Lobbyists and political action committees are a real threat to the democratic process and leave the average voter powerless.
In 2009, 3.48 billion dollars was spent lobbying by 13,644 lobbyists. This is down from previous years due to the economy. The two largest categories are health, and insurance/financial. Out of the health fields, Pharmaceutical companies spent $267,893,947 on lobbying. From the Finance category, Insurance companies spent an estimated $120,627,007.
In 2009, 3.48 billion dollars was spent lobbying by 13,644 lobbyists. This is down from previous years due to the economy. The two largest categories are health, and insurance/financial. Out of the health fields, Pharmaceutical companies spent $267,893,947 on lobbying. From the Finance category, Insurance companies spent an estimated $120,627,007.
One of the classic examples of lobbyist influence is AIDS research. A disproportionate amount of the Federal research budget is spent on AIDS are a result of the AIDS/HIV Lobby. AIDS is not even among the top 15 causes of death in United States. Despite the dramatic decline in deaths, funding for AIDS research and treatment has skyrocketed-largely as a result of successful lobbying.
To put into prospective, $164,000 per AIDS death is spent by the National Institute Health from its AIDS research budget compare this to $7,713 for each death from cancer, $6,949 per death from diabetes or $8,608 per death from breast cancer.
On a more local level, in the state of Texas, 1690 lobbyists spent $344 million in 2009. This amount lower than the previous years due to troubled economy. The most upsetting of these facts is that taxpayer dollars are spent to hire lobbyists. School districts and cities hire lobbyists. For example Houston paid up $1.3 million to hire lobbyist and San Antonio paying up $640,000 lobbyists.
To put into prospective, $164,000 per AIDS death is spent by the National Institute Health from its AIDS research budget compare this to $7,713 for each death from cancer, $6,949 per death from diabetes or $8,608 per death from breast cancer.
Lobbying has a showbiz aspect. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Paul Simon, George Clooney, Cher, Jessica Alba, Tony Bennett, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Garner, Ashley Judd, LeAnn Rimes, Don Cheadle, Fran Drescher, Lyle Lovett are some of the many celebrity lobbyists. Some are hired and others are passionate about the causes they represent. Research monies for Parkinson's Diease have increased since Michael J. Fox testified before Congress. No one says no to seeing celebrities.
If just corporate lobbying could be eliminated or limited, the government could be returned to the American people. What if it were illegal for politicians to accept "anything" from lobbyists? Would they vote from a position moral responsibility instead of that of the payoff?
In Philip Stiefer blog post about Lobbyist Out of Control he states that "Lobbyists and political action committees are a real threat to the democratic process and leave the average voter powerless." I would have to somewhat argue against that.
ReplyDeleteLobbying is the ability to be able to convince/persuade legislators and officials in government to vote one way, or to advocate for a cause. I think that that is totally okay. We are in a democracy, and everything is based on voting. And everyday people are trying to change other people's opinions on a topic. It also happens alot in Congress. Lobbying is just a smaller scale of persuading. Instead of trying to convince a whole crowd, you can focus on one official at a time. Then start to move to other officials. Lobbyist are usually someone who is in an intrest group. These people do a good job by being able to inform the legislator about certain types of informations. And the lobbyist can provide a good stong base if the legislator picks up the idea from the lobbyist. I don't believe that lobbyist affect average voters. Lobbyist just affect the decisions of people in office.
PACs are a threat to the democratic process, but not really. PACs are just a collection of peopls money. People like intrest groups, corporations and unions. And there is a restirction that say that someone can only donate up to $5000. Which really isn't that much. Also that PACs only make up about 30% of the overally funds of a campaign. Which again is really not that much.