look less democratic and more old-fashioned oligarch.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
* Chelsea Clinton holds a Doctor of Philosophy in international relations from the University of Oxford. And, by the way, she also doesn’t “care” about money.
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