Page numbers in italics indicate figures.
ABC (American Business Conference), 214, 233–35, 242, 245
Abramoff, Jack, 10
A. C. Nielsen (firm), 239
advertising: anti-CPA, 163–64, 169; consumer and economic education via, 70, 70–71, 73, 151; on federal deficit, 224–25; personalized terms in, 145; PIC’s use of, 96; political, 250; on wage-price controls, 115
Aetna, 235
Afghanistan War, 260
AFL-CIO: conservative leadership of, 18; labor law reform and, 128–29; merger as model for other organizations, 47, 86–87; NAFTA and, 245, 247; reaffiliation of, 54, 276n20; wage-price controls and, 116, 117, 121. See also CIO; Meany, George
Agnew, Spiro, 166
Airline Deregulation Act (1978), 185
Air Quality Act (1967), 32
Akroyd, Dan, 141
Albertine, John, 234
Alcoa, 77, 234–35, 238. See also Harper, John D.
Alexander, Henry, 21
Alexander, Magnus, 15
Allen, James, 157–60, 172, 292n51
AMA (American Medical Association), 26–27
American Bankers Association, 135
American Bar Association, 189–90
American Business Conference (ABC), 214, 233–35, 242, 245
American Business Network, 63
American Conservative Union, 39
American Council for Capital Formation, 229, 232, 249. See also Walker, Charls E.
American Enterprise Institute, 7, 74, 298n41
American Legislative Exchange Council, 7
American Liberty League, 16, 18, 52
American Medical Association (AMA), 26–27
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009), 257
American Retail Federation, 135
American Smelting and Refining, 79
American Stock Exchange (AMEX), 215, 233
American Tobacco Institute, 250
Anderson, Jack, 59
Anderson, James, 194
Anderson, John, 211
antibusiness bias: anticorporate populism as, 1; antimonopolist spirit in, 6; business leaders’ response to, 37–42; economic literacy distinguished from, 72–73; elitism charged against, 42–44; regulations blamed on, 14–15. See also populism
antilabor efforts: business’s focus on, 50, 52–54, 67, 88–89, 98–99, 258–59; indirect lobbying in, 126–30; labor costs protested in, 82, 83–84; nationalization of, 99. See also Labor Law Study Committee
antistatism: “Big Brother” and “national nanny” invoked, 164, 165, 172; “big government” critiqued, 166–67, 169–72, 186, 192; conservatives’ touting of, 7–8; deregulation arguments, 184–86; fuel for and persistence of, 17, 19; liberalism challenged, 142–43; Reagan’s antiregulatory rhetoric as, 163; tax cuts demanded, 208–12. See also populism
antitax movement: capital accumulation, 203–8; in ERTA and TEFRA context, 212–20; supply-side ideas, 208–12. See also federal budget; taxes and taxation
Armstrong Cork, 156
Around the World in 80 Days (Verne), 155
Arthur Andersen (firm), 188, 195, 234
AT&T, 40–42, 77, 185, 245. See also deButts, John; Lund, Paul
Atkinson, Fred, 79
“Attack on American Free Enterprise System” (Powell Memorandum), 58–60, 61, 63, 68, 258, 277n33
automobile industry: bailouts of, 174–79, 256, 257; differential impact of standards on, 190; foreign competition in, 174–75, 223, 238, 251; industrial policy and, 242; Nader’s exposé of safety issues, 38, 148; Tax Reform Act and, 230–31
BAC. See Business Advisory Council
bailouts: Chrysler, 174–77, 257; corporate debates about, 176, 177–79; opposition to, 176, 177, 178, 256
Baker, Howard, 28
Baker, James A., 127, 214, 216, 303n41
balanced budget amendment, 223
Ball Corporation, 178. See also Fisher, John
Bank of America, branches firebombed, 40
Baroody, William J., Jr., 167, 181
Baroody, William J., Sr., 74
Bates, Wallace, 123
Becker, Carl, 232
Bell, Daniel, 42
Bernstein, Carl, 68
Bethlehem Steel, 24, 156. See also Foy, Lewis
“bigness,” critiques of, 166–67, 169–72, 186, 192
BIPAC. See Business-Industry Political Action Committee
Bipartisan Campaign Finance (McCain-Feingold) Act (2002), 255
Blough, Roger: Business Roundtable position of, 87, 97, 258; on Business Roundtable structure, 95; on CEOs’ compensation, 82; as CUAIR leader, 84–85, 90; as March Group member, 77, 88, 94; politics of, 94; in steel crisis with Kennedy, 24; wage-price controls and, 118–19, 123
Blount, Winton M. “Red,” 83–84, 85
Bolling, Richard, 292n45
Booth, Arch: background, 60–61, 63; on consumers, 151; on inflation, 109–10; in PSA, 70, 71
Borch, Fred: background, 90–91; Business Roundtable position of, 87, 97, 204; call for political mobilization, 90, 91–92; on CUAIR strategy, 85; diversification into financial services, 236; as March Group member, 87–88, 89, 90
Boulware, Lemuel Ricketts, 89, 92
Brenner, Robert, 180
Bretton Woods agreement (1944), 34, 107
Breyer, Stephen, 184
Brinkley, Alan, 6
Brophy, Theodore: call to cut federal spending, 222; Dole’s memo to, 218; on ERTA and TEFRA, 212–13, 217, 220; Reagan’s meeting with, 216; on tax deductions and depreciation, 206
Brownlee, Elliot, 231
Buckley, James, 160
Buckley, William F., Jr., 116
Buckley v. Valeo (1976), 10
Budget Act (1990), 226
Bumpers, Dale (Bumpers Amendment), 189–91, 194
Burke-Hartke bill, 243
Burns, Arthur F., 92, 119, 239
Bush, George H. W.: BIPAC support for, 28; free trade issues, 244–45; as Reagan’s vice president, 192, 212; Regulatory Relief Task Force under, 193–96; tax and budget proposals and policies of, 211–12, 226, 232; TEFRA lobbying and, 219
Bush, George W., 260
business: concept, 6; context of 1960s, 20–25; deceptive trade practices targeted, 147–48; full employment bill opposed, 130–32; inflation as framed by, 111–13; liberal consensus framework on, 18–19; wage-price controls accepted, 115–17; wage-price controls opposed, 118–23. See also business leaders; capitalism; corporations; free enterprise system
Business Advisory Council (BAC, later Business Council): accommodationist stance of, 19; CEOs’ frustration with, 89; Chamber compared with, 64; consumerism and response of, 150; Cordiner removed from leadership of, 88; Johnson’s relations with, 25; Kennedy’s relations with, 22, 24; limits of, 54, 91–92; origins and operation of, 22–23; socializing among members, 90; Treasury Consultant group, 85; voluntary restraint requested of, 134
business associations. See employers’ associations; policy institutes; trade associations; and specific organizations
Business Coalition on Regulatory Reform, 194–95
“Business-Consumer Relations Code” (Chamber), 150
Business Council on National Issues (Canada), 244
Business-Government Relations Council, 29, 272n42
Business-Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC): educational arm of, 126; establishment and goals, 27–29, 47; Political Education Division, 60; reinvestment in, 60; struggles of, 91
business leaders: bailouts debated among, 176, 177–79, 256, 257; case against liberal economic policies, 35–37, 36; challenges and contradictions, 3–7; cultural changes in 1970s, 37–45; demographics, 43–44; divisions among, 54–55, 200, 210–11, 219–20, 221, 224, 226–28, 230–32, 247–50; financial crisis in 2008–9 and, 257–58; global changes overlooked, 180–81, 227–28; lobbying boom despite unity’s decline among, 231–32, 247–50; perceived isolation from politics, 21–25; as political candidates, 1–2; remaking public image of, 48–49, 66–71; single-employer generation of, 91, 227; social gatherings, 76–77, 85, 88, 92–93 (see also Links Club). See also capitalism; chief executive officers; crisis of confidence; lobbyists and lobbying; political mobilization; and specific individuals and organizations
Business Roundtable: ABC compared, 234; Chamber–White House alliance and, 214; composition of, 95–96, 99–100; current status, 257; decline of influence, 225–26; divisions in, 224; early years, summarized, 97–100; establishment and origins, 77, 78–82, 87; institutional grounding for, 30–31; leadership listed (1973), 104–5; leadership listed (1988), 253–54; leadership transitions, 233, 235; March Group integrated with, 94, 104–5; member corporations listed (2013), 261–64; member corporations listed (original), 101–4; member corporation types, 235; as model for Europe, 252; Nader vs., 39; offices, 174; organizational structure, 94–97, 118; Public Information Committee (PIC) of, 95, 96; Reagan and, 220–21; significance of, 3, 7, 78; voluntary restraint requested of, 134, 135, 136. See also Construction Users’ Anti-Inflation Roundtable; Labor Law Study Committee; Policy Committee
