The Washington Post reports:
Major recipients of federal bailout money spent more than $10 million to lobby lawmakers in the first three months of 2009, including arguing against pay limits for corporate executives, according to newly filed disclosure records.
The biggest spenders among major financial firms and automakers included General Motors, which spent nearly $1 million a month on lobbying so far this year, and Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which together spent more than $2.5 million in their efforts to sway lawmakers and Obama administration officials on a wide range of financial issues.
Well, yes, they lobby. And they will continue as government keeps interfering in every aspect of our lives. Besides, returns on lobbying expenditure are really high.
That being said, my view is pretty much that lobbyists seeking unearned wealth via government cohesion are reprehensible, while lobbyists who are trying to protect themselves against political predators are okay. The question here is: Which type of lobbyists are TARP recipients?
According to the Post:
The biggest spender among TARP recipients was GM, which reported a total of $2.8 million in lobbying expenditures for the first quarter of 2009. The company’s wide-ranging portfolio of issues included proposed cap-and-trade environmental legislation, President Obama’s stimulus proposal, defense programs, telecommunications issues and global trade negotiations, according to GM’s lobbying disclosure form.
Read the whole article here.
By the way, check out this new video, produced by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity. Dan Mitchell argues that reducing the size and scope of government is the only effective way to control Washington sleaze.