Chapter 5 The Politics of Organized Combat

1. Businesses see themselves as under attack. Consistent with the article by David Plotke. Losing ground on regulations regarding the environment, occupational safety, and consumer protection, • From Plotke: • “Profits were lower in the 1970s than in the 1960s • The interest organizations of business were weak. • Public distrust of business had reached unprecedented levels. • Major new social and economic regulations had been put in place or proposed, and further regulatory measures seemed possible.” • Ultimately, businesses felt threatened by the zeitgeist of the times and saw organization as the key to their survival. Chapter 5 The Politics of Organized Combat

2. Hacker and Pierson identify the Powell memo as coming during a period when business felt that it was under attack and immediate action was required for survival. In this context we see the beginnings of this movement as being something other than greed and corruption. It was a political movement of organizations seeking to address what they saw as legitimate grievances. The powell memo

3. http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_accountability/powell_memo_lewis.htmlhttp://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_accountability/powell_memo_lewis.html • Use the hyperlink, cut and paste, or google the Powell memo, read it, and be able to answer these questions for the exam. • What did Powell see as being “under broad attack”? • What were the “perfectly respectable elements of society… joining the chorus of criticism” of the capitalist system? • Which two institutions does Powell identify as being supported by corporate largesse and should be supporting rather than combating a corporate agenda? • Which institution does Powell see as being most important in exerting its influence? • What are the five centers of real power and influence that Powell identifies? The powell memo

4. The Powell memo could be seen as The Communist Manifesto, by Marx in reverse. Much as Marx rallied workers to understand their potential political power in their numbers, the Powell memo advocated for businesses to recognize their political power inherent in their economic resources. “Corporate leaders became advocates not just for the narrow interests of their firms but also for the shared interests of business as a whole.” This was a shift from pluralism to elitism as corporations pooled resources to seek deregulation, tax cuts, and the ability to bust unions. Organization as a response to shared threats. Businessmen of the world unite!

5. Oil crisis as window of opportunity (focusing event) to remake government. High levels of dissatisfaction by voters who do not understand what a supply shock is, change is welcomed as current situation is suboptimal. Reframing the oil crisis as “the failure of the New Deal” legitimized its dismantling. For those who do not understand economics, it was easy to claim that Keynesian economic policies were the cause of the stagflation. The 1970s

6. “Within a few years, these classically top-down organizations were to thrive at generating ‘bottom up’-style campaigns that not only matched the efforts of their rivals but surpassed them.” The development of think tanks and idea factories. Moving from the process of asking a question and finding an answer to having an answer and reverse-engineering the question to get us there. “To persuade rather than to investigate.” astroturfing

7. Outmatched in resources and lobbyists Mostly lost as the result of freshmen Congressmen. 248 pieces of mail to 1. Aggressive, take no prisoners, style of lobbying by industry. Giving no quarter. No compromise. Just defeat the other side. “I cannot sit there seeking unity with the leaders of American industry, while they try to destroy us and ruin the lives of the people I represent.” On taxes: “They were braced for an attack; when the attack never came, they decided to invade!” Troubles for labor

8. A level of concern by the middle class of increasing tax burdens translates to policies of tax deductions for the super rich and corporations. Reducing the tax rates and broadening the base is what Republicans run on. It has a nice ring and economists keep talking about it, so it must be a good idea. It actually means raising tax rates on the poor and middle class while reducing the tax rates of the wealthy. Public concern