—specific issues: antilabor views, 98–99, 258–59; budget deficit and high interest rates, 215, 222–26; Chrysler bailout, 174–77; common situs picketing, 127–28; corporate responsibility, 237–38; cost-benefit analysis, 182–83; CPA, 156, 162–64, 167, 169, 171–72; DEFRA, 223–24; deregulation, 185; environmentalism, 197–98; ERTA, 212–13; free trade, 243–47; full employment bill, 130–31; health care, 258; industrial policy, 242–43; labor law reform, 129; partisan politics, 94; product liability and tort law, 198–99; regulatory reform, 186, 187–91, 192; regulatory relief bill, 194–96; taxation, 204, 206, 207–8, 212–13, 215–16; tax reform, 229–30; TEFRA, 217–18; wage-price controls, 118–19, 120, 122, 123
Business Week, 116, 128, 129, 240
CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board), 31, 133, 185, 186
California: property tax cuts in, 209
campaign finance issues, 10–11, 26–27, 98, 250, 255–56. See also electoral politics
Campbell’s Soup. See Murphy, William Beverly
capital accumulation movement: context, 203–6; described, 206–8
Capital Cost Recovery Act (proposed), 207–8, 210–11, 212
capitalism: American agreement on, 72; democracy in tension with, 2; depression-era defense of, 51–52; managerial to shareholder shift in, 236–38; multinational firms and, 248; redefined in 1980s, 202. See also crisis of confidence; economy; free enterprise system; global capitalism; global economy
Carnegie, Andrew, 23
Carolina Power and Light, 87, 135
Carter, Jimmy: as anti-big government, 186; Chrysler bailout and, 175, 177; common situs picketing bill and, 127; CPA and, 168–70; “crisis of confidence” speech of, 166; election, 46; federal agencies created by, 196; full employment bill signed, 131; income inequality under, 40; inflation and, 106, 110–11, 132–33; malaise symbolized by, 16, 139, 142; on national limits, 180; reelection bid, 202; regulatory reform of, 187–91; tax policies of, 208, 211, 302n34; voluntary restraint appeals of, 132–37
Cary, Frank T., 187–88, 190, 192
Caterpillar Tractor. See Morgan, Lee
CED (Committee for Economic Development), 19, 54, 64, 91
CFPB. See Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Chamber of Commerce. See U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Chandler, Alfred D., Jr., 16, 227
Cheney, Dick, 166
Chicago Tribune, 196
chief executive officers (CEOs): compensation questions, 82; as lobbyists, 93–94, 118–19, 122–23; public relations and low profiles, 96–97; social gatherings, 76–77, 85, 88, 92–93 (see also Links Club). See also business leaders; and specific individuals and organizations
Child Labor Law, 33
Chiles, Lawton, 128
Chrysler Corporation: bailout, 174–77, 257; debates in aftermath of bailout, 177–79, 181; differential impact of standards on, 190; wage-price controls and, 115
Chrysler Corporation Guarantee Act (1980), 177
CIO, 26, 52–53, 54, 89. See also AFL-CIO Citizen’s Choice (Chamber organization), 61, 62
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), 10, 255–56
Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), 31, 133, 185, 186
CIWG. See Consumer Issues Working Group
Clean Air Act (1963): amendments to (1970), 33, 176; amendments to (1980s), 198
climate change, 198
Clinton, Bill, 68, 226, 241, 246–47, 260
Coalition for Trade Expansion (USA-NAFTA Coalition), 245
Coalition to Stop the Raid on America, 237–38
Cohen, Lizabeth, 147
collective bargaining: classic view of, 109; common situs picketing fight and, 127–28; federal commitment to, 54; labor law reform and, 128–29; rights of, 18–19
Colt, Samuel, 8
Columbia Books and Information, 249
Commerce Department, 22–23, 50. See also Business Advisory Council
Committee for Economic Development (CED), 19, 54, 64, 91
Committee to Fight Inflation, 239
common situs picketing, 127–28
Conable, Barber, 206, 207–8, 224
Confederation of British Industry, 252
Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 248
Congressional Research Service (Library of Congress), 163
Congress Watch (group), 148
Connally, John: Business Roundtable and, 92; presidential bid, 192, 211; on wage-price control program, 108–10, 117
Connecticut General Life Insurance, 222
conservatism: anti-establishment populism in, 25; Chrysler bailout and, 176–77;
communications tactics of, 63–64; diversity and divisions in, 3–5, 203, 212, 224; economic ideas institutionalized, 7; emergence, 98; inflation blamed on government by, 81–82; liberalism critiqued, 2; Powell Memorandum discussed in, 59–60; race and racism issues, 267n4; regulatory reform coalition with, 189–91; supply-side tax cuts and, 208–12. See also antistatism
construction industry: business organizations merged, 78, 86–87; common situs picketing fight of, 127–28; labor costs protested by, 83–84. See also Construction Users’ Anti-Inflation Roundtable; Davis-Bacon Act
Construction Users’ Anti-Inflation Roundtable (CUAIR): approach of, 85–86; Business Roundtable structure and, 95; leadership and headquarters, 84–85; LLSC merged with, 78, 86–87; member corporations listed, 101–4; origins and activities, 78–79, 83–84; summary of, 98. See also Business Roundtable
“Consumer Bill of Rights,” 147
Consumer Federation of America, 148, 160, 183
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), 143
consumerism and consumers: business’s response to, 149–51; business values elided with, 171–73; increased borrowing and spending, 221–22; labor law reform and, 129; March Group committee on, 93; political identity of, 144–49, 172–73, 196–97; politics of inflation and, 80, 111–12; SNL skit on, 140–42, 144. See also consumer protection movement
Consumer Issues Working Group (CIWG): anti-CPA strategies, 156–57, 167–71; congressional allies of, 158–60, 161, 166; members and structure, 155–56, 169; mobilization concerns, 161–62; success, 160–61, 170–72
Consumer Price Index, 80
“Consumer Probe” (SNL skit), 140–42, 144
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 149, 151, 196
Consumer Protection Agency (CPA): budget proposed, 162, 170, 293n64; context of development, 143, 151–52; corporate offensive against, 144, 155–65, 165, 167–71; demise, 166–72; labor unions and, 164–65; policy cost-benefit analysis compared, 181–82; popularity among public, 165–66; proposed, 152–55; public opinion battle over, 161–66; supporters’ explanations of, 169–70, 186–87
consumer protection movement: accomplishments of, 142–43; business’s response to, 149–51; historical context of, 37–39, 144–45; institutionalization of, 148–49, 151; legal cases of, 198–99; Nickel Campaign of, 170; on ORC poll bias, 163; producer vs. consumer interests in, 143–44; source of opposition to, 171–72; state-level focus, 32–33, 147; strategies, 159; “third wave,” 147–48; White House position and, 148–49, 290n19. See also consumerism and consumers; Consumer Protection Agency
consumer protection regulations: federal focus of (centralization), 33; risk management and safety in, 199. See also social regulations
“Consumer Representation Plans,” 167, 168
Consumers Union, 148
Continental Can, 100
Coolidge, Calvin, 51
Corcoran, Tommy “The Cork,” 8
corporate liberalism, 52, 184–85
corporate personhood notion, 1–2
corporate social responsibility debates, 64–65, 150–51
corporations: contingent nature of power, 256–61; increased compliance burdens on, 32–34; merger wave in 1980s, 236–38; Nader’s concept of, 152–53; N.Y. headquarters of, 76–77; scandals of, 40. See also business leaders; industrial corporations; labor organizing and labor power; taxes and taxation
Cost of Government Regulation (report), 188
Cost of Living Council, 108
Council for a Competitive Economy, 177
Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), 33–34
Council of Economic Advisors: Ford, 124; Nixon, 35, 119; Reagan, 224
Council on Wage and Price Stability (COWPS), 133–34, 136, 137, 193
Cowie, Jefferson, 99
CPA. See Consumer Protection Agency
CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission), 149, 151, 196
crisis of confidence (1960s–70s): approach to, 18–20; beginnings of business mobilization due to, 25–31; business and political context, 20–25; cultural context, 37–45; historical context, 14–18; NAM and Chamber’s response to, 55; proposed NAM-Chamber merger and, 46–48; structural changes dominating concerns, 31–37. See also political mobilization
Cronkite, Walter, 68
CUAIR. See Construction Users’ Anti-Inflation Roundtable
The Culture of Narcissism (Lasch), 39–40
Davis, Archie K., 115
Davis-Bacon Act (1931), 48, 85–86
deButts, John: Business Roundtable position of, 87; on Carter and voluntarism, 134, 135, 136; on public’s negativity, 40–41; wage-price controls and, 118–19
