Corruption

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/

CORRUPTION -- LOBBYING: AMERICA'S NEW GROWTH INDUSTRY: Finally, President Bush can point to a sector of the economy that's actually improved under his watch. "The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000 to more than 34,750 while the amount that lobbyists charge their new clients has increased by as much as 100 percent," the Washington Post reports. "Only a few other businesses have enjoyed greater prosperity in an otherwise fitful economy." The Post notes that a new study from Public Citizen will show that nearly half of all lawmakers who return to the private sector when they leave Congress become lobbyists. For their part, corporations certainly get their money's worth, since Washington conservatives "aren't just pro-business, they are also pro- government. Federal outlays increased nearly 30 percent from 2000 to 2004, to $2.29 trillion."