A lot more, It makes perfect sense, why spend 100 million on taxes when you can spend 40 million on lobbying and get tax breaks instead? The logical end result of this system is that a few people will hold all the money, and everyone else will be very very very poor. I think we used to call that system slavery…but not it goes by the name “free market capitalism.”
I am not against capitalism as a system, but the current implantation of our capitalistic system funnels money upwards to a very few. I still think the system can be fixed, but it will require things like removing corporate person hood, removing unlimited anonymous monetary contributions to politicians, removing the idea that money is speech, and making sure people pay more in taxes as they make more money.
Unfortunately I don’t see any of this happening any time soon. The rich own the policy makers, and it’s not in there interest to voluntarily give up their power.
Money spent on lobbyists is a kind of tax. It’s a means of greasing the palms of the political class. Large parts of CEO pay goes out in taxes and campaign contributions. Campaign contributions are another means of greasing the palms of the political class.
Statists always have to have a straw bogey man and corporations fit the bill. The profoundly stupid buy into the act. They are the ones who were aghast at Romney’s statement that corporations are people. Ann Coulter is right in her observations about the futility of having intelligent discourse with them. It’s impossible.