Defense Department (military), 166, 215–16, 260
Deficit Reduction Act (DEFRA, 1984), 223–25
Deficit Reduction Action Group, 220
deindustrialization, 100, 239, 242
Delta (airlines), 185
Delton, Jennifer, 267n4
Democratic Party: business relations fraught for, 22–25; congressional majorities, 53, 79, 126, 130, 157, 195; division in, 247; increasingly liberal stance, 27; labor power in, 106; McKinley’s attempts to split, 49–50; shift from conservative southern power, 126. See also electoral politics; U.S. Congress; and specific leaders
Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Decontrol Act (1980), 185
deregulation: antistatist arguments for, 184–86; “by administrative appointment,” 195; credit-market, 180–81; impetus for, 199–200; regulatory reform based in, 189
direct lobbying: concept, 11; escalation of, 17–18; by March Group committees, 93; NAM’s commitment to, 57; on wage-price controls, 118–19. See also indirect lobbying; lobbyists and lobbying
District of Columbia Bar Association, 248
Dodd, Christopher, 168, 172, 258
Dodd, Thomas, 168
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010), 143, 258, 260
Dole, Robert, 166, 218, 223, 225
Dominici, Pete, 223
drug concerns and safety, 26, 148. See also consumer protection movement; pharmaceutical industry
Dunkin’ Donuts, 234
Dunlop, John, 129
DuPont Company, 87, 235, 245, 256. See also McCoy, Charles B.; Shapiro, Irving
Earned Income Tax Credit, 230
Earth Day celebrations, 198
Eastern (airlines), 185
economic education: history of, 66–67; limits of, 71–73; philosophical debates and, 67–68; political mobilization fostered through, 73–74; reconsideration
economic policies: Bretton Woods agreement, 34, 107; business’s case against liberal regulations, 35–37, 36; end of planning, 130–32, 287n76; focus of, 32; inflation problems and, 124; monetarist, 65, 81, 124, 137, 202; supply-side ideas, 145, 208–12; taxing and spending in recovery, 221–26. See also deregulation; economy; federal budget; Keynesianism; neoliberalism; wage-price controls
Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA, 1981): corporate support for, 212–14, 218–19, 234; passage, 214–15, 220; proposed, 212; revenue lost to, 224; TEFRA’s repeal of part, 216, 217
Economic Stabilization Act (1970), 114, 121, 123
Economic Stabilization Program, 106, 108, 113, 119–20, 123. See also wage-price controls
economy: boom in 1960s, 147; contraction, inflation, and recessions in 1970s, 31, 34–35, 46, 90, 107, 180; CPA proposal in context of, 170; financial crisis in 2008–9, 255–58, 260; growth and prosperity in 1960s, 20–21; Japan compared, 180; new industries and sectors in 1980s, 196–97, 224, 235–36; Panic of 1893, 49–50; “pocketbook politics” and, 5, 146; recession (1980s), 196–97, 201–2, 215–16, 221–22, 238; regulatory costs linked to ailing, 188–89; rise of service-and finance-oriented, 100, 236. See also capitalism; economic policies; free enterprise system; free market; global economy; inflation
education. See economic education
Education Department, 196
E. I. Du Pont de Nemours Company. See DuPont Company
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 18, 21–22, 24, 55, 76
Eisner, Marc Allen, 172
electoral politics: anti-incumbent waves, 126; business’s increased role in, 201; campaign finance issues, 10–11, 26–27, 98, 250, 255–56; corporate attitudes toward Reagan, 192, 202; early PAC role in, 28–29; federal reforms of, 48; McKinley’s economic focus in, 49–50; Reagan’s policies rejected, 195; taxation debates in, 1–2. See also political action committees; and specific individuals
Eli Lilly (pharmaceuticals). See Wood, Richard
elites: antibusiness bias alleged of, 42–44
Emergency Committee for American Trade, 29
employers’ associations: accommodationist stance of some, 19–20; beginnings
of, 47; indirect lobbying preferred by, 12–13; national focus of, 7–8; revival of, 110–11; wage-price guidelines opposed by, 113. See also Business Roundtable; National Association of Manufacturers; U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Employment Act (1946), 130
Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA, 1974), 30
Energy Department, 196
energy industry. See oil industry
Energy Policy Conservation Act (1975), 176
entertainment industry, 42
environmental issues and regulations: federal focus of (centralization), 33; March Group committee on, 93; PSA about, 70, 71
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Burford appointed to head, 195–96; elitism charged against, 43; established, 32, 109, 151; increased conservative rhetoric against, 64; inefficiencies blamed on, 186; regulatory role of, 196; voluntarism and, 197–98
environmental protection movement: beginnings of, 32–33; corporate acceptance of, 197–98; historical context, 37–39; legal cases of, 198–99; source of opposition to, 171–72
Equal Opportunity and Full Employment Act (Humphrey-Hawkins Act, 1974), 130–32, 287n76
ERISA (Employment Retirement Income Security Act, 1974), 30
ERTA. See Economic Recovery Tax Act
Ervin, Sam: on CPA’s “labor exemption,” 164; CPA stalled by, 157–60, 172, 292n51; retirement, 161, 166
ESPN (network), 63
Ethics and Profits (Silk and Vogel), 15–16
Europe: business mobilization, 244, 251–52; consumer protection regulations, 199; corporatism, 199–200; free trade, 244
Executive Orders: Carter, 187–88; Ford, 181–82; Reagan, 192, 193–94
Exxon Mobile. See Garvin, Clifton; Jamieson, J. K.
Fales, Haliburton, 82
FCC (Federal Communications Commission), 185
FDA (Food and Drug Administration), 32, 145
FEC (Federal Election Commission), 10, 28–29, 255–56
federal agencies: administrative expansions of, 51; Carter’s creation of new, 196; CPA conceived as oversight, 153–54; information overload for, 9; public interest activism and creation of, 32; Reagan’s appointees to, 195–96; for wage-price controls, 108. See also specific agencies and departments
federal budget: balanced budget amendment and, 223; bipartisan division over, 215; call to cut spending, 124, 222; continuing debates on, 260–61; supply-side ideas about, 209–12; taxation linked to, 203, 211–12, 216; tax hikes and, 216–20
—deficit: in 1960s, 81; in 1980s, 221; call for reduction, 125, 205–6, 218–19, 221–26; corporate acceptance of, 52; eliminated, 226, 260; inflation and, 25, 34–35, 80–81, 132–35, 139; party politics blamed for, 90; reduction measures, 212–13, 214, 215–16; Romney on, 1
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 185
Federal Election Commission (FEC), 10, 28–29, 255–56
Federal Energy Office, 121
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1938), 26, 32, 145, 148
federal government: as battleground for business groups, 7–8, 16–17; consumers’ turn to, 147–48; critique of “big,” 166–67, 169–72, 186, 192; industrial policy debates and, 241–43; inflation blamed on, 81–82; NAM’s changing attitude toward, 50; New Left and others’ critique of, 32; as “picking winners and losers,” 177; “revolving door” of, 11, 249; right to petition, 8. See also bailouts; federal agencies; public policy; regulatory policies; U.S. Congress
Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act (1946), 9–10, 29, 249
Federal Reserve, 119, 137, 202, 221
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 51, 145, 147–48, 164, 196
Fein, Michael, 184
Ferguson, James, 169
Figueiredo, John M. de, 9
Filene, Edward, 52
financialization concept, 236
financial sector: call for regulation of, 260; credit card issues, 250; crisis in 2008–9, 255–58; deregulation of, 185; lobbying by, 256; profits, 306n13; rise of, 36, 196–97, 224, 232, 235–38; wage-price controls and, 115. See also economic policies
FIRE (financial, insurance, and real estate) firms, 235–36. See also specific sectors
First National City Bank, 83. See also Wriston, Walter
Fisher, John, 177–78, 179, 190
Fletcher, Miles, 251
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 32, 145
food safety, 144–45. See also consumer protection movement
Forbes, Malcolm, 54
Forbes, Steve, 1
Ford, Gerald R.: common situs picketing bill vetoed, 127; CPA debates and, 156, 161, 163, 166–67, 168; deregulation by, 186; economic slowdown under, 34; electoral defeat, 46; inflation-fighting agenda of, 124–25, 125, 181–83; on producers vs. consumers, 143–44; vice presidential nomination declined, 212
Ford, Henry, 301n18
Ford Motor Company: as CIWG member, 156; construction industry problems and, 83; diversification into financial services, 236; foreign competition for, 174–75; lobbyist of, 229. See also Caldwell, Philip
