Who are “special interests” and “lobbyists”.
If you listen to most candidates for Prsident or anyother elected office, you usually hear one side say that the other side is beholden to “special interests” or to “lobbyists”. But who are these pople and wahtis their function in our governement?? Me and my mom have talkedabout this often, and mostf my friends think that they areboth badfor government. But, if they would realizethat every position under the sunis considered a “spescial interest”. Just look atGlobal Warming, you have “special interest” groups and”lobbyists” tallking to congressmen, butthey do not thinktha thatis bad. Bu if a OIl Company has the same kind of people talk to a congressman, that is bad. So what givess???
See, to most people,”special interests” and “lobbyists” are part of big corporations. So of course, they are trying to csrew the little guy. Or are they???? Ho many people out there have 401ks, pention funds, or own stock in this daynad age??? Almost all employed people have someform or another in a retirement fund. Where doyou think that this moneyis put into????? Of course into stocks. And who do these “special interests” and “lobbyists” work for???? If you guess companes that have stock that go into these retirement funds you are correct.
So in the campaign season you will hear a lot of derogatory remarks about “special interests” and “lobbyists”, but just remember, these are the people that give us our retirement.
Babalu has a great post on “special interests” and “lobbyists”.
Coss posted at Stix Blog
Special interests and evil lobbyists
Sometimes I’m surprised, though I shouldn’t be, at how easily American voters are swayed into believing things that either aren’t true or are grossly distorted. If you listen to candidates for political office talk for long enough you’ll often hear them refer to lobbyists and/or special interests. Usually, the reference is a negative one like “my opponent is beholden to special interests.” As a result special interests and those who advocate for them have become some sort of mythical bogeyman. Special interests=bad, lobbyists=bad. Of course I don’t believe this is the case, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this at this moment. So let’s take a look at so-called special interests and lobbyists and judge for ourselves whether they are generally good or bad or neither.
Let’s start with special interests. What is a special interest? What makes them special? Simply put, a special interest is a group that would like to influence policy in a way that benefits the group. Nothing more. It’s really important to understand that every law, every policy promulgated by government affects someone. So if a law is going to be passed that affects you, you sure as hell would like to be heard in the process.
As a result, special interests can run the gamut from citizen member organizations like AARP and the NRA to industry trade associations and labor unions. In essence, special interests are made up of PEOPLE. People like you and I. If you own stock in a corporation and that corporation is in a trade association, that association is more than likely trying to influence policy on behalf of its member corporations and thus their shareholders, meaning you.
What’s really important to remember about special interests is that there is usually more than one special interest group involved in an issue. For example the oil companies might want to drill for oil in a part of the country that’s currently off limits. They have a special interest in the issue. But so does the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. And this is where lobbyists come in.—Babalu
