Mother Jones' Suzy Khimm writes about another looming split between local Chambers of Commerce with the national organization. The fight against the Affordable Care Act and the highly partisan hard line the US Chamber took during the elections had already created rifts. The US Chamber's support of health reform repeal are driving the wedge deeper.
In Draper, Utah—one of the state's fastest-growing suburbs—the business community has been enthusiastic about some of the early benefits of the legislation, William Rappleye, president of the Draper Chamber of Commerce, tells Mother Jones. He points in particular to the tax credits for employee health insurance that some small businesses will be eligible for, starting with the 2010 tax cycle. "They're happy about the fact that there are credits there to offset costs involved for them," he says. "Very small business hasn't been able to afford health care for its employees."
Though "the jury is still out" for the Draper business community about the overall legislation, he says most of his members "look forward to some reform." Rappleye adds that he personally feels adamant that reform shouldn't be overturned. "Hopefully they don't throw the whole thing out—and this is coming from a Republican...I don't believe we're in a place in this country where we're just going to throw people in the street and let them die. We have to have some sort of safety net."
On the other side of the country, Carl Hum, the president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in New York, voices similar sentiments. While the group's individual members are still uncertain about the ultimate impact of the legislation on their businesses, they agree with many of the underlying principles of the Democratic legislation, Hum says: "A lot of the small business community supports the idea that everybody should have health insurance. This is a basic need for everybody."
...[T] here's no denying the divergence of views within the Chamber's ranks on health care. It's just the latest reminder of the gulf between the Chamber's unapologetically conservative views and those of the small businesses that it purports to represent. Though the Chamber portrays itself as the country's leading voice on Main Street, one glance at the national organization's donor base and leadership show an organization dominated by major corporations.
As Mother Jones has reported, the Chamber "claims that 96 percent of its members are small businesses, yet its self-selected board includes just 6 representatives from small businesses, 1 from a local chamber, and 111 from large corporations." What's more, the national organization has been predominantly bankrolled by just a small fraction of its members—most of them megacorporations.
As a result, the diversity of views within the business community has often been stifled, with deep-pocketed groups like the US Chamber dominating the national debate.
There's more than just anecdotal evidence that the small business tax credit has spurred many more business to provide insurance to their employees. Last fall, the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation reported a nine percent increase in businesses offering coverage, and the Los Angeles Times featured a story earlier this month reporting that "[m]ajor insurers around the country are reporting that a growing number of small businesses are signing up to give their workers health benefits, a sign of potential progress for the nation's battered healthcare system."
Even in a down economy with very high unemployment, being able to offer workers health benefits is a huge boon to small businesses. It is, incidentally, also good news for insurers, who've gained a lot of new customers. So the U.S. Chamber's zeal for repeal certainly isn't shared by the businesses they purport to represent, but apparently just those mega-corporations that actually comprise their membership. So the only conclusion that makes any sense is that the U.S. Chamber is operating on the basis of pure ideology, rather than what the average American business would want.