Two Headed Monster

Author Peter Schweizer has written a book called “Extortion” in which he sheds light on the “sellers of influence” in American politics.  Lobbyists and big business is criticized for its influence on the political system.  Perhaps they wouldn’t be as effective if those selling the influence were not able to advertise for it so easily.

When certain laws get created they can be intentionally written with confusing language.  Industry leaders who would be impacted by these laws are forced to work with lawmakers to understand the bills.  Lots of money is made in this process.

The author points to PACs as a major problem in this country.  They are the political action committees that collect campaign contributions.  Leadership PACs are one type of these groups.  They are essentially personal expense accounts.  Congressmen use them for golf, pro sports tickets, vacations, or whatever else they want.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/washingtons-open-secret-profitable-pacs/

If a certain industry would be strongly affected by a certain bill, a member of a company might visit a congressman with influence on the legislation.  The politician might ask for a donation to their PAC in exchange for an outcome that would favor that businesss.

It’s all extremely shady.  When you combine this kind of backroom dealing with NSA spying revelations, government shutdowns, botched healthcare rollouts, near war with Syria, status quo with the tax code, no immigration reform, (the list goes on), Washington starts to look like a two headed beast arguing with itself, playing the American people like puppets on a string.

I drew this picture to represent how I perceive Washington politics at the moment.