The work of the lobbyists is not actually understood by most people. In fact, there are more misconceptions than realities floating around in the world right now about the work that these people do. Fortunately, the job is not that difficult to understand. According to Cielo Gonzalez Villa, some things you may want to know about lobbyists include the following.

A Lobbyist Raises A Lot Of Money

A senator needs to pull in around $14,000 dollars daily to be in office. Lobbyists help raise such an amount as they make really big donations and do organize fundraisers with the goal of influencing clients. As a simple example, the congressman can be taken out to lunch for under $50 but when he goes to the fundraising lunch, an extra $25,000 can be raised.

Let’s just say you are a bank. If you want to buy senator influence, a donation can be given for the reelection campaign. Unfortunately, this is illegal due to federal laws. The lobbying firm is hired to avoid this. Obviously, in many cases this can lead to corruption.

Lobbyists Do Write Laws

In many different cases it is the lobbyists that write the laws. There was a famous report written in 2014 that showed the fact that it was lobbyists linked to Citigroup that wrote a bill that bailed big banks in engaging in derivatives trading operations that were risky. Something like this can happen in practically all industries. There are even lobbyists that brag about how changes are not made by politicians to the work that they do.

Many Politicians Become Lobbyists Because Of Financial Gains

It is always very tempting for the congressmen to become lobbyists. This is because of the fact that the move will lead to a pay raise of over 1,400%. Because of this, there is no reason why not to throw some extra votes towards the wishes of other lobbyists. Unfortunately, it is lobbyists that make new lobbyists.

We Do Not Really Know Lobbyists

The way in which federal laws define the lobbyist and the work that is done is not accurate. There are many loopholes that exist right now and most of the elected officials do not actually care about it. Numerous politicians and people involved in their actions are not officially registered as being lobbyists, even if this is exactly what they do.

Can Lobbying Be Banned?

Due to the constitution, we cannot actually ban lobbying, even if this is what many want. At its root, lobbying is not evil. This is just a professional that represents the interests of the client. Numerous groups, ranging from nonprofits to major businesses need the services of lobbyists.

Lobbying is advocating a specific position to an official that was elected. This is definitely not a problem and is something that is protected by the US First Amendment. Groups and individuals can express opinions and can say what they like and do not like. The real problem is that the lobbyists are using money, lucrative job offers, gifts and favors in order to convince politicians to do something that would be great for their interests.