Money talks
Sunday, June 28 2009
The health care industry is spending $1.4 million per day to lobby Congress against health reform – so says Common Cause. That’s about $2,600 per member per day. Of course, they’re not actually paying the money directly to members. Instead, they’re paying their lobbyists, and for ads, and for astro-turf organizations, and for bogus studies. What’s more, that money doesn’t come out of their profits: they past their lobbying costs on to you as a patient, employee, and consumer.
Still, this is actually a good thing: it means the lobbyists are facing a tough sell. It means there are enough people in Congress who are pro-reform that the industry has to spend a fortune trying to win over those who are still undecided. The trick is to make sure the industry can never spend enough to stop reform.
Howard Dean, speaking last week at the rally I attended, said there’s one thing elected officials listen to more than money: votes. If they can’t get the votes, all the money in the world won’t keep them in office. Let your Senators and Representatives hear from you, let them know you vote, and let them know what you want from health reform.
