BP Getting Off the Hook Two Years After Oil Spill

Two years after BP was responsible for the Gulf Oil Spill which killed 11 people and left potentially irreversible damage to marine life, it is lobbying against Congress taking action to rstrict offshore oil drilling.  With the help of mostly Republicans in Congress, oil companies lobbied in 2010 against provisions to lift the liability for oil spills from $75 million to $10 billion after the Gulf disaster.  President Obama wanted unlimited liability for companies involved in oil spills, but the Senate filibustered the raising of the liability cap.  Last year, BP made $8.43 million in lobbying expenditures aimed at protecting its tax breaks on its $26 billion in profits.  Even in a highly partisan environment, one thing that the vast majority if Americans agree on is that no company that destroys the environment should be allowed to make huge profits, pay their executives lavishly, and lobby Congress to stop legislation designed to hold companies like BP accountable for disasters like the Gulf Oil Spill.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/bp-oil-spill-gulf-of-mexico-oil-lobbyists_n_1335556.html

For-Profit College Heads at Luxurious Retreat

Around 60 executives from for-profit schools across the nation just attended a lxurious retreat at Lake Tahoe resort in California. For a decade, they have spent millions lobbying Congress to stop regulations aimed at their industry. These proposed laws seek to punish schools that saddle students with loans they cannot pay back. One of this industry's chief lobbyists trying to shelter this industry from new regulations is former Senate Majority leader Trent Lott, who attended the retreat as a noted guest and gave them a presentation on legislative updates. These schools help worsen income inequality as the executives make lavish salaries with luxurious perks like this while students get loans they often cannot repay and no guarantee of a job after they earn their degrees. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/for-profit-college-chiefs-lake-tahoe_n_1283331.html

Obama Picked Off for Touting Fracking, While Americans Don't Want It (for 1/26/12)

President Obama is like a highly-drafted quarterback who throws far too many interceptions. This a solid analogy, with the Super Bowl about to be played. Companies involved in natural gas development have spent millions of dollars on elections, lobbying, and on advertising to sway public opinion in favor of natural gas development. All of which acts like a fierce pass rush on President Obama or anybody else who would sit in the White House. In the State of the Union that he gave on January 24th, Obama mentioned that the U.S. has a century's worth of natural gas on our soil. He said his Administration will advocate safe exploration and utilization of this resource. Obama apparently thinks hydraulic fracturing, often referred to as fracking, can be done safely. But, evidence suggests otherwise. Fracking yields staggering amounts of cancerous wastewater. Fracking has caused numerous small earthquakes in Ohio because of the extensive deep Earth drilling involved with it. Americans have started grassroots movements to oppose fracking. Half of Ulysses' 3,000 registered voters oppose fracking within their city limits in the State of New York. Officials in Otsego County in New York have also expressed concern about the dangers of fracking. This is a solid example of what has happened during Obama's Presidency. Too often, Obama has let his 2008 voters down. Many of them want stronger protections on the environment, more aggressive pursuit of Wall Street Banks that robbed millions of Americans of their homes or jobs, and and end to the Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy. Too often his Administration does not deliver enough to solve these problems. http://rt.com/usa/news/fracking-obama-drill-union-707/

Citizens United Allows Big Lobbying Firms to Spend $4 Billion on Elections (for 1/19/12)

Two years ago at this time, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United that corporations could spend unlimited, often secret, amounts of money on elections. It allows corporations to spend secretively on attack ads against candidates who intend to regulate and reform their industries. Fossil fuel and healthcare companies will run ads on issues central to their businesses to try to influence the 2012 elections. One can only suspect that many of these corporations will run ads that will protect their bottom lines and deceive the public. These ads will also ignore income inequality. Wall Street banks will likely run ads favoring financial deregulation that will ultimately screw over consumers. Energy companies will continue to run ads saying that fighting global warming by curbing our use coal, oil, and gas will hurt our economy. http://www.alternet.org/investigations/153813/thanks_to_citizens_united%2C_multinational_mega_lobbyist_firm_salivates_over_%244_billion_in_campaign_cash_/

Financial Sector Now Greater Share of Economy Than Prior to Economic Crisis (for 12/19/11)

Compared to 2006, the financial sector now has an 8.4% share of U.S. GDP and is a bigger part of the economy as a whole. Big Banks's bad risky investments led to the 2008 TARP taxpayer bailout, high unemployment, and plunging real estate values. Their lobbying on Capitol Hill has also stirred public outrage. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/15/financial-sector-economy_n_1151058.html?ref=financial-reform

Bank Lobbying to Reach a New High in 2011

$47 million in lobbying spending by commercial banks this year.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/bank-lobbying-record-high_n_1106350.html