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I'm sure they don't report such things as political spending. But it also seems hard to me to imagine that adding up to very much. There are what, each year m

I'm sure they don't report such things as political spending. But it also seems hard to me to imagine that adding up to very much. There are what, each year maybe a few hundred politicians who leave office and might be up for such patronage? If all of them get a million dollars, that's a few hundred million dollars a year. The movers and shakers of Washington DC are also... I mean, a lot of them become lobbyists or media people, and while they probably get good deals in doing that, it's hard to argue that a former congressional committee chairperson is going to be a bad lobbyist or whatever. I think that actually, the people who become movers and shakers in government tend to not have a ton of trouble getting enough money to live solidly upper-class lifestyles, and they have self-selected as people who value having influence more than money.

YawningAngel 7y ago
The specific mechanism is quite limited in scope, but others aren't. Offering contracts, loans, or investment to companies owned by politicians allows the transfer of considerably more money, for example. I'm not staking a claim as to how much this happens or what mechanisms are used, merely pointing out that it isn't clear that the public figure is accurate.
blackflame7000 7y ago
I mean, Netflix effectively tripled Obama's net worth with one deal. I'm not saying it's quid pro quo, but ex-politicians can command quite a lot of money in exchange for their influence.
- wyxuan 7y ago
  That’s arguably more for the name he provided rather than influence
- gwern 7y ago
  That Netflix could so casually triple Obama's net worth kind of emphasizes OP's point. (Note that quite aside from being the most recent two-term US president, who is considerably more popular than the current office-holder, Obama was a best-selling author & Nobel Laureate.)
jessaustin 7y ago
Don't just count the politicians. While at Lucent, I observed a manager/project management expert who seemed to be permanently between projects. I was told not to ask about him again, since his cousin/brother-in-law (can't remember which at this late date) was a powerful US senator. In retrospect he probably should have stayed with ATT... With respect to lobbyists, from the lobbying firm's point of view it might be a good deal to pay a former office holder lots of money for doing nothing at all, if he or she did something particularly helpful before stepping through the revolving door. Quid pro quo.
cma 7y ago
It happens at the state level too. And it is not just politicians but also regulators. Also prosecutors/state attorneys/etc. with connections into the court system are often hired by law firms with that being a big positive attribute in their consideration.

YawningAngel 7y ago

The specific mechanism is quite limited in scope, but others aren't. Offering contracts, loans, or investment to companies owned by politicians allows the transfer of considerably more money, for example. I'm not staking a claim as to how much this happens or what mechanisms are used, merely pointing out that it isn't clear that the public figure is accurate.

blackflame7000 7y ago

I mean, Netflix effectively tripled Obama's net worth with one deal. I'm not saying it's quid pro quo, but ex-politicians can command quite a lot of money in exchange for their influence.

wyxuan 7y ago
That’s arguably more for the name he provided rather than influence
gwern 7y ago
That Netflix could so casually triple Obama's net worth kind of emphasizes OP's point. (Note that quite aside from being the most recent two-term US president, who is considerably more popular than the current office-holder, Obama was a best-selling author & Nobel Laureate.)

jessaustin 7y ago

Don't just count the politicians. While at Lucent, I observed a manager/project management expert who seemed to be permanently between projects. I was told not to ask about him again, since his cousin/brother-in-law (can't remember which at this late date) was a powerful US senator. In retrospect he probably should have stayed with ATT... With respect to lobbyists, from the lobbying firm's point of view it might be a good deal to pay a former office holder lots of money for doing nothing at all, if he or she did something particularly helpful before stepping through the revolving door. Quid pro quo.

cma 7y ago

It happens at the state level too. And it is not just politicians but also regulators. Also prosecutors/state attorneys/etc. with connections into the court system are often hired by law firms with that being a big positive attribute in their consideration.