Foreign Agents Registration Act (1938), 9
Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (1911), 10
foreign policy (U.S.), 121, 243–44. See also free trade; global economy
Fortune, 83
Foundation for Economic Education, 67, 71
Foy, Lewis, 131
Fraser, Douglas, 129
“Freedom 2000” (school program), 69
free enterprise system: bailouts in context of, 175–79; definitions, 268–69n6; perceived attack on, 15; Powell Memorandum on, 58–60, 61, 63, 68; public education about, 66–71; public support for, 72; social regulations viewed as threat to, 34. See also capitalism
free market: contradictory debates over, 179–80; Friedman’s ideas about, 65, 67; industrial policy vs., 241–43; price-control opposition in defense of, 118–19, 120–23
Free to Choose (documentary), 67
free trade: triumph of, 243–47
Friedman, Milton: on corporate social responsibility notion, 65, 150–51; free market touted by, 67; monetarist arguments of, 81, 124; on wage-price controls, 116
FTC (Federal Trade Commission), 51, 145, 147–48, 164, 196
Fulbright, William, 160
Galbraith, John Kenneth, 22
Garvin, Clifton, 192, 193, 216, 217
Gaudion, Donald A., 149
General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT), 244
General Electric (GE): as Business Roundtable member, 77; corporate liberalism short-lived in, 52, 88; diversification into financial services, 236; expanding interests of, 204; labor negotiations of, 89; limits to lobbying influence, 229; LLSC’s founding and, 79–80; NAFTA supported by, 245; political sophistication of, 220; poll on consumerism by, 142; price-fixing and bid-rigging case against, 88; tax policies and, 227. See also Alexander, Magnus; Borch, Fred; Cordiner, Ralph J.; Day, Virgil; Jones, Reginald; Welch, Jack
General Foods, 169
General Motors (GM): bailout (2009), 256, 257; Chrysler bailout and, 176; decline of influence by, 234–35, 256; differential impact of standards on, 190; diversification into financial services, 236; foreign competition for, 174–75; headquarters, 77; Nader investigated by, 38; protests at Lordstown plant, 44; wage-price controls and, 115. See also Gerstenberg, Richard; Murphy, Thomas A.; Smith, Roger
General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (Keynes, 1936), 81
Germany: as competition for U.S., 21, 34, 75, 100, 180, 226; inflation and response in, 138
Gerstenberg, Richard, 77, 87, 118–19, 181
Gingrich, Newt, 220
Glickman, Lawrence B., 172
global capitalism: free trade and, 243–47; lobbying changes and, 247–52; neoliberalism expanded, 199–200; production and distribution effects of, 36–37, 78; realignment of, 232–38. See also financial sector; postindustrialism
global economy: consumers’ role in, 146; financial crisis in 2008–9, 255–58, 260; foreign competition for U.S. in, 17, 21, 34, 100, 174–75, 180, 226, 238–39; inflation in, 119, 138; international monetary policy and, 34, 107; shifting contours of, 75, 78, 180–81, 227–28
globalization: of environmentalism, 197; institutionalizing forces of, 244–47
GM. See General Motors
GMA (Grocery Manufacturers of America), 151, 155, 158, 163
Goldwater, Barry, 5, 18, 25, 27, 79, 163
Gore, Al, 247
Graham, Otis, 241
Gramm-Latta Omnibus Reconciliation Act (1981), 212, 214, 215
grassroots lobbying. See consumer protection movement; indirect lobbying; local user groups; public interest movement
Gray, Robert, 250
Great Britain: business mobilization, 252; industrial policy, 242; neoliberalism, 199
Great Depression, 51–52, 145, 242. See also New Deal
Greenpeace USA, 277n33
Greenspan, Alan, 124
Greider, William, 301n23
Griffin, Robert, 164
Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA), 151, 155, 158, 163
Group of Nine meetings, 135–36
GTE. See Brophy, Theodore
Gullander, Werner P., 56–57, 60, 68–69, 115, 285n29
“Halt the Deficit” campaign, 224–26
Hanchett, Thomas, 207
Hanna, Marcus, 49
Hanna-Barbera Studios, 70, 71, 73
Harper, John D.: background, 91; Business Roundtable position of, 87, 95, 97, 233; call for political mobilization, 90, 91–92, 100, 122; on common situs picketing, 127; on corporate social responsibility, 64–65; as Ford’s Labor-Management Committee member, 181; on labor power, 124; as March Group member, 87–88, 94; on public attitudes, 38, 40, 93, 96; successor, 132; wage-price controls and, 118–19, 122
Harris, Richard, 33
Harvard Business Review, 205, 209
Harvey, Paul, 302n28
Hatfield, Robert, 100
health care: debates over insurance, 26, 258; rise of sector, 235–36; workplace safety and, 64–65, 145, 150, 164, 182, 187, 203. See also Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Helms, Jesse, 129
Herblock (cartoonist), 124, 125
Heritage Foundation, 7, 67, 211
Hewlett-Packard, 87
Hill and Knowlton (firm), 29
Homestead strike (1892), 23
Honeywell, 244
Humphrey, Hubert, 130–32, 287n76
Humphrey-Hawkins Act (Equal Opportunity and Full Employment Act, 1974), 130–32, 287n76
IBM Corporation, 235, 245. See also Cary, Frank T.; Opel, John
Immigration and Nationality Act (1965), 79
“imperial presidency,” coining of term, 92
indirect lobbying: business-sponsored groups for, 61, 62; on common situs picketing bill, 127–28; efficacy and growth of, 12–13; on full employment bill, 130–32; “Halt the Deficit” campaign, 225–26; on labor law reform, 128–30; “letterhead theory” of, 158–59; of March Group committees, 93. See also direct lobbying; lobbyists and lobbying; local user groups
industrial corporations: as ABC members, 234; consumers’ political identity due to expanding, 144–46; decline of profits in, 99–100; declining dominance of, 31, 36–37, 78, 196–97, 222–23, 226–27, 236–38; diversification into financial services, 236; early 1980s recession’s impact on, 221–22; East Coast relations of, 77; low public approval bemoaned, 16–17; managerial mind-set in, 50–51, 227; overproduction in low-profit firms, 180–81; pan-industrial collective action of, 88–89; revitalization campaigns, 238–43; “steel crisis” and, 23–24, 85; tariff protections sought by, 49–50; traditional leverage of, 98–99. See also Consumer Issues Working Group; corporations; manufacturing; National Association of Manufacturers
industrial policy debate, 241–43
industries and sectors. See automobile industry; construction industry; entertainment industry; financial sector; health care; insurance sector; oil industry; pharmaceutical industry; real estate sector; retail sector; service sector; steel industry; technology sector; tobacco industry
inflation: Booth on government response to, 109–10; budget deficit and, 25, 34–35, 80–81, 132–35, 139; Business Roundtable focus on, 98–99; causes debated, 119, 285n36; cost-push vs. demand-pull explanations, 80–82, 83; feared, 21, 110; jumps in, 119–21, 123, 201–2; labor power and, 53, 80, 82, 83, 123–24; low level since 1980s, 221; oil embargo preceding, 68; politics of, 80, 110–13, 116, 120, 137–39; tax credits indexed to, 230; unfinished campaign against, 123–26. See also wage-price controls; and specific presidents
“Inflation Quotient” (IQ) segments, 126
Insurance Company of North America, 222
insurance sector: competition for, 222; debates over health insurance, 26, 258; lobbying by, 256; rise of, 224, 235–36; wage-price controls and, 115
interest groups: “consumerists” depicted as, 172–73; heavy industry and manufacturing as, 208; lobbying favored over campaign finance, 11; opportunities expanded, 48–49. See also business leaders; consumerism and consumers; lobbyists and lobbying; public interest movement
interest rates: budget deficit and, 215, 218–19, 222–26; deregulation and, 185; inflation and, 209; recession and, 221–22; wage-price controls and, 115
international trade. See free trade; global capitalism; global economy
Interstate Commerce Commission, 31, 185
Iranian Revolution (1979), 136, 202
Iraq War, 260
Israel: U.S. support for, 121
It’s Your Business (television program), 63
Jacobs, Meg, 146
Jacoby, Sanford, 16
Jamieson, J. K., 87
Japan: automobile industry, 174–75, 223, 238; competition for U.S., 21, 34, 75, 100, 226; corporatism, 199–200; environmentalism, 197; industrial policy, 241–42, 251; tax policy, 305n67; trade policies, 240; U.S. economy compared, 180
Japan-U.S. Economic Relations, 242, 251
Jasinowski, Jerry, 233
Javits, Jacob, 30
Jefferson, Thomas, 152–53, 154, 170, 189
