Some of the largest special interest groups are professional, trade, and commercial associations. Groups such as the National Association of Realtors, National Automotive Dealers Association, American Federation of Teachers, American Bankers Association, American Medical Association (AMA), American Federation of State/County/Municipal Employees, National Education Association (NEA), and American Association for Justice (Trial Lawyers) are among the largest contributors to political campaigns. These groups lobby the government to draft new laws and regulations that favor their interests.

These associations or “Guilds” generally give more to the party in power (because they have more influence at that point) but some of them overwhelmingly support Democratic Congressmen and Senators every election. Today, many of these Guilds are struggling in the economic downturn and are pressuring the Democrats to bail them out or subsidize them, which hinders the rest of the economy. Unfortunately most Democrats, eager to collect campaign donations, are more than willing to oblige these groups.

According to Walter Russell Mead, a blogger with the American Interest, the biggest “bubble” in the United States is not the real estate bubble, it is the “upper-middle class professional bubble”. Mead is referring to costs of healthcare, legal services and higher education. Professionals in these areas have seen a steady increase in their incomes, which has led to higher costs. Mead now believes the costs have peaked and the bubble is bursting. He refers to these professional groups as “Guilds”.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am or was part of one of these guilds. I passed the bar exam and was preparing myself to become an associate at a law firm. Unfortunately, law firms were laying off lawyers and in some cases partners. Today, very few law firms are creating new partners and in some cases are outsourcing certain operations.

The story is same with other professions as well. Young Americans that have either just obtained professional degrees or are in the early years of their career are being hit severely. For example, law firms will generally let go of associates that have been with the firm the least amount of time.

In desperation, some of these Guilds have been applying pressure to the federal government to pass legislation that will create new business for them and justify their high salaries. The Guilds have teamed up with public sector unions to influence new legislation. As a result, many new laws are thousands of pages of new rules, which only professional bureaucrats and lawyers can understand. American companies are now forced to pay law firms and other professionals to help them comply with the new regulations. This adds costs and inevitably forces companies to either raise their prices or lay off workers.

Another example of this process has been the role of education institutions in policy making. College professors and educators in general are seeing job opportunities vanish due to government spending cuts. According to Mead, “Increasingly, politicians and taxpayers are going to be unable or unwilling to pay the extraordinary…costs of supporting the ‘research university’ model.” There will likely be cuts in government spending and subsidies for universities forcing them to cut back on tenured professors, reduce subsidies for academic research and increase teaching loads (professors will actually have to teach).

Education groups have been pressuring Congress and the President to make sure federal, state and local education subsidies are not cut. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are the two largest educators’ unions and they give over 90% of their campaign contributions to Democrats. President Obama and the Democratic Congress spent billions in Stimulus funds to help universities and schools avoid lay offs for a couple years. Despite the immense cost to taxpayers, the Stimulus only bought educators a little time.

Younger Americans are well aware of the major increases in college tuition. A college education is becoming unaffordable to middle income Americans. Thus far, the government has done very little to stop this trend. If government subsidies are cut, universities will be forced to either raise tuition more or find ways to cut costs.

It is important to realize that professionals in these “Guilds” are not the enemy. These groups can hardly be blamed for looking out for their own interests. They are well-organized groups that are very active in the political process to make sure their interests are protected. When politicians seek to raise money, they find special interests willing to contribute while nearly 98% of regular Americans are not.

However, it is the responsibility of the federal government to enact policies that benefit the entire economy, not just one sector. It should not be “too much to ask” for our leaders in Congress to look at the big picture rather than their own campaign bank accounts.

In a modern economy, there will always be a demand for professionals and their unique skills. However, the U.S. economy cannot afford to keep paying their high cost. The capitalist would argue “whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”. The recent recession won’t “kill” the Guilds. If the government gets out of the way, the free markets will apply pressure forcing them to become more efficient and effective.

The Government should not be increasing costs on the entire economy to subsidize a few special interest groups. It slows the economic recovery and makes us less competitive in the global market. The government should be focused on cutting taxes and lowering the regulatory costs on ALL businesses. This allows businesses to keep more of their money to re-invest in themselves, expand and hire new workers. By bowing to the Guilds, the Democratic Party is slowing our recovery and inevitably digging us further into debt while our foreign competitors have recovered and are ready to pass us by.

Author Bio: J. Wesley Fox is the Chairman of Restore America’s Legacy PAC. He is a recent graduate of DePaul University College of Law and has been active in local and national politics for several years. He currently lives in New Jersey after growing up in the Chicago suburbs.www.restoreamericaslegacy.com

Category: Politics
Keywords: Special Interest Groups, Campaign donations, contributions, corruption, trade associations, guilds,