Are lobbyists that bad?

If the government was about to make sheet-rock illegal because of bad or misguided information and you were in the sheet-rock or home-building business, wouldn’t you seek to persuade the lawmakers than their efforts were wrong? Wouldn’t you seek to give them better information or explain how that law will dramatically increase the costs of homes?

Every business or service sold has unique characteristics that few in Congress understand; they depend on lobbyists to fill in the blanks.  And Congress is not always driven by the highest of motives. They are frequently duped by industries that appear to be fighting to protect the public, but really are just trying to use the law to make life harder for their competitors.

Do we want a health care bill with no inputs from doctors, pharmaceutical companies, or health insurance administrators?  Do we want a trade bill with no input from the producers and consumers who will be harmed? Do we want an energy bill with no input from those who actually produce and distribute …. energy?

Obama and most others have criticized the input of lobbyists and the influence they have yielded. Yet the biggest recipient of campaign funds from the controversial insurance giant AIG, the PAC assembled by  Countrywide Financial, and from Fannie Mae was Barak Obama.  If he was so opposed to lobbyists’ influence why didn’t he reject their campaign contributions?

While critical of the influence of lobbyists, the president’s dramatic growth of government will only increase the activity and influence of lobbyists.  Lobbyists are caused by excess government regulation; a growth in regulation is guaranteed to cause an increase in lobbying activity.

In spite of the rhetoric to the contrary you can expect to see more lobbyists under this president, not less.

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