

Lobbyists Rule America

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."



However in 2006, there are literally thousands of lobbyists that directly influence the policies and actions of most branches of government for the corporations that the lobbyists represent. You may also know these lobbyists as political action committees (PACs), professional agencies for hire, or just private organizations and individuals that want to influence politics.



The problem is that there are now more (and an increasing number of) lobbyists for corporations and businesses, than there are lobbyists representing individuals and private groups, such as churches, unions, and non-profit organizations. As a result, our government policies and actions are being influenced more by corporations than people!





Furthermore, political corruption from lobbying is becoming more common. For instance, lobbying is typically performed on behalf of corporations that also make huge campaign contributions that are much larger than what individuals and organizations donate. Therefore, almost all politicians are stuck between deciding their need to solicit more financial contributions for their parties and their own campaigns versus being supportive of the people that they represent. As a result, political corruption appears rampant in most part of governments, because politicians appear to be more supportive of their financial backers instead of their constituents.



Several states, in the United States of America, have passed several Clean Elections laws to ensure that lobbyists gain influence by their persuasiveness of their arguments rather than through campaign contributions. It is now time to nationally (and even internationally) restrict or limit lobbyists and corporations from directly financing political parties and politicians, because politicians should not be easily influenced from large contributions that corporations donate. As a result, please support campaign finance reform.



by Phil for Humanity

on 11/08/2006 Related Articles

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