The Chamber
Donohue has also suggested that presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would
implement the TPP — a major chamber priority — despite her current position of
opposing the agreement.
- The Intercept, Chamber of Commerce May Prefer Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump
By J.M. Hamilton (7-23-16)
The Reagan/Thatcher revolution has
suffered some setbacks as of late.
Thirty-six years of neo-liberal/laissez faire economics has led to a
massive revolt against the economic and political establishment. How do we know? We can see it at this year’s Republican
convention, with the nomination of Mr. Donald Trump; we can see it in the
Democratic platform, the most progressive document put forth by the Democratic
party in decades. Surely that document
was not written by the establishment’s candidate, Madame Clinton; but rather,
it was written and guided by the Sanders/Warren wing of the Democratic party.
And the revolt against crony capitalism,
and the Ayn Rand school of economics isn’t limited to America. Across the pond in Britain, the new Tory
Prime Minister, Ms. Theresa May, sounds more like a progressive from the Labour party of old, than the reactionary Margaret Thatcher. P.M. May replaced Mr. Cameron on the heels of
a Brexit vote, that rocked the E.U. and the European establishment to its
core. Post Brexit vote, the European elite quickly decided there would be no more referendums. Apparently, good government and democracy
shouldn’t be left in the hands of the people.
All kinds of unsettling things are likely to happen when decisions are
left in the hands of the 99%, who have suffered stagnating wages, record
unemployment and underemployment, the evisceration of the middle class, and
rising wage & wealth inequality. The
mood among citizens of Western democracies is rather nasty.
Demagogues on the right often attempt to
distract voters from the failings of neo-liberal economic policies that have
brought decay, ruin, and a lack of opportunity to voter’s lives – by blaming
immigrants. In America this is
particularly ridiculous, as we are a nation of immigrants. (However, there is something to be said for
having some control over ones borders, as unlimited immigration is a threat to
a nation’s social safety net, and citizen’s wages.) While moderates and left of center candidates
place blame on federal and state governments - co-opted and
run by the billionaire class and for the billionaire class, the monopoly
economy, and free trade agreements that benefit an elite few (aka crony capitalism). That said, both Senator
Sanders and Mr. Trump have both placed a considerable amount of blame on free
trade agreements that have gutted America’s middle class, and a foreign policy
establishment and military industrial complex (MIC) that has run completely off
the rails. The MIC, in particular,
consumes extraordinary amounts of discretionary federal spending that could be
better put to use on social services, college education, rebuilding America’s
crumbling infrastructure, or paying down the national debt. Under the current rigged system, as acknowledged
by Messrs. Trump and Sanders, democracy is for sale to the highest bidder.
In America, there is no greater example
of the rigged economy than the largest lobbying/trade organization, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, led by the septuagenarian, Mr. Thomas Donohue. The U.S. Chamber (not to be confused w/ local chapters representing Main Street interests) is a two hundred-million-dollar lobbying juggernaut, and its influence and power over the three branches of American
government is extraordinary.
If there is a political revolt in this
country, against the governing establishment, how much longer before there is a
revolt against the economic order and the billionaires, who have rigged the
rules in their favor? The Chamber’s
influence over a Wild West economic policy is unprecedented,
and there is no greater representative of the Monopoly economy’s interests then
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A careful
examination of the Chamber’s policies and positions, under the Donohue administration,
illustrates exactly why America finds itself in the situation it’s in today: in
a near revolutionary state w/ an outright revolt against the establishment.
Let’s go there, and review the Chamber’s
positions & policies:
1) Free Trade – There has been
perhaps no greater threat to the interests of ordinary Americans than the free trade agreements negotiated over the last three decades (free trade is little more than tax, wage, & regulatory arbitrage). These agreements have led to the export of
millions of American jobs offshore, and hollowed out the middle class; and
while it’s true that the payback has been a surfeit of inexpensive imports
dumped in America, it’s hard to pay for these goods when one is unemployed or
underemployed. I wonder if Mr. Donohue
sleeps well at night knowing that 20 to 25% of American children live in
poverty? Poverty often brought upon these
children by Mr. Donohue and the Chamber’s advocacy for free trade agreements, and assorted policies that have brought ruin to this country’s middle class and its tax base.
2) Deregulation – What’s more laissez faire than no
rules or regulations, and who is a greater advocate of deregulation than the
Chamber? Whether its advocacy for the
repeal of Glass Steagall, or a strong position against Dodd-Frank, the Chamber
can be counted on to best represent Wall Street’s interests against the
American people. It is this advocacy –
whether it be for the financialization of the economy (aka the debt driven
economy), or the elimination of rules & regs surrounding swap and derivatives
– that played a significant role in the 2008 calamity and economic collapse. And when the Chamber's Wall Street
contributors do write financial regulations for the U.S. Congress, it is often
riddled w/ loopholes, deliberately vague, and so cumbersome, so as establish
barriers to entry against competition.
