US companies and political influence: how business can read the government landscape better

摘要

The Watergate scandal of the 1970s dramatically changed politics in the USA. Where government relations had once been a staid process of powerful people negotiating policy with each other behind closed doors - still much the way it is done in many other countries - public outrage over the scandal fueled reforms that opened up the policy process to transparency as well as growing cynicism on the part of the voters regarding the honesty and integrity of those in power. These changes dramatically increased the competitiveness of the American political scene. To further complicate matters, just at the time the rules of the game of political advocacy were changing, the size of the federal government and its impact on business were growing. Based upon growing public concern, government moved from pure "economic regulation," such as trade policy and securities laws, to more burdensome "social regulations," such as environmental and consumer protection. These changes were occurring at the same time that structural changes in the American economy were disrupting workers and further stoking their anger and frustration. It would not be unreasonable to say that the 1970s and 1980s represented a watershed period in the American relationship between business and government.