US Chamber of Commerce Question

[mazzarro]

Since this outfit is a republican (I mean rethuglican) operation through and through, why is there no liberal counterpart to complete against it? I do not subscribe to the notion that the conserv-a-thieves have the corner on being the better operator of businesses. This is also the case with the Federalist Society until only recently did a liberal counterpart get started! Why are the liberals/progressives always so slow to counter these regressive outfits of the rethugs?

[Towlie]

1. Yeah! Let's have a "National Chamber of Commerce" or an "American Chamber of Commerce."

[elleng]

2. Not sure of the history exactly,

but there is NFIB, National Federation of Independent Businesses (I think.) They might have been set up as a counter, but might have been just as an alternative to the BIG elephant in the room.

[OlympicBrian]

3. Chambers purpose

Originally the Chamber was set up to further the interests of US business, with the domestic economy in mind...but it has increasingly shifted toward supporting large multi-nationals. That explains why they have said they would rather see a communist Chinese worker in place of an American.

[OlympicBrian]

4. Chambers purpose II

The US Chamber of Commerce has two main purposes, influencing elections, and lobbying. They primarily represent the interests of big business, but often lie and claim otherwise. I'm afraid we're all focused on the impact they will have on elections, but the real story is worse...

I just spoke with a representative from the DC office of my Senator, Patty Murray. He confirmed my worst suspicions related to another dire aspect of the US Chamber of Commerce controversy. You see, not only is the Chamber responsible for money flow to ads BEFORE the election (the origin of money which we don't know), but they are ALSO responsible for the flow of money through the political system AFTER the election, for lobbying (lawmaking) purposes. Essentially, the Chamber can buy out votes on specific issues. In fact, the Chamber is the LARGEST lobbying entity in the US, and probably in the world.

Not only that, but the restrictions on amounts and sources of money that pass through the Chamber for lobbying purposes are even more lax than those for election money--among other things, the sources can be foreign. Like the donations through the Chamber for elections, these sources can be unlimited in amount. So, for example, the position of a foreign company or interest on a particular bill can essentially be bought via contributions to the Chamber--in other words, foreigners can make US laws! Once again, since the Chamber is the largest lobbying entity, they are the most responsible for US laws, regardless of who we elect.

The Chamber has recently taken pro-offshoring, anti-US-job lobbying positions. They even have said they support hiring a foreign worker over an American. Not surprisingly, the Chamber shares interests with multinational corporations who employ communist Chinese production, for example. Googling the web, I found media posts showing that foreign governments and interests celebrate the actions of the Chamber. So while our Congress acts in lockstep with the Chamber lobbyists to hurt our economy, foreign countries get their payoffs via the Chamber. Did you know the US allows tax benefits for offshoring US jobs? Once again, the Chamber lobbied against a law to stop this.

Do we really want potentially secret, foreign money in our elections, and in our lawmaking as well?

"I hope we shall... crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and to bid defiance to the laws of our country."

- Thomas Jefferson, letter to George Logan. November 12, 1816