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Honestly I think lobbyists are fine as long as their influence on politicians is tightly controlled. A politician needs to know the interests of companies and people in their constituency. Lobby groups are an effective way to provide that view point. They just shouldn't be allowed to write laws or bribe politicians.

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I feel the same about lobbying as enterprise sales. I don’t want a salesperson trying to get time on my calendar. Make the information available, I will find it.

Politicians have substantial numbers of staffers (in 2021 9,034 staffers for 535 congresspersons [0]) so they have the ability to educate themselves on important topics. They can also summon SMEs on any topic they like and get the world’s best experts on any topic.

No one needs a fat lobbyist to fly them to a golf retreat and take them to lunch to learn about the efficacy of different climate projects.

[0] https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R43947

I agree, but you have to be careful, because the SMEs very often CAN be the lobbyists. Look at the judicial system, where you can literally hire an "expert" to say and argue basically anything you want for enough money. Greedy bastards are everywhere. How can we prevent subject matter experts from just being another lobbying avenue?

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