What could possibly be more egregious than a government entity using taxpayer dollars to lobby to increase taxes on those taxpayers? It happens. FR friend Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, tells the story in today’s commentary:
Our Tax Dollars Turned Against Us
by Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
When the Legislature is in session, the Capitol is awash with millions of dollars worth of lobbying talent. You have never seen so many suits per square yard in your life.
In Sacramento, nothing of importance happens without the involvement of lobbyists. These denizens of the Sacramento political scene are involved in the legislative process from beginning to end. They draft legislation, find sponsors and co-authors, visit legislators and staff, build coalitions and generally engage in serious horse trading to secure passage of bills that are favorable to their clients and to crush those which threaten their clients. During the final debate on bills in either the Assembly or Senate chambers, lobbyists are frequently hanging around just outside these chambers passing a note to a Sergeant at Arms to deliver to a particular member beseeching for just one more meeting to secure a critical vote.
So influential are these hired guns that the lobbying corps is known as the "Third House." The demand for their services is so strong that some lobbying firms represent clients on both sides of the same issue — but more about that later.
So who is it that foots the bill for these millions of dollars of this lobbying activity? Sure, the "usual suspects" — trial lawyers, doctors, oil companies, tobacco companies, the insurance industry — spend tons of cash. But ordinary Californians might be surprised to know that they themselves finance more lobbying — through their tax dollars — than any of these other "special" interests.
How can this be?
**There is more – click the link**