The K Street Index

"... the 'K Street Index', after the street that American lobbying firms tend to call home. In the period measured, they spent $1.2trn on lobbying (including campaign contributions).
"Readers will note that lobbying is not productive behaviour, at least not in the ordinary sense. It does not lead to higher output. It does not fund innovation or new inventions. It does not pay workers, nor stimulate additional sales."

Bill Bonner, MoneyWeek [17/5/13]

Contrary to what Bill says, perhaps lobbyists would argue that their activities open up new markets, rid markets of oppressive and dysfunctional legislation or promote political innovation. I don't know. Neither do I know over what period the $1.2trn was spent. But it's a vast sum that shows the power of money in the US politics. Power that subverts the egalitarian ethos of democracy.

Interactive Democracy redresses the balance, facilitating everyone to vote on almost every motion or bill. If you don't vote, your vote is devolved to your Member of Parliament. And you can propose and debate issues, too. All at minimal cost when run on the Internet.

Lobbying by the Finance Industry

"An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed the firepower of the City's lobbying machine, prompting concern that its scale and influence puts the interests of the wider economy in the shade", according to The Guardian.
"The British financial services industry spent £92m last year lobbying politicians and regulators...
"...129 organisations engaging in some form of lobbying for the finance sector...
"... the recently departed leader of the City corporation, Stuart Fraser, had contact with the chancellor, George Osborne, and other senior Treasury ministers and officials 22 times in the 14 months up to March this year.
"Beyond the corporation, there are 26 industry bodies lobbying government... with a war chest of at least £34m.
"A total of 124 peers, equivalent to 16% of the House of Lords, have direct financial links with financial services firms.
"Political donations by firms aand individuals connected to the City contributed £6.11m in 2011 to the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties."

I expect that, in my proposed system of Interactive Democracy, lobbyists would spend some of the money spent today on influencing politicians, instead on the public. That's probably a good thing for promoting debate and understanding, transparency and the common good.

Lobbying

There is concern about the proliferation of political lobbyists. This is one area where money meets politics. Barrack Obama understands the threat and has banned lobbyists from appointment to agencies they have lobbied in the last two years.

Interactive Democracy would reduce the power of political lobbyists as the population as a whole would need to be persuaded if an issue was going to referendum.

More here from The Times Online.

Political Lobbying

I've just been watching a recording of Channel 4's Dispatches programme about the influence of pro-Israel lobbyists on British Politicians and journalists. Frightening! It reports on the funding of various politicians and parties by pro-Israel groups and how pressure is put on the media. This would be bad enough coming from a British pressure group, but these people promote a foreign power.

Mao famously said "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." If we have overcome violence as a political force, when will we dispatch the insidious force of money?

"One person, one vote!" isn't that the ethos expected to undermine "money is power"?Interactive Democracy retains the voting power of individuals instead of delegating those rights to politicians who require finance to propel them into office. ID helps to break the hold that money has over our political system.