Chamber Of Collusion
When the United States was formed one of the goals was to enhance the ability of men to operate private businesses to their own advantage. Many of the rules in the Constitution are set down to enhance that ability.
In seeming contradiction to that idealism, today we find laws written that are designed to help one business at the expense of another. There are laws written to subsidize one type company at the expense of the people. There are laws written to tax different companies at different rates. In fact, the list of laws discriminating between business and people is long.
In an equitable and fair economic system, people and business would be treated the same. Laws would apply equally to all and have the same affect on all. This is what is meant by the rule of law. This leads to and implies consistency and continuity of the law, which then allows people to make decisions for the long term confident in the knowledge the law will remain the same and so the effect of the law on their lives will remain the same.
Unfortunately, this is no longer as true as we would like. One of the commonly stated concerns of today’s economy is that business has no indication of consistency from government. Let me say, we got what they asked for.
Businesses, individually and through different organizations and associations, including the various Chambers of Commerce, have sought legislation which favors business. In every legislature in the US, from the local town boards and county commissions, to the states and to Congress, Chambers of Commerce have sought rules and laws which enhance their position over the competition and the people.
As much or more than any other entity, people in business have found that through organized pressure, they can influence representatives and how they vote, on policies affecting business. The result is a convoluted tax law, along with a contorted regulatory structure and discriminatory subsidies. Again the list is long, if simply because business has been at it so long. For business then to complain about how government interferes or doesn’t handle the economy right when business has been complicit in seeking economically distorting legislation, is very hypocritical.
A local example in North Carolina is tax increment financing. If you don’t remember, this discriminatory law took the form of an amendment to the North Carolina constitution. It had been on the ballot numerous times and failed but, as is typical of an object of desire of those who have something to gain from this type of legislation, it kept getting back on the ballot until it passed. Let me lay the credit and guilt on the various Chambers of Commerce. More exactly, some of their members wanted it because it gives those who can use it a legal financial advantage over others.
Tax increment financing allows those who make capital improvements to avoid paying portions of the property taxes those improvements allegedly justify. These can be substantial amounts of money, which the competition has to pay, giving those who don’t have to pay an unfair financial advantage.
The law is full of these type distortions due to advocacy of big business, and then big business has the audacity to complain of consistency and continuity. I don’t think they really want it. Big business wants favoritism and subsidies. They want to be part of the Ruling Class and like the Ruling Class expect others to pay for their position of advantage.
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