Lobbying Is Corruption
This article argues that the American practice of lobbying is functionally equivalent to corruption. It suggests that the rebranding of these activities as legal lobbying serves to protect those in power who write the laws.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing debate regarding the influence of money in American politics and the ethical implications of legalized influence peddling.
Have you ever tried to explain lobbying to a European?
Neither have I. But George Hotz just did the opposite : he explained it to everyone who is not American. Read it. It is short, funny, and devastating.
His version goes like this. Corporations and rich people give money to politicians. Not directly, of course: to their campaigns. The politicians then listen to the people who paid them, and pass the laws those people want. It is not a bribe, because a bribe would be illegal. It is a "Super PAC". And if a politician was really helpful, he can leave politics and get a comfortable consulting job with the very people who lobbied him.
He ends with the sentence every European hears:
You just don't get it cause you aren't American, lobbying is definitely not bribery.
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