• WatDabney@sopuli.xyz
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      3 days ago

      Unless its asked for by a lobbyist

      This is the key.

      Political power in the US is openly bought and sold, and wealthy individuals and corporations generally control it simply because they outbid everyone else.

      It really is just that simple.

      • centof@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        It’s the billionaires and their special interests lobbyists who keep the politicians in their seat. They have their lobbyists threaten and browbeat the politicians with things such as attack ads and primary challengers to keep them working in their interests. Since the 1970s legislative transparency laws went into effect, The lobbyists can sit in on legislative committees to make sure the politicians are voting and speaking in their interests and not in the interests of the public.

        The researchers at https://congressionalresearch.org/ claim that legislative transparency laws are root cause of many modern issues, like inequality, that the US is dealing with because they force politicians to work against the public interest and for the billionaires and their lobbyists.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Yes, actually, that article is a spin-doctored version of the Axios article it cites. The Axios article is far far far far less biased and basically just interviewed dem lawmakers making statements like they have received “hundreds, maybe thousands” of phone calls.

        The reason that comment seems unreal is because it is in fact disingenuous.