3) Corporate Tax Loopholes & Corporate Tax Avoidance
- Want to know the architect and defender of
today’s corporate tax avoidance, and dodge, schemes? You guessed it, the Chamber is a huge
advocate of America’s corporate tax policy, where it’s widely known that the
crème de la crème of the Fortune 500 - via a catalogue of loopholes &
offshore havens - cut their effective tax rate down considerably or dodge
paying taxes altogether. As JMH has
pointed out many times before, when the wealthy pay no taxes this means the
middle class – and those least able to pay - have to pick up the slack, often
via regressive tax structures. As the
U.S. is a consumer economy, higher taxes on the upper middle class, and the
middle class, means lower consumer demand and lower aggregate spending, and in
turn, economic stagnation. All so that
Mr. Donohue’s plutocratic donors can salt away billions upon billions more. Supply side economics/Voodoo economics/Trickle- Down tax policies have failed America.
4) The Fear Card –
The Chamber loves to play this card, and it plays it often. Want to motivate a congressperson or a
senator to adopt the Chamber’s polices, threaten jobs loss. And nobody plays this card better than Mr.
Donohue and the Chamber. If the Chambers
supporters don’t get their way, Mr. Donohue is quick to state that it will
result in the loss of jobs, and the government – be it federal or state – will
be directly responsible. Tax policy,
deregulation, judicial rulings impacting commerce… the Chamber’s refrain is
always the same: any policy, regulation
or ruling against the Chamber’s constituency will result in jobs loss. The irony of course, is that the Chamber,
since Reagan, has had its way with America and largely dictated American
economic policy, and often to a ruinous end for many Americans, particularly in
regards employment, depressed wages, and employment opportunity.
The Chamber’s free trade and pro-globalization policies alone have
resulted in the export of millions of jobs offshore.
5) K Street Lobbying – As mentioned, until Mr. Donohue
came on board, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was largely a trade association;
but with his arrival, the Chamber has become the largest lobbying organization
in America, w/ out-sized political influence over the government and the
government’s pro-plutocratic policies. Citizens
United, McCutcheon, and now the latest ruling absolving a former VA governor of pay-to-play, these SCOTUS rulings have only served to make the Chamber’s lobbying power that much greater. In
short, no politician, no matter how venal or corrupt, thanks to SCOTUS is being
held to account; and those few politicians who would like to honor democratic
principles, and their constituency back home, are run over and rolled by the K Street machine. In short, play ball with
the Chamber & K Street, or the Chamber will finance and sponsor your
opposition at the next election.
6) Big Pharma – Some of the worst and most rapacious villains
on the business stage today are no longer Wall Street executives, although they
still get their fair share of attention, but rather, Big Pharma
executives. Messrs. Shkreli and Pearson
(the latter of Valeant Pharmaceutical fame) has certainly gotten the bulk of
the attention, but the fraud and habitual ripping off of Americans by many drug manufactures has become standard operating procedure. Moreover, many of these corporations no
longer plow a portion of their profits back into R&D, or the discovery of
life saving medicines and therapies; but rather, financial engineering w/in the
Pharma industry (aka stock buybacks, M&A, layoffs and pinks slips) is de rigueur. Standing by Big Pharma’s side, as the price
of medicine skyrockets many multiples over…. You guessed it, The Chamber of
Commerce (and its Ayn Rand philosophy).
When progressives make the case for a single payer healthcare system,
the primary blame for ever escalating medical costs within the private provider
healthcare system is Big Pharma. And Big
Pharma’s champion is the Chamber.
7) Privatization – Yup.
The Chamber is huge proponent of privatization. Republicans, particularly the base, wonder
why government never shrinks. Democrats
wonder why there is no money for infrastructure improvement or social spending
for those in need. The answer can
largely be attributed to the privatization of our government, where military
contractors, privatized prisons, and surveillance contractors lead to problems
like war w/out end, mass incarceration, and a surveillance state run amuck. It’s hard enough to roll back government when
some faceless government bureaucracy, and its staff, are running the show, but
when a private contractor takes over a government function forget about
it. Once privatization takes hold of an
agency or government bureau, rolling back big government - no matter how redundant
or insidious the program - means killing jobs, opportunity, and private
enterprise. And what tax-free
organization – nonprofit – pushes privatization? We already know the answer: The Chamber.
8) The Monopoly Economy - The Chamber's advocacy for the laissez faire
economy, means that businesses - by divine right - may merge and acquire,
infinitum. Since Michael Milken invented
the junk bond in the 80s, and w/ the advent of hyper-accommodative Federal Reserve policies, the number of mergers & acquisitions has soared in this
country, so that the number of stock listings on American stock exchanges has
been crushed. Of course, JMH has written
extensively about the harmful effects the monopoly economy has on consumers,
opportunity, jobs, creativity, a diversity of products & services, investors,
and the resulting collusion against clients and the public in the market
place. All that, and more: Because monopolies charge monopolistic profits, which are a tax upon Americans' stagnating income. Bottom line:
Not only are your stagnating wages stretched to pay Uncle Sam (because
multinational corporations often dodge paying their fair share), but one’s
paycheck is stretched thinner still to pay monopolies & oligopolies like
Big Pharma, Big Oil, the Wall Street cartel, the Cable utility, and the
Airline & Rental car cartels, etc., etc., etc. Thank the Chamber and Mr. Donohue.
