Bill Raden
The condition of
California’s battered middle class is the result of policies paid for by a
statewide fraternity of corporations, trade groups, lobbyists and wealthy
individuals. Together, they have blocked needed initiatives through a network
of Capitol lobbyists, political action committees, think tanks and libertarian
advocacy organizations with a national reach.
In Sacramento, the fate of
legislation that could most benefit the great majority of Californians is often
sealed behind closed doors by corporate and trade lobbying long before a bill
can ever see a floor vote. Numbers released
this month by California’s Secretary of State showed that, in 2014, top
lobbyists representing big oil and gas, the health care industry, utilities,
manufacturing and business interests, together outspent organized labor nearly
four-to-one ($28.4 million to $7.7 million).
For their $28.4 million,
state policy powerbrokers were able, among other things, to block attempts to aid education and improve the quality of life. Their target list is revealing, beginning with a proposed law that would have
brought California in line with other petroleum-rich states’ tax policies.
Capital & Main
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