Comment on To maintain democracy this election, small businesses and entrepreneurs deserve our attention

History shows that businesses that don’t stand up to political leaders suffer the consequences. In October, Trump’s allies threatened to terminate Deloitte’s government contracts—worth about $3 billion annually—if Trump is elected to a second term. Why? Because one of their 457,000 employees made old messages with JD Vance public. As part of his authoritarian playbook for 2025, Trump has pledged to wield the power of government against his perceived enemies, such as by directing the Justice Department to prosecute opponents and the Federal Communications Commission to revoke broadcast licenses.

The Harris campaign proposed policies and programs to uplift new startups—community leaders should get on board, too. With less than a week remaining before the 2024 election, one of the biggest tragedies unfolding in the U. S. is the overshadowing of vital issues by polarization. As a country, we’ve historically faced division across different areas, whether economically or socially, which is to be expected.

Women are now in a position to solve female-related problems with products at mass scale. Two new books bring the rising femtech category into the mainstream. Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of startup activity addressing issues of the “female” sort. For the first time in history, women at a mass scale have the power to create businesses to solve their problems.

A new material developed at UC Berkeley could help bring down the cost of capturing carbon dioxide from the air. Earlier this year, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, filled a device with bright-yellow powder, connected it to a tube, and stuck the tube through the wall of a lab.

By the 1800s, the Day of the Dead markets in Mexico City were also selling clothing, shoes, furniture, tools, home decor, and many other things. As a Mexican-American who celebrates Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, at the end of October and beginning of November, I’ve noted an increasing concern the past several years that the holiday is becoming more commercialized.

Highway expansions emit a lot of carbon in their production. California prides itself on its climate leadership. And the state’s work on transportation—its largest source of emissions—is no exception; its electric vehicle policies have been adopted by other states across the country. Sacramento lawmakers have also taken ambitious steps to reduce car use altogether, developing regulations aimed at reshaping communities to encourage walking, biking, and taking public transportation.