Lobbying run amok: Eight health care lobbyists for every member of Congress

rawstory.com...

President Obama will meet with 22 high-ranking lawmakers Thursday to discuss health care reform and how to accomplish it.

But if newly released information about lobbying in 2009 is any indication, the private sector and its interests may already be secured.

For every member of Congress, there were eight lobbyists working to influence health care reform last year, according to research by The Center for Public Integrity.

That's about 4,525 total lobbyists from 1,750 companies that include 207 hospitals, 105 insurance companies and 85 manufacturing companies.

The biggest group by far were the trade and advocacy organizations, which accounted for a whopping 745 companies lobbying for their own vision of health care in the US.

So I would like to ask any conservative how does government being controlled by corporations in any shape or form translate as freedom or liberty? We don't live in a democratic republic. We live in a Corporate Oligarchy.

As much as the conservatives want to Rag on Obama; he is nothing compared to the forces of profit at the expense of the proletariat.

With all this talk of "Revolution" on ATS; who exactly is the enemy?
Who exactly controls us?



[edit on 25-2-2010 by whaaa]

And not only do the healthcare corps have enough money to hire a plethora of lobbyists to influence congress but they apparently have enough resources to hire bloggers, Fox news, and some who frequent ATS.

And who ultimately pays for this influence peddeling? You and I thru our inflated insurance primiums, overpriced pharmaceticles and rip off HMO's.

Isn't it ironic that we are spending our hard earned dollars to screw ourselves in the long run. Pass the KY!