Lobby Groups.... Is it Just Corruption ( Archived) (31)

in regards to this country I can say that if you have Lobbyists than you can get your way, or be heard at least. The more Lobbyists than you are ahead. I call it corruption and it is not fair in my life experience.
It does not have to be done this way but it is. Politics is about Power, Money and the Facades that are created for the majorities to accept.

Well commented rumple4skin and yes I agree with the train, and a nanny state isn't what I wanted. I was making the comment to outline that they would ban smoking if it wasn't for the lobby groups and their money. My very good friend and I debated, he believes that all drugs should be legal because it is up to a person to control his/her freedom, my argument is do you want people to be walking on the street high on ICE, some drugs are psychotic and have a need to be controlled. You seem like a very smart person and I am sure you would make the right choice in regards to your own self and self-preservation, unfortunate many others do not have the "common sense" that we may have and they need to be protected for them selfs. Just look at the turkeys on a Saturday night in your own and everybody's town, are you not glad that they can not drive totally wasted after drinking all night or is that being a nanny state. I think drink driving rules protect them and me and isn't that what we support a government for... to protect you and me not line a minister / senators or a party's pockets with corporate dollars

Don't worry, I can tell the difference between a cigarette and heroin. Drugs and drink driving come at a significant social cost so here I believe the public has an authority/duty/right to curb the behaviour of the individual in the interest of the common good.

But if we were to ban smoking then we could call for a ban on unhealthy food, you could also argue to regulate all physical activity that is not strictly essential as some of these activities could lead to personal injury.

Were do you think a government...any government.....gets the food for a food stamp program? Or the medicines for a AIDs program? Or the fuel to run the vehicles in it military? Companies and Corporations right?

Were does the government get the communication services....computers, cell phones, wireless service....to run a government agency? Companies and corporations, right?

Were do a government get billions in corporation taxes to run a government? Companies and Corporations, right?

So the associations of these companies and corporation should not have loybbist in the government? To aid in drafting the rules and reg that they have to live under? To solve the technical issues that arise? To bring about new innovation that the government can benefit from?

The view is that the lobbyist is buying favoritism every time he/she meets with a elected official. But the truth is, very few of the lobbyist are caught with corrupt practices......how often do you see a a scandal with them being aired in the media? Because daily there are 1000s of lobbyist and government contacts being made.

Your modern day government and the company/corporation are linked at the hip.....like it or not. They need other to function......

We need a separate house to represent the economic powers which would also include Academics, technocrats and Unions.

I believe modern society needs a functional/meritocratic representative as well as a populist/Democratic one. The former is the role our house of Lords in Britain was originally established for before politics descended into pure populist corruption.

I really only one things to say.....1776

yes and many more too, for groups that can't afford a lobbyist or understand what the advantage is of having that extra voice for their cause or occupation it is to me just a unfair advantage. Like in my occupation many years ago there was one Lobbyist working but now this is not the case, and so there is no one that speaks up for the Hairstylists and Barbers. So to most people that means little or nothing, but to those that have dedicated their lives to that profession ( and this does apply to other groups as well ) but to those groups that don't have that edge they just have to deal with what they get. SO for instance if you are a teacher or your job is involved with education that is a whole different story. Lobbyists for Education are many, in this state of Oregon there are so many sources that have been created to get money to keep people that are in the business of education healthy, stable and with plenty of food on their plate and much much more. Does your group need more money? Well, those lobbyist can make sure that the people that make those big decisions and where the money is allocated is in your favor. That is just part of the way it is today. So it always goes back to money and power. If your group is not united and have the money to play this game then they may very well just stay at the bottom and that is if they don't just disappear.

Since the 1970s, lobbying activity has grown immensely in terms of the numbers of lobbyists and the size of lobbying budgets, and has become the focus of much criticism of American governance.

Corruption in American politics today= lobbying in Washington, concentration of over half the wealth of this country in the hands of a tiny group of people, and currently the ludicrous Grover Norville.