Case Study in Rent-Seeking and Capture Theory
WASHINGTON — "The companies with multimillion-dollar contracts to supply American airports with body-scanning machines more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the last five years and hired several high-profile former government officials to advance their causes in Washington, records show.
L-3 Communications, which has sold $39.7 million worth of the machines to the federal government, spent $4.3 million to influence Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of this year, up from $2.1 million in 2005, lobbying data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Last year, the company spent $5.5 million on lobbying.
Rapiscan Systems, meanwhile, has spent $271,500 on lobbying so far this year, compared with $80,000 five years earlier. It has faced criticism for hiring Michael Chertoff, the former Homeland Security secretary, who has been a prominent proponent of using scanners to foil terrorism. Officials with Chertoff's firm and Rapiscan say Chertoff was not paid to promote scanner technology. It spent $440,000 on lobbying in 2009. The government has spent $41.2 million so far on Rapiscan's machines."
6 Comments:
The machines do not work.
Insiders cheated the people, while violating the Constitution.
Prosecution for Fraud first.
Prosecution for Treason especially.
Spanking their wrist (ala Rangel) is tantamount to approval.
Stop the Looting.
Start the Prosecuting.
Long jail terms and several hangings will stop this sort of behavior.
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Officials with Chertoff's firm and Rapiscan say Chertoff was not paid to promote scanner technology.
Sure.
Just like when you moved to DC you couldn't figure out why someone would tilt the wind shield wiper blade to keep the rubber off the shield, right! For someone who grew up in Minnesota you don't have alot of winter street smarts, do you?
Well sofa not to worry but there's a bit of twisted justice coming in all this...
If Rapiscan Systems, Chertoff, et al are depending on the continuing financial health of the airlines for their incomes that is starting to look quite problematic as of now...
Quote from juandos: "If Rapiscan Systems, Chertoff, et al are depending on the continuing financial health of the airlines for their incomes that is starting to look quite problematic as of now..."
The key words being "for now". In an America where the bailout of giant corporations for trillions of dollars has become common place, does anybody really think the airlines wouldn't get theirs? This is a purely political issue, and will only be solved through politics.
“L-3 Communications, which has sold $39.7 million worth of the machines to the federal government, spent $4.3 million to influence Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of this year, up from $2.1 million in 2005, lobbying data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Last year, the company spent $5.5 million on lobbying.”
‘Rapiscan Systems, meanwhile, has spent $271,500 on lobbying so far this year, compared with $80,000 five years earlier….It spent $440,000 on lobbying in 2009. The government has spent $41.2 million so far on Rapiscan's machines."‘
Governments fail too. Sometimes governments are aided, in their never ending quest for failure, by friends who exercise Rent-Seeking and Capture Theory.
Very nice!
"...does anybody really think the airlines wouldn't get theirs?"...
This airline employee doesn't think they'll get their's...
The airline industry hasn't received a penny of TARP so far...
Hopefully the new Republican House will pull the rest of that funny money off the table...
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