Why do so many people fall back on the "we just need to ban/outlaw/stop corporate lobbying" as the answer to everything?? I swear I've seen this trotted out too much lately, and it drives me nuts.
News flash..
1. One of our most cherished rights in America is "freedom of speech". Guess what "lobbying" is guys... yep, freedom of speech. How about that pesky little document our forefathers drew up blabbing on about "petition the government for redress of grievances". Yep, pretty much the definition of "lobbying" too.
Of course there are greedy people working for corps, of course money buys unfair amounts of social influence, of course politicians don't always protect the interests of their constituents, etc etc etc, but thinking that banning "lobbying" is the answer is incredibly short-sighted, nevermind the fact if you ask 50 different American what "lobbying" is, you'll get 50 different definitions.
It's a lot easier to say "ban lobbying" then it is to say "ban freedom of speech, and ban anybody standing up and telling their government that is supposed to represent them what they want" when in reality, its the same thing. Hiding behind the "umm..well, it only applies to those greedy corporations" argument is ridiculous, or is the concept that "all men are created equal" out of fashion now too?
People fall back on this vague concept that: "corporations = evil = lobbying = bad" and never stop to think about what it means, and why banning free speech is not the answer to our country's problems. It's intellectually lazy to say "just ban lobbying, simple fix, durr". That is NOT the answer. People (and yes, corps are extensions of the people who run them and the shareholders that invested in them) DO have a right to work towards their own interests, also known as "pursuit of happiness". Just because they make a high salary, wear a tie, or work at a publicly traded company doesn't make their opinions any less valid, or more evil, than an individual marching on Capitol Hill to protest war, or picketing a business that laid them off.
Think of the consequences, where do you draw the line on what kind of "lobbying" should be banned?? Nobody making over 250k can share their opinion, but if you're broke, its ok? How about if a company pays millions of dollar in taxes and hires thousands of people, they can't send a letter to their Congressman, because they are deemed "corporate evil" now? One of the larger lobbying organizations in Washington is AIM (American Indian Movement) has to shut up now, because Native Americans are evil if they "lobby" for their concerns to be heard?? Think of how ridiculous each of those examples sounds, yet these are all logical extensions of what happens when people think "just end lobbying" is the answer to all societal ills.
/rant