It turns out some businesses are thriving in the downturn, with lobbyists a prime example. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, lobbyist revenues increased 5% in 2009 versus 2008. As The Hill noted (hat tip DoctoRx):
Lobbyists have said business for them managed to remain upbeat throughout 2009 despite the poor economy because of the Obama administration’s aggressive legislative agenda.
With expanded Democratic majorities on Capitol Hill from the 2008 election, the White House pushed sweeping bills to reform the healthcare industry, tackle climate change and bring Wall Street under control. None of that ambitious legislation has come to fruition yet, but President Barack Obama and other Democrats will want to finish those bills this year, so expect a busy 2010 for lobbying as well.
The healthcare debate took up much of the oxygen in Washington last year. So not surprisingly, the pharmaceutical and health products industry spent a record amount last year — close to $266.8 million — on federal lobbying.
That is the biggest lobbying expenditure ever by a single industry in one year, according to the report.
The detailed breakdown of spending by industry shows the broader “health” category spent $544 million, up 11.7% over 2008, while “finance, insurance, and real estate” doled out $465 million, up a mere 1.4% over the prior year. Of course, since bankers spend so much on Congressmen directly, maybe they don’t need to shell out as much on lobbying.








Scamerica its great!
The cons are first rate!
Scamericans are taught to love,
The things they should hate …
If you want to create a system of graft, corruption, payola, and acquisition of gain in dishonest and questionable ways, then all you have to do is simply give it a nice little euphemistic name like, ‘lobbying’. Then further legitimize this gangster process by calling it the ‘lobbying industry’ and even publish the payola amounts.
Well of course, ‘industry’ is OK — all brainwashed, condition response, docile little scamericans know that ‘industry’ is a good thing …
… like the banking/financial industry … another nice little euphemism for the TOTALLY parasitic slavery industry … who needs chains when scamericans call usury credit, and shackle it on themselves?
Which raises a question. How come the financial industry is listed on the stock exchanges and we can buy and sell financial stocks but we can’t buy stock in and trade the lobbying industry? And what about a politician market? Why can’t I trade 200 shares of Pelosi for 10 shares of Obama? Obama is dropping like a rock, scamericans should be able to profit from that. Or 300 shares of Ron Paul for 1 share of Newt Gingrich? If we put all of these ass wipes on our financial exchanges — ‘free market exchanges’, ha ha ha, as craazyman would say — then we would have a 24/7 real time poll of how the scamericans REALLY feel about their politicians. People would probably go short politicians but long lobbyists, these fuckers will be with us for the duration of the collapse.
Deception is the strongest political force on the planet.