4 ms·
>But $5M certainly isn't a notable lobbying expense in Washington Do you have a reference for that? Ars seems to say the opposite: >From January to March of
by recoiledsnake 15y ago
>But $5M certainly isn't a notable lobbying expense in Washington
Do you have a reference for that?
Ars seems to say the opposite:
>From January to March of this year, Google spent over $5 million on lobbying, nearly matching its entire 2010 lobbying budget of $5.2 million. If the company maintains this pace, it will likely earn itself a spot as one of the top ten spending entities for the year as logged by Open Secrets. Comparing this same rate with 2011 figures, Google would outspend the entire tobacco industry ($17.07 million), the combined spending of JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup ($18.67 million), but would be just barely behind the combined budgets of pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Merck ($20.685 million). For comparison, Apple spent only $500,000 for the same 2012 quarter; Microsoft spent $1.79 million.
- ajross 15y agoWeren't you just responding to me in another thread earlier today warning about the dangers of extrapolating single data points? They didn't do this last year, why would you expect them to next year? Lobbying expenses (presumably directed primarily at SOPA in this case) are bursty. If there's no legilation on the docket that you care about, you don't pay your lobbyists to do anything.
- ajross 15y agoI had time to look some of this up. Those numbers are pretty spun. Here's the list of the biggest spenders at Open Secrets: http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=2011&indexType=s http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=2011&i... The bottom of the list (#20) is at $12M. I don't know where $5 would put you but it's no doubt in the long tail; it doesn't even register.
- cooldeal 15y agoYou just accused ArsTechnica of spinning numbers(a serious accusation) and you yourself are comparing Google's spending in just 1 Quarter (4 months) to numbers for a whole year (12 months) ? Wow.
- ajross 15y agoLobbying isn't a continuing expense. Google dumped a ton of cash into Washington this quarter fighting SOPA (to all of our benefit, I might add). It won't repeat next quarter, when there will be a similarly distorted story about some other company with an obvious legislative goal.
- vellum 15y agoSome more context: According to Opensecrets[1]: Computers/Internet spent $125.6M in 2011. TV/Movies/Music spent $123.2M Telecom spent $58.9M 1: http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B12&year=2011 http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B12&...
- bo1024 15y agoHollywood spent $91 million lobbying in 2011: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68448.html http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68448.html