Lobbying is a bit different. Like most folks, the idea of 'lobbying' strikes me as wasteful/corrupt.
Are people aware what everyday lobbying is in it's most basic form? It's companies engaging their elected representatives on policy issues relevant to them.
So when the Obamacare bill was being written, the AMA (representing physicians) lobbied Congress to make sure their views were heard. Completely legitimate. Another example might be a crime bill where the ACLU lobbies Congress. Or the EFF lobbies Congress.
And the lobbying dollars that are spent aren't bundles of cash given to Congresspersons, it's dollar spent on lobby firms that have armies of experts who know how Congress works, who to talk to and how to craft an argument that resonates. That doesn't come cheap.
Now up to this point nothing illegal has happened. You could argue it's unfair that businesses (well, more accurately organizations) have better access to Congress than individual voters, but groups will always have more power than individuals (since they represent more voters). There is nothing to stop a group of voters from forming an organization to lobby Congress on a specific issue. Again, that's what the ACLU and EFF do.
It seems like most people see "the AMA spent $10M on lobbying last year" and picture lobbyists passing bags of cash to Congress. No, that's illegal and has been for a very long time.
Are people aware what everyday lobbying is in it's most basic form? It's companies engaging their elected representatives on policy issues relevant to them.
So when the Obamacare bill was being written, the AMA (representing physicians) lobbied Congress to make sure their views were heard. Completely legitimate. Another example might be a crime bill where the ACLU lobbies Congress. Or the EFF lobbies Congress.
And the lobbying dollars that are spent aren't bundles of cash given to Congresspersons, it's dollar spent on lobby firms that have armies of experts who know how Congress works, who to talk to and how to craft an argument that resonates. That doesn't come cheap.
Now up to this point nothing illegal has happened. You could argue it's unfair that businesses (well, more accurately organizations) have better access to Congress than individual voters, but groups will always have more power than individuals (since they represent more voters). There is nothing to stop a group of voters from forming an organization to lobby Congress on a specific issue. Again, that's what the ACLU and EFF do.
It seems like most people see "the AMA spent $10M on lobbying last year" and picture lobbyists passing bags of cash to Congress. No, that's illegal and has been for a very long time.