Lobbying, Influence Peddling & Campaign Contributions are Sooo Passé!
It isn't so much that they have stopped because in fact they have increased significantly. However, they have diminished in relative importance. Why? Because of the size of money now involved.
As one blatant example, the total settlements on mortgage penalties (at the root of the 2008 Financial Crisis) paid by the banks adds up to about $106 Billion. About $32 Billion of that may go to actually help borrowers. However, foreclosure actions totaled $2.8 TRILLION! Bank penalties were less than 4% of the foreclosure actions. Bank profits on what has been found in court to have been a crime are miniscule in comparison to the size of profits earned!
Maybe even worse, no one went to jail, executive bonuses paid out for these activities were not "clawed back" and no one was even fired! This is because of the new Crony Tribute System.
To understand how the new Crony Tribute System works we need to understand its roots and evolution.
Click here to read the article.