CORPORATE LOBBIES
Profits at any expense
Industries develop to fulfill needs. We must never forget however, that their primary purpose is the creation of profit; cost cutting prevalent and collateral damage suppressed. To quote the noted British economist, John Maynard Keynes, “Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men, for the nastiest of reasons, will somehow work for the benefit of us all.”
Looking away as people die
Destructive effects are vigorously covered up while millions are paid to lobbyists who persuade governments to ignore harm to people and planet. As deaths piled up from tobacco related illnesses, government did nothing. It was not until the overwhelming evidence was prominently publicized that they stepped in, at first simply with warnings and limits on advertising. Cars with built-in hazards killed and few were designed with safety in mind at all. These issues were only addressed during the activist 1960’s and took many years for meaningful regulations to actually start catching up with the severity of the devastation.
Lobbies of death
Today we see huge numbers of people killed or maimed by guns, air and water pollution damaging our environment and causing critical changes in our climate. So many issues affecting the lives of a large proportion of the population are undermined in the pursuit of corporate profits.
Corporations out of control with their lobbies of death pour millions into political campaigns to protect and enhance profits. Built into their price structure, in effect, we are paying companies to kill, maim and poison us.
Health: industry vs. care
One of the principal offenders is the health industry with their emphasis on the bottom line prioritized over actual care. Expansion and consolidation are rampant as giant corporations rake in enormous income from hospitals to pharmaceuticals. And let’s not forget nursing homes (see Nightmare) where thousands have died from Covid-19 due to shameful practices ignored by local governments and huge sums paid to lobbyists for the privilege of cost cutting and neglect.
Isn’t there something wrong?
Certainly, there are lobbies for positive causes as well. The majority however are to further the financial interests of huge industries, frequently at the expense of the public. Isn’t there something wrong with this?
With the benefits reaped by our elected officials from these lobbies, meaningful reform has had great difficulty passing through legislatures. When pressure is on and forced to do something, it is generally diluted versions, leaving plenty of room for business as usual. How many deaths; how much destruction to our planet; before our government takes meaningful action? How much more devastation before these crucial issues are actually faced head on?
Note: Many conditions have reached crisis levels and are being addressed today. Yet there are too many in government who, despite overwhelming evidence, are still determined to prevent meaningful action.
6/2021