Corporate Lobbying: Pervasive but Fixable

While campaigning for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump appealed to his base by promising to crack down on the pharmaceutical industry and lower drug costs. Trump claimed regulations had never been placed on “big pharma” because they had “a lot of lobbyists and a lot of power.” Unfortunately, Trump himself fell victim to that power; he completely changed his tune after only one meeting with big pharma lobbyists, deciding not to uphold his campaign promise and instead further deregulating the industry. Lobbyists are people who persuade politicians to support or oppose certain legislation. In this case, lobbying caused the country to lose out on lower drug prices, which could have been a lifesaver to low-income and middle-class families. Given this, it’s no surprise that “lobbying” often carries a negative connotation. 

Special interest groups--groups that advocate for a specific cause--pour immense amounts of money into lobbying in order to get policies that are advantageous to them implemented. Lobbying has never been restricted in the United States because it has always been seen as an expression of free speech. James Madison, one of America’s Founding Fathers, believed limiting the power of special interest groups “was worse than facing the evils they might produce because such limitations would violate individual freedoms," including the right to petition the government. 

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, lobbyists were first required to register as lobbyists and file lobbying reports in 1945 under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. In 1995, the Act was updated to clearly define lobbying after unregistered lobbyists outright bribed legislators. By 2011, there seemed to be a decrease in lobbyists because lobbyists started deceitfully calling themselves “consultors” to avoid registering, which would allow them to disregard lobbying regulations. Many lobbyists get their jobs due to what is known as the revolving door: former Congress members or congressional staff are hired as lobbyists, or former lobbyists run for elected office. The revolving door raises concerns of whether we can trust members of Congress, aswe don't know if they support a piece of legislation because it helps our country or because it helps their career. 

What we do know is that companies continue to lobby because they see the direct implementation of policies they lobby for, as supported by a study by Princeton Professor Martin Gilen. The study  analyzed 1,779 policy outcomes and found that  “economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.” Our government, which is supposed to represent the American people, is instead directly influenced by wealthy people and corporations. 

Another study, “Lobbying and Taxes,” found that lobbying expenditures “increased from $1.44 billion to $2.47 billion between 1998 and 2005, accounting for nearly 85% of special interests' registered political expenditures over the period.” Corporations spend billions to get their policy preferences implemented, and a group of citizens advocating for their needs is never going to have the political power that corporate special interests do. The policies lobbyists advocate for and corporations persuade Congressmen to enforce are self-serving. Although some lobbyists may claim they advocate for what they believe will be good public policy, a survey of corporate lobbyists revealed that the top reason why their companies maintained a Washington office was “to protect the company against changes in government policy.”  

For corporations to continue anything, the return on investment has to be worth it. So what are these companies getting that justifies their millions in spending? “Lobbying and Taxes” found that when firms spend more on lobbying one year, they pay a lower effective tax rate in the next year -- an increase in lobbying expenditures by 1%  lowers their “effective tax rates by somewhere in the range of 0.5 to 1.6 percentage points.” Not only is this clearly corrupt and unfair, but it also causes a loss of government revenue as well. The study continues: “if all of these firms increased their lobbying expenditures by 1%, the government would reduce the tax rate on these firms by 1.07%,” amounting to a government revenue loss of approximately $12 billion. The direct impacts of revenue loss would be felt by ordinary people if government programs were cut to make up for the loss. Corporate lobbying has incredibly adverse effects on the democratic system due to the direct influence of special interests on government policy.

We cannot simply blame corruption on individual congresspeople because that won’t fix the status quo. The demands on lawmakers these days have also increased. Today, the number of organizations with lobbyists has more than doubled since 1981, from 6,681 to 13,776, while at the same time, staffers who provide nonpartisan policy and program analysis to lawmakers have gone down by twenty percent since 1979. The combination of less supportive staffing and an increase in lobbying has increased the pressure on lawmakers. Even if there is no direct quid pro quo between a congress member and a corporate super PAC donor, the Congressmember may still end up supporting corporate interests due to the sheer volume of lobbyists they hear from. 

It isn’t fair to blame all these Congresspeople for listening to the loudest voices instead of taking the time to carefully deconstruct every policy proposal that comes their way. However, we also cannot ignore this issue that eats away at the fundamental principles of our democracy. 

At a time when we face these pressing issues in our political system, we cannot accept things as they are. American citizens deserve to be properly represented by the people they elect, but lobbying has caused a power imbalance that has led to a lack of faith in the system. Many Americans are not happy with the way their government functions, and it shows. A Gallup poll surveying the public’s level of trust in certain professions revealed that only 5% believed the honesty and ethical standards of lobbyists to be high or very high, and only 9% believed the same about Congresspeople. Public opinion is everything in a democracy: public perception of corruption in government vitally impacts the nature of politics in our country. Many feel powerless and angry when they see corruption and may become disaffected and disengaged from the political process, which is not good for the health of a democracy. 

There are ways to fix things and restore people’s faith in the system. It is important to acknowledge that lobbying cannot and should not be made illegal. The government cannot restrict anyone’s First Amendment right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, which is essentially what lobbying is. Even an individual writing a letter to their local representative falls under the definition of “lobbying.” However, that doesn’t mean lobbying can’t be regulated at all; for example, we have the Lobby Disclosure Act, which mandates lobbyists disclose that they are lobbyists. More regulation would lead to more of the same deceit, so instead, we must make sure Congresspeople aren’t overwhelmed by lobbyists by increasing funding for staffers who provide policy analysis to lawmakers. These staffers’ numbers have gone down by 20% since 1979, over the same period lobbying expenditures have greatly increased, so getting more of them will help Congresspeople consider all policy propositions. It’s also important to crack down on the “revolving door” of going from a congress member to a lobbyist. If a congress member knows they can get a job lobbying for a corporation once they’re out of office, they vote in favor of policies benefiting that corporation while in office. One potential solution is Senator Elizabeth Warren’s proposition that companies not be able to hire former senior government officials. 

While these solutions may not solve all our problems, they can be a step in the right direction. It’s important to know what these lobbyists are up to so that we, as citizens, can advocate for policy change surrounding lobbying and money in politics, as well as support politicians who want to combat these issues. Corporate lobbyists have been shaping our policy for too long, and it’s time the average person had their say. While it may or may not lead to sweeping policy change, nothing is stopping you from contacting your representatives and letting them know what you want. You can amplify your voice by joining a movement you align with, like the Sunrise Movement if you’re passionate about climate change, in order to increase collective impact. If we want change, we have to be our own lobbyists. 

Trisha Manna is a high school junior who enjoys all things politics, including but not limited to reading the news and listening to podcasts, discussing current events at a politics club she started at her school, arguing at the dinner table, and now, writing for NextGen Politics, where she hopes to feel more like a contributor to political discourse rather than a bystander. Other than politics, Trisha enjoys spending time with family and binge-watching The Great British Baking Show.