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Elwood P Dowd

(11,443 posts)
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 02:10 PM Apr 2013

The 4th branch of the Federal Government

has pretty much taken us down the path to third world status......

http://economyincrisis.org/content/k-street-is-bankrupting-our-country#more-18999

Some have gone so far as to call K Street the FOURTH branch of our government. But unlike the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, there are no checks and balances in place to reign in the nations lobbyists. They influence all of our campaigns and help to determine who is elected to office, and what laws are passed. Many times lobbyists are actually the ones writing our laws, not our elected politicians.

Our free trade agreements are one of the most obvious examples of K Street influence. These lobbyists push these agreements that the vast majority of Americans think are damaging. “Free trade” really just means uncontrolled, unrestricted access to our economy for goods made for $2-$4 per hour overseas. We can’t compete with these wage rates, so our manufacturing is outsourced to low wage countries, costing us scores of jobs. A few wealthy individuals, those that hire the lobbyists, get wealthy by importing cheap goods, but our economy as a whole suffers.

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