My family had a restaurant and was a Nat'l Restaurant Association

[styersc]

business. I wonder how many dues paying, mom and pop business dipped into meager cash registers to send dollars to an organization that used the cash to cover for a horny, arrogant, CEO gone wild?

[efhmc]

1. Unfortunately, we seldom have the info to make informed

decision about these things.

[styersc]

3. The day that the story broke, Cain's campaign brought in $400k.

He can afford to chase about 11 and a half subordinates. Pretty good for a day's work.

[scarletwoman]

2. It's a trade group. One of their big causes is preventing restaurant workers from unionizing.

I work in the Food & Beverage department of a casino, and we get their magazine every month. They publish stuff like the latest food trends, drink trends, and the latest in commercial restaurant equipment. They connect up restaurants with wholesalers, publicize innovations in food preparation and presentation, highlight successful chefs and restaurant owners, and stuff like that.

And they always include helpful hints for preventing your workers from unionizing. :P

They sponsor a HUGE trade show every spring in Chicago - my boss goes every year and comes back charged up and full of new menu ideas.

My impression is that they perform a useful service to the food service industry, so I don't think that your mom & pop restaurant owner are being ripped off - the dues aren't that high, and the monthly magazine really does have a lot of useful information for making your restaurant business successful.

Being a member of the NRA (National Restaurant Association) gets you a national listing and lots of contacts. I don't see them as completely evil, although I shudder at their anti-union stuff.

I couldn't tell you who the current CEO is - and I rather doubt that Cain had much long-term institutional impact. The NRA just kind of rolls along and does what it does. They have a lobbying arm, but they ain't the Financial sector -- figuring out more efficient ways of serving burgers and brews is in no way equivalent to credit default swaps.

sw

[FarCenter]

4. National Restaurant Association web site

http://www.restaurant.org/