Johnson, Lyndon B.: business relations of, 25, 27, 29, 85; Connally’s work for, 108; consumer ethos and, 147, 148; economic policies, 34–35, 113; Great Society of, 25, 79; inflation blamed on, 81–82, 90; private retirement system report of, 30
Jones, Reginald: Business Roundtable position of, 129, 204, 233; Charls Walker and, 229; diversification into financial services, 236; as Ford’s Labor-Management Committee member, 181; on Meet the Press, 97; tax reform ideas of, 204–6, 227; voluntary restraint requested of, 135
Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, 24
J. P. Morgan & Co., 2, 21, 49, 256
judicial system: class action suits in, 198–99
Kahn, Alfred E., 133, 134, 135–36, 137
Kefauver-Harris Amendment (1962), 26, 32, 148
Keidanren (Federation of Economic Organizations, Japan), 197, 251
Kemp, Jack, 210–13, 220, 301n20
Kemp-Roth tax bill, 210–12, 301n20. See also Economic Recovery Tax Act
Kenna, Edgar Douglas (Doug): media relations of, 69; NAM-Chamber merger and, 46, 47; NAM reorganization of, 56–57; wage-price control testimony of, 121–22
Kennedy, Edward, 160, 184–85, 186
Kennedy, John F.: background, 21–22; business relations of, 22–24, 85; “Consumer Bill of Rights” of, 147; economic growth under, 34; election, 55; wage-price “guideline” program of, 113
Kennedy, Robert, 24
Keynes, John Maynard, 81
Keynesianism: acceptance of, 81; conservatives’ changing stance on, 52, 55, 64; consumers and, 146; liberal consensus and, 18–20; monetarist critique of, 65–66; tax rates and, 209
Kissinger, Henry, 108
Knauer, Virginia, 149, 161, 290n19
Koch, George W., 151, 155, 158, 163
Kreps, Juanita, 136
Krippner, Greta, 180
Krooss, Herman, 22
labor law reform: indirect lobbying on, 128–30
Labor Law Study Committee (LLSC): Business Roundtable structure and, 94–95; CUAIR and, 78, 84, 86–87; headquarters, 80; member corporations listed,
Labor Law Study Committee (LLSC) (cont.) 101–4; origins and activities, 78–82; summary of, 98. See also Business Roundtable
labor organizing and labor power: anti-authoritarianism and, 44; business feeling of impotence in face of, 108–10; business’s focus on, 50, 52–54, 67, 88–89, 98–99, 258–59 (see also Labor Law Study Committee); Chamber “protest” against, 112; common situs picketing, 127–28; decline of influence by, 259; in Democratic Party, 106; inflation and, 53, 80, 82, 83, 123–24; liberal consensus framework on, 18–19; Progressive Era, 16; “steel crisis” of 1962 and, 23–24, 85. See also collective bargaining; labor unions
labor unions: construction wages and, 83–84; contract negotiations, 24, 85, 89, 116; CPA’s treatment of, 164–65; free trade opposed by, 243–47; on industrial policy, 241; inflation as framed by, 111–13; NAM’s shopfloor strategies against, 67; neoliberalism vs., 199; PACs of, 26, 28, 46–47, 91; postwar strikes and, 52–53; Reagan’s confrontation with, 259; regulatory reform opposed, 191; Taft-Hartley’s impact on, 53, 79; unrest and cultural shifts in 1970s, 44–45; voluntary restraint requested of, 133–34; wage-price controls and, 116, 117, 120, 121. See also collective bargaining; labor organizing and labor power
Laffer, Arthur (Laffer Curve), 210–11, 301n18, 301n23
Larry, R. Heath, 44, 72, 128, 136, 181
Larry King Live (television program), 247
Larsen, Carl E. “Chick,” 165
Legislative Reorganization Act (1970), 48
Lesher, Richard L.: ABC dismissed, 234; background, 61, 63; on Carter and voluntarism, 135–36; as Chamber president, 46, 233, 257; on corporate social responsibility, 65–66; economic philosophy, 67–68; ERTA supported by, 213–14; on industrial policy, 241–42; on lobbying success, 130; Reagan’s outreach to, 221; reorganization under, 63–64, 74; TEFRA opposed by, 218–19; television outreach of, 72
liberal consensus: conservatives’ rejection of, 64; executives’ accommodation to, 19–20; tenets and challenges, 18–19. See also New Deal liberalism
libertarianism: conservatism and, 74, 139, 177, 224, 257–58; economic, 4, 7, 67, 98, 196; health care and, 258; think tanks, 17, 67, 74
Lichtenstein, Nelson, 44
Links Club (New York): Business Roundtable founded at, 87; as CEOs’ social gathering spot, 76–77, 85; March Group associated with, 87–94
literacy. See economic education
LLSC. See Labor Law Study Committee
Lobbying Disclosure Act (1995), 10, 249
lobbyists and lobbying: changing face of, 247–50; concept, 8–10; corporate unity’s decline vs. boom in, 231–32, 247–50; failures, 229–32; fragmentation, 226–28; labor’s dominance in, 26, 28, 46–47, 91; legacy of, 13, 250–52, 258–61; opportunities expanded, 48–49; quantity vs. quality, 171; reactive vs. proactive, 155, 200, 229; regulation and registration, 9–10, 29; stigmatization of, 9, 249–50; success, 160–61, 170–72, 201. See also direct lobbying; employers’ associations; indirect lobbying; trade associations; Washington Representatives; and specific issues (e.g., taxes and taxation)
local user groups (business): anti-CPA campaign, 156–57, 158–59, 169, 170; common situs picketing fight, 127–28; federal deficit concerns, 224–25; indirect lobbying by, 126; labor law reform lobbying, 128–30; political races and, 28, 49. See also advertising; public relations; and specific organizations
Lockheed Corporation, 177, 178
LTV Corporation, 219
Lund, Paul, 96
Macdonald, Charles Blair, 76
MacLean, Nancy, 267n4
Macy’s Department Stores, 79
Madison, James, 155
“Main Street,” 47. See also small business
manufacturing: business synonymous with, 7; decline of, 31, 36–37, 78, 196–97, 222–23, 226–27, 236–38; foreign competition in, 17, 21, 34, 100, 174–75, 180, 226, 238–39; global shifts in, 202, 222–23; number of workers declining in, 235. See also industrial corporations; unemployment
March Group: founding and goals, 87–88, 92–94; integrated with Business Roundtable, 94–95, 104–5; members, 77; precursor to official, 88–92
Martin, Cathie, 216
Matusow, Allen, 44
Maytag, 156
McCain-Feingold (Bipartisan Campaign Finance) Act (2002), 255
McCoy, Charles B., 87, 90, 93, 96, 97, 132
McGovern, George, 126
Meany, George, 18, 44, 86–87, 117, 121. See also AFL-CIO
media: biases alleged of, 41–42, 68; “consumer protection” stories of, 146, 148. See also advertising; public relations
medical profession mobilization, 25–26
Meet the Press (television program), 97
Merchant Marine Act (1936), 9
Metropolitan Life Insurance, 115
Mettler, Ruben F., 233
Michigan: Chrysler bailout and, 176
Milkis, Sidney, 33
Miller, James, 196
Miller and Chevalier (firm), 28
Milliken, William, 176
Mills, Wilbur, 239
Mondale, Walter, 135
monetarist views, 65, 81, 124, 137, 202. See also free market
Morgan, Iwan W., 224
Morgan, J. P. (J. P. Morgan & Co.), 2, 21, 49, 256
Morrison, Clinton, 43
Moss, David, 184
Motor Carrier Act (1980), 185
multinational firms, 8, 122, 224, 243, 248. See also global capitalism
Murphy, Thomas A.: bailouts opposed by, 176, 177, 178, 256; Business Roundtable position of, 233; voluntary restraint requested of, 135, 136
Murphy, William Beverly, 80, 86, 87, 94, 118–19
Murray, Alan, 231
Murray, Philip, 54
Nader, Ralph: as consumer protection leader, 148; corporate attacks on, 38–39, 144, 149–50, 172; on corporate power, 160, 170; CPA and, 143, 152–55, 157, 169; declining influence of, 142; as deregulator, 186; OIRA’s implications for, 191; on regulatory capture practice, 153, 167, 182, 184, 189; as SNL host, 141; Unsafe at Any Speed, 38, 148, 260. See also public interest movement
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), 244–47
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM): attitudes toward Reagan, 221; Chamber–White House alliance and, 214; current status, 257; depression-era attitudes toward, 51–52; direct-mail techniques of, 58; early political relations of, 49–50; extremism, 54–55; founding, 47; headquarters, 57, 239; limits of, 91; membership numbers, 51, 54–55, 56; merger with Chamber proposed and rejected, 46–48; postwar contraction of, 19; Reagan’s appeal to, 220; reorganization, 48–49, 55–58, 74–75, 98; significance of, 3, 7; “Tax Impact Report” of, 205; voluntary restraint requested of, 134, 135, 136. See also Business-Industry Political Action Committee
—committees and task forces: construction issues, 84; Government Affairs, 57; Marketing, 149; Organization Services, 68; Public Affairs, 58, 66, 68, 69, 73
