Yeah, the gov't. bureaucrats always have my best safety interests ay heart. Ha! I'd much rather trust evil and nefarious corps. than a "well-meaning" gov't.

Government responds to inputs. You show them a few billion dollars in graft, like corporations do, and they will twist things in your favor. Take those corporations out of the picture, and government will serve the people. Government by itself is not the problem. In fact, we OWN the government (well, except for the majority share held by corporations). To make it responsive to the people, the greed and other distractions have to be removed.

Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but aren't corporations technically considered an individual when it comes to registration and taxation purposes?
(An individual retains all civil rights of course.)

I'm still if favor of removing earmarks 100%

Rick..

You certainly have some strange ideas of democracy and free enterprise.

Like was said....Corporations are not voters and are not citizens. But, they are run (at least those not owned by offshore conglomorates) by citizens who want their way. Now...please tell me how the needs and wills of the average citizen are met by a system that is heavily biased toward only those entities with the most political clout? And do NOT rant about free enterprise. Ain't no such thing my friend. We are all small fry in a very large pond dominated by sharks. The worst part is these "citizens" behind the corporations are actually charging us for their contributions since even donations affect the corporate bottom line and profits to shareholders dictate increased prices to the consumers to offset. It isn't their money; it is essentially everyone's. If they are to contribute, it should be from their own net worth.

Actually, I welcome some of the "interference" that government has laid on certain industries such as the automotive industry. I am amazed that you did not find fault with the fact you are forced to drive on the right hand side of the road and stop at red lights. Both of these interfere with your individual freedoms!! I am also in favor of industries that take the initiative and make their products safer. The introduction of double insulated power tools is an excellent example.

I expect and indeed want a certain amount of government oversight, but I also expect some restraint on the part of the lobbies.

If the government did not have the power to reward and punish corporations with tax loopholes and more regulation, respectively, then the corporations would not have nearly as much power. But since the gov't. does all this, the corps. have to play the game too and they do it by hiring lobbyists. Term limits and a flat tax would make all this stuff go away almost overnight. But I don't believe in unilateral disarmament. And I know from personal experience that when the gov't. was coming after VNR's after the whole Armstrong Williams thing, our company hired a lobbyist who was worth his weight in gold. It's a great ROI. And since maybe 1/2 of 1% of the average Joe knows anything about video news releases, it's not like a letter-writing campaign or petition drive was gonna help us. But the lobbyist did and it was excellent for the entire industry that employs thousands of people.

What is a corporation? It's just a collection oif citizens that own a company. They have every right to pool their money and lobby for whatever.

len..

Define owner...

The management? The stockholders? Does the "little guy" owning a few hundred shares of GE influence the corporate agenda? "They have every right to pool their money and lobby for whatever". Right. THEIR money...not the average investor's. Lobbying costs money and any increase in expense affects the price of the product or service.

No matter what one may think, we are all being manipulated by people who stay in the shadows since no one in government is willing to turn on the lights. No matter what you produce, where you live, what you buy, it is all well beyond your control. Show me one area in which the average citizen can actually influence the cost of anything on an individual basis in a meaningful way. I have yet to find one.

I once had another financial pro tell me he did not believe it when he read that over 50% of the average individual's earnings go to taxes and fees. I went over his expenses and lo and behold, between income, property, sales, excise, import and others, it was 52%.

Tax loopholes are probably one of the smaller ROIs for a corporation's lobbying efforts. The money would be far better spent lobbying for protectionist regulation, or government contracts, dontcha think?

I included reglulatory stuff with the tax loopholes.

Bills dropped before the Washington State Legislature must have a title. The title of the bill must describe the bill's content. If a bill is called (Increasing load weight and axle weight regulations on state routes), then the bill cannot increase the load weight and decrease the axle weight.

Bills dropped before Congress are not limited to the subject matter in the title. A bill that modifies freight load and axle limits on interstate highways can also earmark a billion dollars to the Superman Porsche Track Performance Initiative.

One of the most effective ways in which Congress could be made to exert some self-control would be to require that the content of a bill be limited to the subject matter in its title. At least, their shenanigans would be easier to spot.

I gotta get my eyes checked!