This is a first-time presidential endorsement for the firm.
This
is the fourth presidential election during the existence of Union
Square Ventures and the first one in which we as a firm feel compelled
to endorse a candidate: Hillary Clinton.
As investors in
technology companies, we believe that technology and innovation create
broad opportunity and improve lives. But we also know that, to date, the
benefits of technology and globalization have not been evenly
distributed. People with access to education and capital have prospered
while many others have seen good jobs lost to automation or offshoring.
We understand why people whose lives have been upended are frustrated by
politicians who squabble for partisan advantage instead of developing
consensus solutions. We are not surprised that many feel the urge to
reboot the whole system.
We agree that more of the same is not the
answer. In the next few years, we need to make the necessary smart
policy adjustments to ensure that the benefits of technology and
innovation are shared by society as a whole.
Shutting out the
world is not an option. We don’t think it’s desirable, or even possible,
to return to an earlier era when America was less diverse, or the
economy was less global. There is no wall big enough to protect us from a
changing climate or the unintended consequences of new technologies
like artificial intelligence or DNA manipulation. Now, more than ever,
we must work together. We cannot unilaterally set the rules for the
other seven billion people on the planet. The only way forward is
through an open, respectful, and rational dialogue grounded in science.
Of
the two major party candidates, we believe that only Hillary Clinton
has the temperament and experience to lead us at home and represent us
abroad.
We hope that everyone, no matter how frustrated with our
current politics, will get out and vote. We applaud the movement to give
employees extra time off on election day. If you’re not registered and don’t see the point, we hope you will reconsider and register here or here. This is an important election and we need to make a choice among the two leading candidates -- we believe that a protest vote is a wasted vote -- and for us the clear choice is Hillary Clinton.
