Member-only story
The Best Government Money Can Buy
How Lobbyists, Foreign Influence, and Big Money Shape U.S. Policy
Mark Twain once famously said, “We have the best government that money can buy.” Decades later, Will Rogers followed up with his own version: “We have the best Congress money can buy.” The observations that Mark Twain made remain unchanged until today. The statements about money’s influence on government remain current to a greater extent than when they were originally made by Mark Twain and Will Rogers years ago.
Money becomes the loudest conversational voice guiding Washington D.C. because corporate entities together with lobbyists and foreign diplomats draft the decisions for legislators.
Lobbying: Legalized Bribery or Just Good Business?
The lobbying industry in the United States generates multiple billions of dollars each year. The planned legislative and governmental policy influences in 2023 amounted to an estimated $4 billion. That’s not counting the “dark money” funneled through think tanks, PACs, and other backdoor channels. The genuine controllers in Washington DC are lobbyists because they allow Big Pharma to form healthcare policy and defense contractors to expand the Pentagon budget. Lobbyists possess the power to produce legislative content in addition to…