Study shows power of lobbyists

[AlphaCentauri]

It's one of the few things in Washington that Republicans and Democrats can agree on. During the presidential campaign, both candidates tried to outdo each other in disparaging lobbyists and vowing that they would reduce their influence if elected. Despite that, John McCain's campaign was run by a former lobbyist, and Barack Obama wasted little time in backtracking from his campaign pledge to keep all lobbyists out of his administration.

A recent study by the University of Kansas showed that, for all the negative publicity they get, lobbying is one of the few industries experiencing a growth spurt. Companies and interest groups spent $3.42 billion lobbying Congress and the federal government in 2008, an increase of 14 percent from the previous year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

And, based on the results of the KU study, they are getting a handsome return on that investment — as much as 22,000 percent in one case.

The report focuses on 93 firms who spent as much as $282.7 million in 2003 and 2004 lobbying Congress for a one-time tax holiday. The companies that spent millions to get the bill passed, reaped $62.5 billion through the tax change.

What we don't know, what we never know in these cases, is how many

lawmakers, if any, changed their votes because of the lobbying efforts, and how many would have voted for the tax holiday anyway. Occurrences of outright vote buying are rare. But clearly, lobbying pays off.
A separate study by researchers at three U.S. universities found that for every 10 percent increase in spending on lobbying, a company's annual income rose by a half percent, on average. So where does that leave the average citizen without millions to spend on K Street smoothies?

http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_12123588