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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Magnatizer who wrote (41587)	3/1/2010 9:50:03 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 71588

Crony Capitalism on the Rise? A new report from the Center for Responsive Politics shows that last year, amid a recession, $3.47 billion was spent on lobbying. That's a $170 million (5%) increase from the year before. “Lobbying appears recession-proof,” said Sheila Krumholz, the center's executive director, in a statement. “Even when companies are scaling back other operations, many view lobbying as a critical tool in protecting their future interests, particularly when Congress is preparing to take action on issues that could seriously affect their bottom lines.” Of course. When we are ruled by Big Government, decent businesses must hire lobbyists to fight off opportunity-killing regulation. Opportunistic businesses lobby more to curry favor. Thousands spent on lobbyists often earns them millions in handouts and/or special deals that insulate them from genuine competition. As government grows, so does crony capitalism. stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com