Some Year End Accounting

With the close of 2007, we are hearing some numbers on lobbying. Some of the most notable

The telecomm industry spent about $80 million buying retroactive immunity for eavesdropping in the latest beef about the Protect America Act.

The auto industry spent about $60 million lobbying against increased fuel economy standards.

Here in Michigan, over $32 million was spent on lobbying in Lansing.

These numbers provide a pretty bleak look into the influence of big money. One also has to wonder what would happen if industry actually used this money to expand or improve their operations.