Big Business Trys To Derail Financial Reform

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is again launching an attempt to protect its mega business members at the expense of ordinary U.S. citizens. The Chamber has been at the forefront in attempts to mislead Americans about a multitude of issues which affect millions of people, all to protect the profits of its controlling members. Now, the Chamber is rolling out an advertising campaign of at least $2 million aimed at defeating a central plank of the Obama administration’s financial-regulation overhaul.
But there won’t be any mention of banks, Wall Street groups, and insurance companies whose interests the Chamber is seeking to protect.
The ads are aimed at the administration’s proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would regulate consumer products including mortgages and credit cards, some of the areas which were unregulated for years and led directly to the economic disaster the country is now facing. It would have the power to ban certain practices and require financial firms to offer loans with simple terms and clear disclosure.
The Chamber’s goal is twofold: move the spotlight off the unpopular commercial banks and mortgage lenders that are the target of the legislation and try to show more sympathetic opponents.
The first ads running in Washington-area newspapers feature a picture of a butcher with the line: “Virtually every business that extends credit to American consumers would be affected — even the local butcher and the credit he extends to his customers.”
The business lobby intends to expand its campaign to include nationwide TV and radio ads later this month. Its lobbying push could feature other small-business owners, such as accountants, landlords and event planners.