9) Retrograde Industries - The Chamber lobbies for some of the nastiest
dead-end industries in the nation today.
Not only does the Chamber lobby for these industries, but it often takes
positions for these industries that the industries themselves wouldn’t dare
take (for fear of offending stockholders/investors). Big Oil, Big Coal, Big Tobacco, Banking… you
name it. If it’s industry with a
serious PR problem, often because said industry’s products and services are
highly detrimental to the consumer and society at large – say firearms – these
industries can count on the Chamber to be their champion. In fact, the Chamber, and Mr. Donohue, goes out of its way push their cause. As long
as the money is there, seemingly no argument is too crazed or deranged (e.g.
the Chamber still does not acknowledge climate change and fights vigorously
anti-tobacco laws, rules & regs). As for the social costs - the resulting blood bath caused by the firearms
industry, the Wall Street bailouts, reduced life expectancy and higher medical costs associated with tobacco consumption – well, that’s not the Chamber’s
concern. The social costs are for the
taxpayer and the U.S. government to pick up.
Just like when Mr. Jamie Dimon pays his employees a non-living wage to pad J.P. Morgan’s profits… no worries,
the government and the taxpayer will keep his employees alive, w/ food stamps for his tellers.
10)
Opaque - Like the Elite themselves, and our government in the service of the elite, the Chamber is opaque. We don’t know who funds it. It’s a non-profit, so the Chamber doesn’t
have to reveal who its contributors are.
However, we do know a few, like:
Bill & Melinda Gates; the Koch brothers; Karl Rove (aka Turd
Blossom); and Steven Cohen (of Hedge Fund fame). As mentioned above, the Chamber operating out
of Washington takes a lot of unsavory positions… positions that favor certain
industries, but which the industries themselves don’t want to be associated
with for fear of alienating consumers & investors. By making the Chamber fully transparent, along with its contributors, imagine how quickly some of the Chamber's more harmful positions might evaporate? Like turning
a bright light on in a pest or rodent infested kitchen in the middle of the
night, those positions – as well as the Chamber’s support - might scatter rather
quickly.
11)
Foreign Policy – Tied into the
privatization position above, one reason that America might find itself
perennially at war is that for every U.S. troop that goes into battle, there
could be anywhere between one and three private contractors following said
soldier. Obviously, that’s a lot of
contractors to feed, who are dependent upon endless war, which – along with the
MIC - might explain why America is
unable to extricate itself from both Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Donohue’s foreign policy adventures go
beyond government privatization, however, and are often more direct. Like when Mr. Putin invaded the Ukraine, and
POTUS Obama launched economic sanctions against Russia in retaliation, Mr. Donohue was quick to support the Russian dictator (largely out of fear that
said economic sanctions would screw up a large deal between the Russian
government and Exxon Mobil). You see, in
Mr. Donohue’s world profits always come before human rights, questions of
sovereignty, or concern for global citizens taking a stand against an
oppressive authoritarian regime.
Undoubtedly, some of the multinationals that support the Chamber’s
positions have relations with some of the world’s most egregious dictatorships
(w/ some of the worst human rights records).
Undoubtedly. And the Chamber can
be counted on to represent these business interests with some of the most
repugnant dictatorships on the planet.
Upon reviewing the aforementioned
policies and positions, it can be easily argued that no other institution in
America (save the money hungry Congress) has played a greater role in gutting the U.S. middle class than the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. Mr. Donohue's reign coincided with the biggest financial collapse, since the great depression, and ever rising wage & wealth inequality; the policies the Chamber advocated played a very large role in these economic events.
The Chambers positions have become so
untenable that some high profile members have quit supporting the
non-profit. Among them: Apple, CVS, Nike, Pacific Gas & Electric,
and Exelon.
Who’s next? Given some of the Chamber’s more repugnant positions, how much longer before other members quit? After all, who wants to be associated w/ an
organization that is largely responsible for the death of the American dream
and pillaging the country?
More to the point, there’s an anti-establishment backlash underway throughout the political world: Republicans are throwing out the party elite
for a presidential candidate who has never held office; Madame Hillary Clinton damn near
lost her race against the U.S. Senator from Vermont, Mr. Bernie Sanders; and the,
formerly, all powerful Mr. Ailes has been shown the door at Fox News, over allegations
of sexual misconduct. And we all know how the Brexit vote turned out.
With the establishment being purged, or
forced to clean up its act, how much longer before Mr. Donohue is shown the door? That is to say, there’s reasonable
advocacy for one’s clients, and then there’s a mania bordering on the
irresponsible and the negligent.
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2016
Note to my
readers: JMH does enjoy a good cigar on
occasion. While I’m all for educating
the public on the health risks associated with tobacco, and taxing same to pay
for the social costs, your humble blogger does not call for tobacco’s outright
ban. Some sins must be permitted, as long as the public is educated on the risks going in.
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