—specific issues: antilabor efforts, 50, 52–54; anti–New Deal efforts, 18–19; Chrysler bailout, 177, 178–79; common situs picketing, 127–28; consumerism, 149, 151; CPA, 155, 156, 168; DEFRA, 223; deregulation, 185; ERTA, 213; full employment bill, 131; industrial policy, 241–42; industrial revitalization campaign, 238–41; NAFTA, 245; over-regulation, 183; public education and outreach, 66–73; regulatory relief, 194, 195; tax reform, 207, 229, 230; TEFRA, 217; wage-price controls, 113, 115, 118, 120, 121–22, 285n29
National Association of Realtors, 136, 223
National Center for Resource Recovery, 61
National Chamber Alliance for Politics, 201
National Chamber Foundation, 61
National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC), 61
National Consumers League, 144–45, 148
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB): Chamber–White House alliance and, 214; CPA opposed by, 155, 157, 160; expansion of, 7; influence noted, 234; Reagan’s appeal to, 220; TEFRA and, 217; voluntary restraint requested of, 135
National Highway Safety Act (1966), 32, 148
National Labor Relations Act (1935), 18–19, 23, 52, 80, 82. See also Taft-Hartley Act
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), 52, 80, 128–29, 164–65
National Recovery Administration (1933–35), 23, 52, 145
National Retail Merchants Association, 135
National Review, 116
National Right to Work Committee, 79–80
National Small Business Association, 7, 217
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (1966), 38, 176
The Nation’s Business (Chamber of Commerce), 63, 66
Nation’s Business Today (television program), 63
NBC. See Meet the Press; Saturday Night Live
NCLC (National Chamber Litigation Center), 61
neoliberalism: ascent of, 2–4, 232; intellectual power of, 248; triumph of free trade and, 243–47. See also free enterprise system; free market; global capitalism
Network (1976), 39
New Deal: consumers’ purchasing power and, 145–46; disparate constituencies supporting, 6; institutions created in, 31; New Left and others’ critique of, 32; opposition to, 16, 17, 18–19, 52, 258; regulatory structures of, 184; socialism alleged of, 16, 17, 52. See also specific acts and boards
New Deal liberalism: business’s case against, 35–37, 36; Cold War rhetoric against, 74; conservative critique of, 2, 3, 7; consumer protections and, 147–48; contradictions in, 5; corporate co-opting of language of, 172–73; decline of, 2; health care proposals, 26, 258; increasingly organized challenge to, 142–43; persistence of, 179–80; populist strand of, 152–53; Reagan’s rhetoric on, 163; regulatory reform coalition with, 189–91; resistance to Reagan, 195
New Economic Policy (Nixon), 114–15. See also wage-price controls
New Federalism, 109
New York City: Business Roundtable’s office in, 174; CEOs’ social gathering spot in, 76–77, 85
New York Stock Exchange, 135
New York Times, 65
NFIB. See National Federation of Independent Business
Nickel Campaign, 170
Nielsen, Art, 239
Nissan (earlier Datsun), 174
Nixon, Richard M.: background, 21–22; bailouts of, 177; Connally’s work for, 108; consumerism and, 148–49, 150, 151–52, 160–61; economy under, 14, 34, 35, 90, 111; election, 83; federal agencies created by, 32, 109, 151; gold convertibility suspended, 107; mandatory controls as viewed by, 113–14; Moscow visit, 116; New Federalism of, 109; pardoned, 125; reelection concerns, 106, 114; resignation, 123–24, 137, 161, 166; “Silent Majority” of, 44; steelworkers’ contract negotiations and, 24; Supreme Court nominee of, 59. See also wage-price controls; Watergate scandal
NLRB. See National Labor Relations Board
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 244–47
North American Precis Syndicate, 169
North Carolina: economic development, 22
Obama, Barack, 2, 255, 257, 258, 259, 260–61
O’Brien, Lawrence, 247
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): accident investigation by, 193; established, 32, 109, 151; opposition to, 48, 64; political stakes of, 57; regulatory role of, 196; “simple and clear” executive order for, 187
Occupy Wall Street, 256
Office of Consumer Affairs, 148–49, 161, 168, 290n19
Office of Economic Opportunity, 154
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), 191, 193, 196, 200
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 181–83, 191, 195–96
Office of Price Administration, 113
oil industry: CIWG members from, 156; crises and inflation in, 68, 121, 136, 137–38, 166, 180, 202
O’Neill, Tip, 170–71, 195, 214
opinion. See public opinion
Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), 162–63, 167
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), 68, 121, 137, 180
OSHA. See Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Packard, David, 87
PACs. See political action committees
Pan American Airlines, 115
pan-business mobilization: attempted NAM-Chamber merger as sign of, 46–48; Chamber and NAM’s changing influence and, 49–55; collective action problem in, 12; demise, 231–32, 247–50; fracturing of, 64–66, 232–39; legacy of, 13, 250–52, 258–61; public education and outreach efforts, 66–74, 70; reorganizing for, 48–49, 55–66, 74–75; rise and fall summarized, 232–35. See also American Business Conference; Business Roundtable; economic education; National Association of Manufacturers; political mobilization; public relations; U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Paperwork Reduction Act (1980), 191
Parry, Charles, 238
Patashnik, Eric, 231
PATCO (Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization), 259
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010), 258
Patman, Wright, 172
Peale, Rembrandt, 76
Penn Central railroad, 177, 178
Penney, J. C., 135
Pension Report Group, 30
Pertschuk, Michael, 164
Peterson, Esther, 168, 169, 170–71, 290n19
Pfizer, 235
pharmaceutical industry, 26, 224, 235–36
PIC (Public Information Committee, Business Roundtable), 95, 96
Pickens, T. Boone, 237
policy. See economic policies; public policy; regulatory policies; social programs; social regulations
Policy Committee (Business Roundtable): budget deficits and high interest rate concerns, 215; Chrysler bailout and, 174–76, 177; leadership in 1988, listed, 253–54; Reagan’s appeal to, 220; taxation and TEFRA concerns, 216, 217–18, 219
policy institutes: business support increased, 7, 17–18; Cold War rhetoric among conservative, 74; context of emergence, 232–33; response to Chrysler bailout, 177. See also specific institutes
political action committees (PACs): emergence of, 27–28; expenditures of, 250; explosion in corporate-funded, 10, 17–18, 28–29; legalization of, 26–27, 28, 48, 248, 271n41. See also electoral politics
political mobilization: changing attitude toward, 17–20; for Chrysler bailout, 175–79; context, 6–8, 36–37; CPA targeted in, 155–65, 165, 167–72; for ERTA, 213–15; failed methods in, 91–92; fostered by specific debates, 25–26; legacy of, 13, 250–52, 258–61; legal questions in, 26–27, 28, 271n41; limits of, 200; obstacles to, 112–13; outlook for 1980s, 201–2; for regulatory reform, 186–91, 199–200. See also crisis of confidence; lobbyists and lobbying; pan-business mobilization; political action committees; Washington Representatives
politics: business constituency in, 4–5; changing terrain of, 247–52; context of 1960s, 20–25; contingent nature of business’s power in, 256–61; Green Party, 197–98; of inflation, 80, 110–13, 116, 120, 137–39; “pocketbook,” 5, 146; stagflation as reshaping, 137–39; of wage-price controls, 113–17. See also conservatism; Democratic Party; electoral politics; libertarianism; New Deal liberalism; regulatory reform politics; Republican Party; U.S. Congress
populism, 6, 25, 44. See also antibusiness bias; antistatism
Post, John, 39
postindustrialism: emergence of, 232–38; free trade and, 243–47; lobbying changes in, 247–52; revitalization campaigns in response to, 238–43
Powell, Lewis: memorandum of, 58–60, 61, 63, 66, 68, 258, 277n33
Proctor & Gamble, 229
producers: consumers elided with, 171–73; consumers vs., 143–44. See also industrial corporations; manufacturing
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), 259
profitability and productivity: capital investments and debts in relation to, 203–6; crisis of, 100, 180–81; decline, 222–23; defense of, 40–42, 65; focus and rhetoric on, 34–37; public criticism of, 40, 41; public education about, 68; taxation and export issues, 224; tax deductions and depreciation, 206–8; wage-price controls and, 117, 122–23, 285n29. See also crisis of confidence
