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Lobbying is free speech. School teachers writing their school board about school supplies are lobbying. And that action is constitutionally protected as freedom
by humanrebar 9y ago
Lobbying is free speech. School teachers writing their school board about school supplies are lobbying. And that action is constitutionally protected as freedom of petition, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly.
But I agree about the cronyism. But I think the solution is to simplify everything and make it more transparent. So regulatory capture, for instance, has fewer places to thrive.
- gremlinsinc 9y agoOne single person writing a letter--is acceptable.. But money is power, one single person writing a letter backed by 2 million in funding... that's extortion..and should NOT be free speech. Each person should have EQUAL weight on their 'freedom of speech' abilities... Lobbyism as it works now is flawed. Corporations are not human entities and should have no protections under the constitution of free speech either... The CEO sure--but they should just be able to send the letter, without any money backing and be barred from giving more than what a normal person could afford to a politician -- i.e. something like $500/year per politician..or something.
- jondubois 9y agoI don't think it's free speech. There was a story not so long ago about an academic who was working for a big lobby who got fired because their corporate sponsor Google did not like what that person said about Google's monopolistic practices. This guy's livelihood was put in jeopardy because of his so called "free speech". People should have free speech, institutions should not. Lobbies are institutions.