K STREET LOBBYISTS, RICHARD GEPHARDT, AND DONALD TRUMP

• Main Author: Donghyun Park
• Format: Book
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Arctic; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/pdf/10.1142/9789813274242_0020; http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789813274242_0020

More staid and mature democracies like America are not exempt from unhealthy coziness between business and politics. It is not for nothing that billions of dollars are sloshing around inside the beltway encircling Washington, D.C. Money buys political influence, and political influence helps your business. The hordes of lobbyists running around Washington, D.C. are part of a multi-billion dollar industry in which special interest groups try to buy influence from politicians and the government. For example, large oil multinationals will seek to weaken regulations that restrict their ability to drill for oil in environmentally fragile regions such as northern Alaska above the Arctic Circle. While oil exploration creates a lot of jobs in the short run and strengthens America’s energy independence in the long run, the environmental costs of drilling for oil in such regions are potentially large. At a minimum, environmental issues should be a key factor in the government’s decision… Capitalism, Globalization, Inequality, Entrepreneur, Financial Industry, Government, Socialism, Market