Kent Mitchell: Chamber’s scare tactics arise from self-interest
Re “The Bill Killers” (Page 2B, Feb. 12): Interesting back-story in The Bee regarding the Chamber of Commerce and its phrase “job killers” to describe legislation they dislike. This clever gimmick is then used to scare legislators into opposing such bills, lest they end up with a bad scorecard from the Chamber and funding for their opponents during the next election cycle. This tactic is reminiscent of Grover Norquist and his use of the anti-tax pledge, in which many legislators felt forced to sign to avoid being shamed by his organization. May I suggest when reading “job killer” in the future, substitute the phrase “profit killer.”
Kent Mitchell, Riverbank
This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Kent Mitchell: Chamber’s scare tactics arise from self-interest."