Progressive Era: antimonopolist spirit in, 6; Chamber’s role in, 51; consumer groups in, 144–45, 148; employers’ associations founded in, 47; labor-business battles in, 16, 18; Links Club founded in, 76; New Left and others’ critique of, 32; regulatory structures of, 31, 184
Prudential. See Beck, Robert
PSAs (public service announcements), 70, 71, 73, 151. See also advertising
publications: economic education, 69–70; The Nation’s Business, 63, 66; PIC’s advertising, 96; “Tax Impact Report,” 205; workplace propaganda, 54. See also advertising
public choice theory, 231
Public Citizen (group), 148, 154, 159, 170, 171
public debates: business’s attempt to influence, 93–94; framing issues in, 163, 169–70, 171–73, 208
Public Information Committee (PIC, Business Roundtable), 95, 96
public interest movement: on industrial policy, 241; legislation promoted by, 32, 38–39; Nader’s concept of, 153; regulatory capture concerns of, 33, 57; regulatory focus of, 182, 183, 184, 191, 194; strategies of, 159. See also consumer protection movement; environmental protection movement
public opinion: difficulties of long-term changes in, 96; economic education’s limited impact on, 71–73
—specific issues: business leaders’ and corporations’ ethics, 15, 37–38, 39, 42; corporate taxes, 230; CPA, 161–66; environmentalism, 197–98; federal deficit, 224–25; free enterprise system, 72; hostility toward business, 40–42, 66, 149, 156; institutions, 17, 39, 166; labor unions, 259; military budget cuts, 215; Nader, 142; regulatory policies, 73; tax revolt, 209–12; wage-price controls, 82, 116, 120, 122, 137. See also Watergate scandal
public policy: alleged antibusiness bias in, 14–15; divisions over, 3–4; protecting people against business abuses, 32. See also regulatory policies; social regulations
public relations: anti-CPA actions, 161–65, 165, 169, 170; central for Business Roundtable, 96–97; “The Consumer Revolution” filmstrip, 149, 150; economic education via, 68–71, 70; ERTA support, 213; failure of, 71–73; federal deficit concerns, 224–25; inflation and wage-price controls, 111, 115, 123–26; organization of, 63–64; over-regulation decried in, 183; PIC’s proposal for, 96; regulatory reform campaign, 188–89, 190; revive/rebuild programs, 240–41; taxation issues, 205; television programs, 68–69, 111; Washington Representatives’ concerns about CEOs and, 93–94. See also advertising
Public Relations Journal, 64–65
public service announcements (PSAs), 70, 71, 73, 151. See also advertising
Public Utilities Holding Company Act (1935), 9
Pure Food and Drug Act (1906), 145
race and racism, 267n4
Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act (1976), 185
Raynes, Burt, 40
Read, Leonard, 67
Reader’s Digest, 96, 163–64, 224–25
Reagan, Ronald: ABC’s relations with, 234; anti-CPA ORC poll and, 162–63, 167; antilabor, pro-business campaign of, 72, 127; big government critique of, 169, 192; conservatism of, 5, 18; economic policies, 40, 172, 179; election, 202; military spending under, 215; PATCO confrontation of, 259; personal lobbying by, 220; reelection, 196, 221; regulatory reform under, 192–96, 200; tax and budget policies of, 206, 210, 211–12, 215–16, 221–26, 300–301n17, 303n41; Tax Reform Act signed, 229–30; trade policy, 243–44. See also Deficit Reduction Act; Economic Recovery Tax Act; Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act
Reaganomics: coining of, 302n28; ERTA as, 212–15; legacy of, 228; TEFRA as, 216–20
real estate sector, 136, 223, 256
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), 145, 242
regulatory capture: business’s view, 155; Nader’s concept, 153, 167, 168, 182, 184, 189; reformers’ confrontation of, 33, 57
Regulatory Flexibility Act (1980), 191
regulatory policies: antiregulatory efforts in historical context, 16–17; business animus toward, 182–83, 183; business’s failure to stop, 179–80; Chrysler as victim of over reaching, 176–79, 181; command-and-control type, 33, 64, 69, 198; cost-benefit analysis required, 181–83, 193–94; costs for corporations, 188–89, 297–98n41; declining support for, 142–43; health insurance and pharmaceutical regulation, 26; industrialization’s impact on, 144–45; legal challenges to, 61; private interests as served by, 184–85; producer vs. consumer interests in, 143–44; public opinion of, 73; “rights-consciousness” as influence, 20–21; “simple and clear” executive order for, 187–88; structural reconfiguration of, 31–37. See also Consumer Protection Agency; regulatory reform politics; social regulations
regulatory reform politics: business’s limitations in, 179–80; corporate campaign for, 186–91, 199–200; deregulation drive in, 184–86; economic and political context, 180–84; legacy of, 260; in post-crisis context, 196–99; Reagan’s commitment to, 192–96; revive/rebuild programs and, 240–41
Regulatory Relief Task Force, 193, 194, 195, 196
Reich, Robert, 241
“Remember the Future” (school program), 69
Republican Party: congressional majorities, 53, 212; consumer agency in platform, 149; cronyism and corruption exposed, 167; in disrepute due to Watergate, 124–25; health care debates, 258; rightward shift, 48; setback in 1970 elections, 106. See also electoral politics; U.S. Congress; and specific leaders
retail sector, 135, 257. See also consumerism and consumers
Revenue Acts: 1940, 207; 1978, 302n34
revenue neutrality concept, 225, 230
RFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation), 145, 242
Ribicoff, Abraham, 152
Riccardo, John, 175
Richmond Times-Dispatch, 165
“right-to-work” clause, 19, 53, 67, 79–80, 259
R. J. Reynolds Corporation, 158
Rockefeller, John D., 301n18
“Roger’s Roundtable.” See Construction Users’ Anti-Inflation Roundtable
Romney, George, 257
Roosevelt, Franklin D.: BAC formed by, 22–23; consumers and policy regime of, 145–46; corporate liberalism and, 52; elitism charged against, 42; liberal coalition of, 6. See also New Deal
Roosevelt, Theodore, 51
Roper, Daniel, 22
Roundtable. See Business Roundtable
Round Table of European Industrialists, 244, 252
Rowan, Hobart, 21
“RW80D,” 155
Salinas, Carlos, 244
Saturday Night Live (television program), 140–42, 144
Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., 22, 92
Schmidt, Helmut, 138
schools. See economic education
Sears, Roebuck, 128
Securities and Exchange Commission, 31, 154
Seibert, Donald, 135
self-interest, 75
service sector: lobbyist of (see American Business Conference); rise of, 196–97, 224, 234–36
Shapiro, Irving, 129, 132, 182–83, 187, 233
Shumway, Ritter F., 150
Silk, Leonard, 15–16, 17, 42, 43, 44, 45
Simon, William, 177
Sinclair, Upton, 144
small business: big business vs., 6; Chamber as voice of, 47, 51, 213–14; differential impact of regulations on, 160, 162, 187, 190–91; labor issues for, 127–28; lobbying by, 156–57; tax issues for, 207–8, 214, 217. See also corporations
Smith, Adam, 67
Smith, Roger, 230
Smith-Connally Act (1943), 26
socialism: elites accused of, 44; irrelevance of question, 72; New Deal as, 16, 17, 52; rhetoric on, 66–67, 71, 74, 154
social movements: civil rights, 48; consumerism linked to, 149–50; replaced by “Me Decade,” 39–40. See also consumer protection movement; environmental protection movement; public interest movement
social programs: call to cut spending on, 222–26; continuing debates over, 261; Great Society spending on, 25, 79. See also health care
social regulations: administrative functions and, 17, 57; business animus toward, 30–31, 182–83, 183; business’s case against costs of, 35–37, 36; corporate compliance burdens under, 32–34, 203–4; deregulation of, 184–86; as evidence of cultural turn, 37–45; key agencies of, 196; as protecting people against business abuses, 32. See also regulatory policies
Social Security Act (1935): amendments (1965) to, 26, 79, 271n36; call to cut spending on program, 222; opposition to, 18–19, 23, 52
Soutar, Doug, 79
special interests. See interest groups
Spencer, Edson, 244
Spivak, Lawrence, 97
Springs Industries, 246
stagflation: “pocketbook politics” and, 5, 146; politics reshaped by, 137–39. See also inflation
states. See local user groups; “right-to-work” clause
steel industry: “crisis” of 1962 and Kennedy’s handling, 23–24, 85; foreign competition in, 238
Stein, Herbert, 119
Stigler, George, 184
Stockman, David A., 209, 210–11, 260, 300–301n17, 301n23
Students in Free Enterprise, 67
Sybron, Inc., 149
Sydnor, Eugene, 58, 59, 60, 71
Taft, Robert, 18
