25 Apr 2012 Shareholders Will Ask GE CEO Jeff Immelt to Abandon Crony Capitalism at GE’s Annual Meeting

Washington, D.C. – The National Center for Public Policy Research plans to urge GE CEO Jeff Immelt to abandon crony capitalism at the company’s annual shareholder meeting today in Detroit, MI.

“Using the government to pass laws mandating the purchase of products that GE makes is classic crony capitalism, and Immelt must end this practice. Depending on government action for creating markets is shortsighted and it’s doomed to fail in the long-run, ” said Tom Borelli, Ph.D., director of the Free Enterprise Project.

“GE risks alienating costumers by looting the public treasury to subsidize its business and by using the government to pass laws that mandate demand for products the company produces,” added Dr. Borelli.

Immelt has close access to President Obama and serves as chairman of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

“The public is fuming over special interest influence in our government,” added Deneen Borelli, full-time fellow of the National Center-sponsored African-American leadership group, Project 21, and author of the new book Blacklash, which features Immelt in a chapter called “Green Liberal Lies.”

The GE shareholder meeting is being held today, April 25 at 10:00 AM EST at the Renaissance Center.

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a GE shareholder.

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a conservative, free-market, non-profit think-tank established in 1982. It is supported by the voluntary gifts of over 100,000 individual recent supporters. In 2011 it received over 350,000 individual donations. Two percent of its revenue comes from corporate sources. Contributions to it are tax-deductible.

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