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The Influence Machine: The U.S. Chamber of…
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The Influence Machine: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Capture of American Life (edició 2015)

de Alyssa Katz (Autor)

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"The United States now has three political parties, though only two of them are elected.The newest was founded a century ago, but just came to power in the last decade: It's the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the political party of the new American oligarchy. In this groundbreaking investigation of the big business takeover of the American political process, Alyssa Katz draws upon years of research to chronicle the rise to power of the organization and the oversized, combative personalities who lead it. The Chamber -- through its secret corporate sponsors, from Philip Morris to Exxon to Wal-Mart -- can take credit for some of the most disturbing trends in American life: the reversal of environmental protections, the buying of judgeships, the destruction of unions and worker protections, the rise of virulent anti-government ideology, the toxic role of campaign cash, and the creation of "astroturf" groups, culminating in the Tea Party, as cover for advancing a corporate agenda. Through its propaganda, lobbying, and campaign cash, the Chamber has created a right-wing monster that even it struggles to control, a conservative movement that is destabilizing American politics as never before. The Chamber tells this history as a series of gripping narratives that take us into the backrooms of Washington where the battles over how our country is run and regulated are fought, and then out into the real world where we see how the Chamber's campaigns play out in real lives. But in the end, Katz also points to the possibility of reversing the influence of the Chamber and its affiliated groups, and fixing our democracy"--… (més)
Membre:ken_yatta
Títol:The Influence Machine: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Capture of American Life
Autors:Alyssa Katz (Autor)
Informació:Random House (2015), 336 pages
Col·leccions:La teva biblioteca
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The Influence Machine: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Capture of American Life de Alyssa Katz

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Undermining the government for fun and profit

The twin tactics of fear and secrecy are the success of the US Chamber of Commerce. Threatening elected officials with massive attack ad campaigns keeps them in line – the Republican line. Offering ironclad secrecy to firms with an agenda is immensely profitable. The chamber has morphed from representing business large and small to representing itself. It is the lobby with the biggest war chest, the most tentacles (worldwide according to Katz) and the most obnoxious tactics.

The chamber (in the person of its leader Tom Donohue, who is entirely responsible for this makeover,) goes on witch hunts in elections, in regulation, in the judiciary – anywhere that money can stymie change. It loves to exaggerate. Every little change in regulations will lead to “collapse” – one of its favorite words. Minor adjustments in regulations will lead to $100 billion or even a trillion dollars in damage to business. It exaggerates membership numbers to frighten the regulators, exaggerates funding to frighten opposition candidates, and exaggerates potential effects with unsubstantiated claims. The exaggeration is so blatant and farfetched, it is a wonder anyone in Washington listens to them at all. Except of course, for the fear factor, which gives everyone there a blind eye to the chamber’s remonstrations. It sees its main enemies as trial lawyers, unions, and “extreme environmentalists”, Donohue said in 1997. To put it in perspective, even the Reagan Administration thought the chamber extreme.

When all else fails, it sues. It is forever suing the federal government, over every move and regulation it wants to implement. It will sue over the interpretation of a comma. Judges get impatient and often throw the cases out, so the chamber goes after judges at election time, dumping enormous piles of money on otherwise quiet campaigns. Lies and innuendo promoting fear are its standard formula.

The book is very one-sided. Katz’s position and conclusion are clear from the outset. It is a very broad, topline history, without much depth and no discoveries. I don’t think there is anything here that hasn’t already been reported somewhere else. You would be hardpressed to point to anything positive by the US Chamber in the past 20 years from this book.

The irony is that the US Chamber is in the best position to play one party off against the other and score victory after victory for the business climate nationwide. Instead, it takes an entirely (Republican) political stance, limiting its own possibilities, alienating local chambers and damaging its own credibility. And in the process, hurting Americans in all walks of life on behalf of giant polluters and labor abusers and poisoners.

“We’re stuck with these insane loonies who will just block anything.” - John Parsons, MIT

David Wineberg ( )
  DavidWineberg | Apr 7, 2015 |
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"The United States now has three political parties, though only two of them are elected.The newest was founded a century ago, but just came to power in the last decade: It's the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the political party of the new American oligarchy. In this groundbreaking investigation of the big business takeover of the American political process, Alyssa Katz draws upon years of research to chronicle the rise to power of the organization and the oversized, combative personalities who lead it. The Chamber -- through its secret corporate sponsors, from Philip Morris to Exxon to Wal-Mart -- can take credit for some of the most disturbing trends in American life: the reversal of environmental protections, the buying of judgeships, the destruction of unions and worker protections, the rise of virulent anti-government ideology, the toxic role of campaign cash, and the creation of "astroturf" groups, culminating in the Tea Party, as cover for advancing a corporate agenda. Through its propaganda, lobbying, and campaign cash, the Chamber has created a right-wing monster that even it struggles to control, a conservative movement that is destabilizing American politics as never before. The Chamber tells this history as a series of gripping narratives that take us into the backrooms of Washington where the battles over how our country is run and regulated are fought, and then out into the real world where we see how the Chamber's campaigns play out in real lives. But in the end, Katz also points to the possibility of reversing the influence of the Chamber and its affiliated groups, and fixing our democracy"--

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