Thread: Lobbyists and Stupid Bombs!

I would have posted this last night but the transcripts arrived to late from the Lou Dobbs Show. About the lobbyists, if this is not stopped our country and all of us are getting kicked under the bus. Also it looks like lobbyists are also leaving us with stupid bombs.Two things caught my attention :

1-1975 Washington lobbyists collected less than $100 million in lobbying fees; by 2008 - $3 billion.

2-Chinese magnetism; detailing how the U.S. government allowed the sale of magnet technology, a critical component of national defense. The Chinese have now a monopoly on these magnets needed for smart bombs, ladies and gentlemen. We use them from time to time in this government. Here's what you wrote -- "Not only is the technical knowledge largely gone, but America's only neodymium mine shut down in 1996. And 85 percent of our planet's known stores of neodymium are now in one country." Guess what country?JOHNSON: China.

Transcript -DOBBS: My next guest says the government is the servant of the rich. David Cay Johnson author of "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You with the Bill."

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, former reporter to the "New York Times," good guy, good to have you with us.

DAVID CAY JOHNSON: Thank you for having me, Lou.

DOBBS: It's a terrific book. You argue that the government is the servant of the rich. How did this happen?

JOHNSON: Well, the campaign finance reform system. We have something I call the political donor class. Literally if you were a congressman, your day would be spent talking to the representatives of wealthy people in large corporations about their problems. You wouldn't have a minute to think about the problems of the middle- class, the poor, even the upper middle-class.

DOBBS: Well, and I'd also be spending most of my time explaining why I was using profanities with the rest of the members of congress throughout the day.

JOHNSON: Not that that's unheard of.

DOBBS: No. But you say in 1975 -- I thought this was fascinating -- Washington lobbyists collected less than $100 million in lobbying fees; by 2006 $2.5 billion -- approaching now -- $3 billion. What's going on?


JOHNSON: There's -- the number of lobbyists in Washington, all the things you do in the war on the middle-class, about all of the jobs that are disappearing and being lost, well guess what, Washington lobbyists more than doubled in numbers from 2000 to 2007. There are now more than 35,000.

And the reason is simple. It is easier to mine gold from the public treasury than to earn it in the marketplace. So, there are whole industries I tell about in "Free Lunch" that derive all their profits from hidden subsidies and from taxes that you pay that never get to the government but are diverted to the Walton family, the richest family in America, to Warren Buffett, to all sorts of individuals and large corporations through programs we know very little about.

DOBBS: We would never want to deny the Walton family or Warren Buffett any kind of advantage in this economy, would we?

JOHNSON: Well, I think they -- you want your people to earn their money in the marketplace. Not getting it by forcing me or you to pay a tax.

DOBBS: Absolutely.

JOHNSON: That goes to them.

DOBBS: One of the most disturbing chapters in your book, Chinese magnetism; detailing how the U.S. government allowed the sale of magnet technology, a critical component of national defense. The Chinese have now a monopoly on these magnets needed for smart bombs, ladies and gentlemen. We use them from time to time in this government. Here's what you wrote -- "Not only is the technical knowledge largely gone, but America's only neodymium mine shut down in 1996. And 85 percent of our planet's known stores of neodymium are now in one country." Guess what country?

JOHNSON: China.

DOBBS: How stupid are we?

JOHNSON: The Chinese military has a strategy of buying commercial interests and through fronts, the Chinese military and the daughter of Deng Xiaoping, who at the time the supreme commander of that country, were involved in these deals.

The Clinton administration allowed the deals on the condition the technology remain in America. The Bush administration allowed its removal. And why? Apparently so that General Motors could get a deal to build a factory to build automobiles or trucks.

This is craziness. This is -- this is not free trade. This is not efficiently organizing the world's assets. This is craziness.

DOBBS: This is selling out the United States. Point-blank.

JOHNSON: It certainly is. I am shocked that we have not had congressional investigations into this. That we haven't had questions about whether there were criminal acts committed. This is a very serious matter. We know about this one. How many other ones are there going on?

DOBBS: You said President Bush. Which one was it again?

JOHNSON: President Clinton allowed the deal and President Bush allowed the removal of the technology from the United States. When you ask congress about this and Senator Bayh has asked them, I've asked them; they're answer is, "We're taking care of your safety. We know what we're doing." That's all they'll say.

DOBBS: Well, I guarantee you this, I can't think of an example that they can hold up where they could honestly claim with any evidence that they know what they're doing. It's extraordinary.

And I love the fact that you point out, correctly, so this is not a partisan issue, that people don't in any way get distracted by that. This goes back to Clinton. It goes back to this Bush. It goes back frankly to --

JOHNSON: These are bipartisan problems that are Washington and to what has happened to our government and how estranged it's become for most Americans.

DOBBS: Unbelievable. It's just incredible and I'd like -- when we say it's a partisan problem, as you document in your book, "Free Lunch," it's our problem. The American people's problem.

JOHNSON: It sure is. DOBBS: This nation's problem.

David as always, good to have you here. Another great, great piece of work in "Free Lunch."

We thank you very much.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

DOBBS: I can't recommend the book highly enough. Thank you.
CNN.com http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
June 23.2008

DOBBS: No. But you say in 1975 -- I thought this was fascinating -- Washington lobbyists collected less than $100 million in lobbying fees; by 2006 $2.5 billion What's going on?

Dobbs always says we have the best government money can buy. I believe that in the long run, the biggest danger to us is not China or any other country---the biggest threat comes from our own elected representatives. Special interests buying influence at these levels will destroy us. The answer is to ban contributions from lobbyists 100%. They can lobby all they want. Their freedom of speech will not be impaired. But ban all monetary contributions, and in-kind gratuities----no campaign cash, no trips, no tickets, no meals (not even TV dinners). Ban it all. Can it be done? Not easily. Look at Obama, the pillar of light that is supposed to bring about the marvelous changes. Lured by the easy cash, he has renounced his earlier vow to use public funds. So, with only one hen house and over 500 foxes guarding it, it would be nearly impossible. But if we start now, who knows? We can lobby for public funding of federal campaigns only. We can push for repeal of the 17th amendment, and return to the original constitutional provision for states to appoint the Senators. (This takes senatorial races out of the financial picture, and installs a form of term limits in that replacing state officials is generally easier than those at the federal level.) We can all refuse to pay any money to the national committees of all political parties. We can actively support those who favor public financing of elections.