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> campaign contributions made by Google to the Congressional representatives... Sigh. It is illegal for Google, like any other company, U.S. or foreign, to don
by declan 11y ago
> campaign contributions made by Google to the Congressional representatives...
Sigh. It is illegal for Google, like any other company, U.S. or foreign, to donate even $0.01 to any "congressional representative" (by that I take it you mean candidate for federal office or a current federal office-holder).
Google has never done so, and nobody, except you, has ever accused the company of doing so. Not only is this a slur, is the FUD equivalent of chemtrails, and it has no place on HN.
Source: "The law also prohibits contributions from corporations and labor unions. This prohibition applies to any incorporated organization, profit or nonprofit." http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/citizens.shtml#prohibited http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/citizens.shtml#prohibited
- ocdtrekkie 11y agoI would like to present: http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?cycle=2014&id=D000022008 http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?cycle=2014&id=D00... Many of the Congressional representatives on this list have signed letters on behalf of Google asking the EU not to intervene in Google's business.
- declan 11y agoThose are individuals choosing to donate money, not Google. As I said above, any corporation is prohibited from donating even $0.01 to any candidate for federal office.
- ocdtrekkie 11y agoPretty sure corporations are people now. :) And if Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Eric Schmidt are tossing millions of dollars at the government, I'm sorry, but that's Google paying off candidates for federal office. Particularly when those same candidates turn right around and advocate for Google on the international political stage after they're elected.
- Kalium 11y agoAnd what if it's some of the many thousands of people who happen to work at Google donating money? The data you have cited is incapable of distinguishing between the two. A spot-check of the top name shows a politician who just happens to be a candidate to represent an area many Googlers would be expected to live in.
- ocdtrekkie 11y agoSo what you want me to believe, is that the list of Congresspeople going outside of their duties to citizens and asking other governments to not regulate against Google, who also happen to have all collected substantial donations from Google employees are doing that completely objectively and coincidentally?
- Kalium 11y agoI'm saying that if you want to make the case that a couple of rich people are buying influence, you need to so better than "BIG NUMBER!". Like evidence on how many people that big amount of money came from. If it all came from two people, you'd have a case. If $85k came from 10000 people, your case might be a lot weaker. Also, many people would consider advocating for the interests of their constituents to be exactly what the duties of a Congresscritter are.
- ocdtrekkie 11y agoI don't think any Congresscritter job includes protecting businesses in foreign countries from litigation.
- Kalium 11y agoPromoting local interests is part of the job. Sometimes that might mean dealing with interests in foreign locales. Local interests means the interests of the local people, which does not always mean things that take place in geographically local location.