Concerns About the Influence of Lobbyists

Lobbying is a profession that is much criticized as a perversion of the American political system, though in fact it has been a part of that system--a necessary part--since the Founding Fathers created our constitutional democracy. Lobbies are one of the ways in which people express their views of legislation and try to have an influence on how their representatives in Congress shape policy. Lobbyists are often spoken of as if they were strictly comprised of huge business interests trying to influence legislation in a way that is detrimental to the public interest while being beneficial to corporate interests. Some lobbyists do indeed represent such interests, while others may represent charitable organizations, small business interests, state governments, local governments, citizens groups, and so on. Yet, lobbying continues to be cited as one of the evils of the system, and the reason for this is because of the way much lobbying has involved the channeling of funds to candidates' campaigns or the conferment of free goods and service on legislators. The real evil in politics today seems to be money and the need for huge sums to campaign, and lobbyists are merely one of the leading sources of such money. Lobbyists have an effect on how the system operates, for good or ill--they influence legislation and the legislative agenda in service of their clients, which may be for the good or ill of the country at large.

One reason for the concern expressed about lobbyists and

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Category: Government - C