I had a long conversation with Hillary Brenhouse this morning. She is doing research and interviews for a new book about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, its history through current events. The author of the book is Alyssa Katz, author of Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us(Bloomsbury,…
Poster child for the 1%
On this Day of Action for the Occupy movement fighting for the 99% of Americans outraged over corporate greed on Wall Street and in Congress that is destroying the middle-class, we now have a poster child for the 1%–Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The…
Rejecting NFIB spin
I met Zach Carter, a young journalist with the Huffington Post, back in April. We had lunch at a trendy deli in DC with David Levine (American Sustainable Business Council), Scott Klinger (Wealth for the Common Good) and Chuck Collins (Institute for Policy Studies). While we couldn’t get Zach interested…
Wake up, America, or lose the trade war
Below are some excerpts from an opinion editorial by former South Carolina U.S. Senator Ernest F. Hollings (1966-2005) that ran in today’s Charleston Post and Courier. Never one to mince words, Mr. Hollings lays the blame for our economic condition on the “free traders”. In his opinion, resurrecting our country’s manufacturing is the…
Challenging the U.S. Chamber
The nonprofit, membership-driven South Carolina Small Business Chamber will officially be supporting an IRS complaint against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. We, along with other business organizations, are questioning potential violations of exemptions under the federal tax law in the U.S. Chamber’s conduct of lobbying and campaign funding. More on…