"For the love of money is the root of all evil"... 1st Timothy 6:10, The Bible
"Power in the money, money in the power
Minute after minute, hour after hour" ... Coolio, Gangster's Paradise
"Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with nowadays." ... Will Rogers, June 28, 1931
A few facts
In the 2012 federal elections alone, according to the Federal Election Commission more than $7 billion dollars were spent. (1)
Over $3 billion dollars were spent last year on lobbying in Washington. (2)
There were 12,389 registered lobbyists in 2012 (over 23 per elected federal official). (2)
Barack Obama's administration has 384 current or former registered lobbyists. (3)
George W. Bush's administration had 664 registered lobbyists. (4)
Of the 97 congressman from last year's congress (the 112th) that have left office, 25 are now lobbyists or working for lobbyist firms. (5)
Adjusted for inflation, since 1960 the average income of someone in the bottom 90% has increased $59. For someone in the top 10% it has increased $116,000 dollars. (6)
Sources
- 2012 Federal campaign spending: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/7-billion-spent-on-2012-campaign-fec-says-87051.html
- Lobbyist spending and total number of lobbyists in 2012: http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/
- Lobbyists in Obama administration: http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/search_result.php?admin=Barack+Obama&id=10
- Lobbyists in Bush administration: http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/search_result.php?admin=George+W.+Bush&id=9
- Members of 112th congress who are now lobbyists: http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/departing.php?cong=112
- Average income since 1960 of top 10% vs. bottom 90%: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/03/25/1772521/average-income-for-the-bottom-90-percent-of-americans-grew-just-59-in-40-years/?mobile=nc