Taft-Hartley Act (1947): debates over, 67; failure to repeal 14(b), 79–80; invoked in current debates, 259; labor’s attempts to amend, 128–29; labor structure affected by, 53–54; passage, 19. See also National Labor Relations Act; “right-to-work” clause
Tarbell, Ida, 144
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA, 1982): ABC’s support for, 234; balanced budget amendment and, 223; components, 216–17; debates over, 217–20, 227; economic context, 215–16; limited effects, 221; passage, 220
taxes and taxation: 5–10-10 (Kemp-Roth) model for cuts, 214–15, 302n34; 10–5–3 model for depreciation, 207–8, 210–12, 213, 214, 215, 217, 223–24, 229, 240; business leaders’ divisions over, 219–20, 221, 224, 226–28, 230–32; capital accumulation movement and, 206–8; capital investments and corporate debts in relation to, 203–6, 230; continuing debates on, 260–61; corporate arguments about, 205, 205–6, 227–28; depreciation and deductions in, 206–8, 227; economic recovery and, 221–26; electoral politics and, 1–2; inflation as, 111; loopholes and exemptions in, 216, 230; March Group committee on, 93; Reagan’s call for cuts, 192, 193, 194; Reagan’s hikes in, 216–20; revenue-neutral reform to code, 225, 230; simplification of code, 229–30; supply-side ideas about, 208–12; of windfall profits, 68. See also antitax movement; Deficit Reduction Act; Economic Recovery Tax Act; federal budget; Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act; Tax Reform Act
Tax Reform Act (1986), 225, 229–32
Tea Party Movement, 3, 256, 258
technology sector: advances in, 36–37, 44, 185–86, 239; Business Roundtable members of, 257; as competition with older manufacturing, 240–41, 256, 257; consumers and, 146; investments in, 204; rise of, 99, 224, 235
TEFRA. See Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act
Thatcher, Margaret, 199
Thayer, W. Paul, 219
think tanks. See policy institutes; and specific institutes
Thomas, Frank, 128
Thomas, O. Pendleton, 167
Tillman Act (1907), 10, 26, 255
Time magazine, 114
Timken Company. See Markley, Herbert
Timmons, William, 249
Townsend, Lynn, 175
Toyota, 174
Tozzi, Jim, 195
trade: deficits, 34, 180, 222–23, 304n56; protections, manufacturers’ interest in, 49–50. See also free market; free trade; global economy
trade associations: accommodationist stance of some, 19–20; concept and function, 7; expanded number, 248. See also specific organizations
trade unions. See labor unions
Treasury Department, 205–8, 223. See also federal budget
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), 257
Trowbridge, Alexander “Sandy,” 15, 206, 214, 238–41
Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819), 152–53
TRW, 233
unemployment: construction industry, 83; corporate social responsibility in relation to, 65; crisis of confidence linked to, 16; inflation in relation to, 110–12; production location changes, 222–23; in recession of 1975, 180
United Airlines, 156
United Auto Workers, 129. See also Reuther, Walter
United States Steel Corporation, 24, 77, 83, 85, 197, 229. See also Blough, Roger; Larry, R. Heath; Roderick, David M.
Universal Oil Products Company of Illinois, 35
universities and colleges, 67, 69–70. See also elites
Unsafe at Any Speed (Nader), 38, 148, 260
Uruguay Round, 244
USA-NAFTA Coalition (Coalition for Trade Expansion), 245
U.S. Chamber of Commerce: ABC compared, 234; “Business-Consumer Relations Code” of, 150; committees of, 58, 60, 72–73; current status, 257; depression-era attitudes and positions, 51–52; economist of, 35; founding, 47, 50–51; headquarters, 63, 106; limits of, 19, 91, 108–9; membership numbers, 51, 52, 58, 63; merger with NAM proposed and rejected, 46–48; outlook for, 201–2; Reagan’s outreach to, 221; reorganization, 48–49, 58, 60–66, 74–75, 98; right-wing radicalism and declining power of, 54, 55; significance of, 3, 7; staff reduction of, 233; as voice of business, 47, 51, 213–14; voluntary restraint requested of, 133–34, 135–36. See also Business-Industry Political Action Committee; Citizen’s Choice; Construction Users’ Anti-Inflation Roundtable; National Chamber Alliance for Politics; National Chamber Foundation; National Chamber Litigation Center; The Nation’s Business
—conferences: College-Business, 69–70; Construction Problems, 83–84; National Affairs, 106–10; Union Power at Annual Meeting, 112
—specific issues: antilabor efforts, 52–54; anti–New Deal efforts, 18–19; business closures, 36; common situs picketing, 127–28; consumerism, 149, 150, 151; corporate profits, 41; CPA, 155, 156, 157, 161–62; DEFRA, 223; deregulation, 185; ERTA, 213–14; full employment bill, 131; health care, 258; industrial policy, 242–43; industrial revitalization, 240–41; inflation, 111, 125–26; labor law reform, 128–30; NAFTA, 245; Powell Memorandum, 58–60, 61, 63, 68; public education and outreach efforts, 66–71, 70; regulatory relief bill, 194; tax reform, 207–8, 229, 230; TEFRA, 218–19; wage-price controls, 114, 115, 118, 120, 121–22, 123
U.S. Congress: Chamber’s call for “inflation-proof,” 125–26; changing composition of, 17, 27, 37–38, 48, 248; Democratic majorities, 53, 79, 126, 130, 157, 195; domestic policy increasingly influenced by, 124–25; economic role of, 92, 98–99; information overload for, 9; passing vs. stopping bills in, 155, 200; Republican majorities, 53, 212. See also electoral politics; federal budget
—debates and bills: capital accumulation, 206–8; Chrysler bailout, 175, 177–78; common situs picketing, 127–28; consumer protection, 26, 32, 148; corporate takeover issues, 237–38; CPA, 156–60, 164–65, 166–71, 292n45, 294n86; deficit reduction, 226; DEFRA, 223–24; ERTA, 214–15; full employment bill, 130–32, 287n76; health care, 258; Kemp-Roth, 210–12, 301n20; Kennedy/Johnson tax cut, 209; labor law reform, 128–30; lobbying regulations, 9–10; NAFTA, 245–47; regulatory reform, 188–91, 193–95; stimulus packages, 108–9, 257; TEFRA, 218, 219–20, 221; wage-price controls, 114–15, 118, 121–23. See also specific acts
U.S. Constitution, First Amendment, 8
users: use of term, 84. See also Construction Users’ Anti-Inflation Roundtable; local user groups
U.S. News and World Reports, 72
U.S. Supreme Court: on political donations, 10, 255–56; steel nationalization halted by, 23–24
Vallis, Wayne, 234
Venema, Pete, 35
Verne, Jules, 155
Vogel, David, 15–16, 17, 20, 42, 43, 44, 199
Voting Rights Act (1965), 79
Wachovia Bank, 115
wage-price controls: aftermath of, 137–39; argument and legislation for, 113–14; business’s acceptance of, 115–17; business’s turn against, 118–23; debates over, 106–7, 108–10, 118; demise, 122–24, 132, 136–37; details, 107–8; historical context, 113, 120; implementation and phases, 82, 86, 106, 114–15, 117, 119–21; politics of inflation and, 110–13, 137–39; “voluntary,” under Carter, 133–36. See also economic policies; Economic Stabilization Program
wages, 82, 83–84, 89, 116, 131
Wagner Act (1935). See National Labor Relations Act
Walker, Charls E., 229–32, 234, 238, 249
Wall Street, 6, 256. See also corporations; financial sector
Wall Street Journal, 42–43, 210, 230–31
Warren, Elizabeth, 260
Washington Post, 59, 124, 125, 164, 240
Washington Representatives: business’s continued reliance on, 29–30, 248; CEOs’ involvement with, 92–93; changing situation and inefficacy of, 27, 30–31; CPA targeted by, 155; described, 11; limits of, 91; regulatory relief bill and, 194. See also direct lobbying
“Watergate babies,” 17, 126, 161, 167–68, 172
Watergate scandal: business’s avoidance of, 5; domestic policy in context of, 121, 137; exposé, 68; Nixon and, 121, 137, 161; political parties after, 124–25, 130, 166–68, 201; public confidence impacted by, 17, 37, 40, 64, 142, 161, 166, 186
Weather Underground, 150
Weidenbaum, Murray, 224, 297–98n41
Weinberg, Sidney, 30
Weinberger, Caspar, 119
Welch, Robert, 55
“Whip Inflation Now” (WIN) slogan, 181
Whittaker Corporation, 193
Wiebe, Robert, 51
Willkie, Wendell, 1
Wilson, Woodrow, 51
Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act (1894), 49
Wolfe, Tom, 39
Woodward, Bob, 68
workplace safety: health and, 64–65, 145, 150, 164, 182, 187, 203; historical context of, 37–39. See also labor organizing and labor power; Occupational Safety and Health Administration
World Trade Organization, 244
World War II: business-government relations in aftermath, 18–21, 29, 52–53; consumerism after, 39–40; cost of constructing factories in, 207; governmental growth after, 9; price controls during, 113
Yom Kippur War (1973), 121
Young, John, 157
Young, Owen, 88