Obama and the Democrats have stimulated one sector of the economy.
The Hill: Lobbyists for healthcare, energy and financial interests had a banner year in 2009, with the average payout for each reaching as high as $177,000.
Despite his push to rein in special interests, President Barack Obama sparked a boom on K Street with major new proposals on healthcare, climate change and financial policies.
“The magnitude of the work done in the three fields is just huge,” said Michael Levy, of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Washington office.
New lobbying restrictions led to a decline in the number of registered lobbyists working for clients in each of the three industries, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
The combination of more work for fewer lobbyists meant record payouts per lobbyist.
Lobbyists working in each of the three industries took home the most on average that they have in a decade, even when adjusted for inflation, according to analysis of the data by The Hill.
As usual, the politically connected get ahead while the regular schmoes struggle. Oh, and the children of the regular schmoes get saddled with crushing debt.
As for there being fewer lobbyists, some might argue that there are fewer registered lobbyists. Take Andy Stern for example. The SEIU’s chief “non-lobbyist” sure seems to be doing well. So well, Obama’s nominated him to be on his debt reduction commission.
I guess it’s true what they say, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
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