The public is hard to inform and engage.
Meanwhile, organized interests know exactly what they want. And they have money to spend. Lots and lots of money.
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| This will be a hard slog. Money talks. Big money shouts. |
Note that these records do not show expenditures made to the "dark money" of supposedly independent PACs, nor to 501-C-4 organizations that do "public information" advocacy.
This is only part of the story. The reality is worse.
This is only part of the story. The reality is worse.
First, a look at industry sectors. The Health Care and insurance industries spend over five times as much as the Defense industry.
A more detailed industry breakdown of donation sources show that the Health sector incorporates the drug companies most of all, but then insurance (including health insurers), for-profit hospital groups, and various practitioner groups, further down the list. The largest industry by far are drug companies.
CLICK: https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?indexType=i&showYear=2018
.Which actual companies do the giving? Some money is re-gifted when donated to their association and some is given directly by the companies, names readers will see in their medicine cabinets and on direct-to-consumer advertising.
CLICK: https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=H04&year=2018
The drug and health products industries show a gear-up in 2009 to contest the ACA, then a renewed effort now:
CLICK: https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=H04&year=2018
3 comments:
Big money in politics means that Peter Sage is one of the largest liberal political contributors in Jackson County.
Peter, tell your readers how much you spent last year in order to buy government.
Larry
I donated about $25,000, spread out among a dozen candidates and issue advice groups. I earned the money I spend. I fly coach. I am putting money where my heart is. I don’t “buy”!anything but good government.
Thanks for asking. Next time sign with your real identity. Have some pride and accountability.
Peter Sage
First time reader of your blog. I found this because I'm looking at the mountains of cash Pharma is spending, both in Oregon and nationally. Love the chart. The ramp up in spending for ACA makes sense. Hmm, what are they buying now? Oh, there's a huge push on to make vaccination mandatory, first for kids, then adults with ever-increasing numbers of vaccinations. It's big business. It's not medicine.
Oregon Democrats want to make the current vaccination law mandatory even though the law that allows exemptions has worked perfectly fine. They've decided public schools don't really belong to the public. I suppose giving parents the option to keep their kids home in the unlikely case of an outbreak is too liberal for the Democratic Party. What ever happened to them? Money?
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