U.S. Chamber of Commerce Slammed for Advocating Anti-Business Policies
January 16, 2012
Around Town – By Neal Tepel
The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength released a statement slamming the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for advocating policies that are bad for American business. The group made the statement in response to the Chamber’s annual State of American Business address which was delivered by Chamber President Tom Donohue, a former lobbyist for the trucking industry. The Patriotic Millionaires, which includes some of the country’s most prestigious business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors, said:
“This morning, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue delivered the organization’s annual State of American Business address. In that address, he advocated for several policies the Chamber claims will be good for American business. In actuality, many of the policies the Chamber supports are bad for American business and bad for the American economy.
The Chamber does not speak for ‘American businesses’ but rather for a small number of multi-national corporations.The Chamber derives much of its credibility from the perception that it speaks on behalf of American business broadly. This perception is a myth. The Chamber is the highest paid lobbying firm in the country. The Chamber receives a significant portion of its funding from a very small number of multi-national corporations, and it is on behalf of these very narrow interests that the organization lobbies the U.S. Government. Its policies have hurt small businesses, suppressed competitive markets, and hampered economic growth.
It is disingenuous for the Chamber to present itself as the voice of American business. Public officials who perpetuate this myth do a disservice to the citizens they were elected to serve by creating a gross distortion in the public debate. Distortions of this type lead to the adoption of policies that are harmful to the country, to business and to capitalism itself. “
