Revolving Door

The Revolving Door.

The Bribers have a sneaky trick - they put people in government for a short time, and then send them back to the industry so they can make as much money as possible for themselves. This ends up costing our society more money. It's like a revolving door, where people go back and forth between being lawmakers and working for the industries that the laws affect. The Bribe System depends on this revolving door - without it, they wouldn't be able to make millions of dollars by providing favors to the industries they're supposed to be regulating.

Lawmakers who leave their jobs in Congress often end up working for companies or groups that they helped while in office. This is called the revolving door, and it's been happening for a long time. These former lawmakers use their connections and knowledge to help these wealthy special interests make even more money. A group called the Project on Government Oversight found that this revolving door is a big problem in the Pentagon, too. Military officials leave their jobs and then work for companies that make weapons. This can lead to the Pentagon spending too much money on things that aren't really needed, just to make these companies and their lobbyist friends happy. Even if the White House thinks something is unnecessary, Congress can still add funding for it just to keep the Bride System going.

Topic Related Merchandise

Talking Points Information

A 2019 Public Citizen Study found that nearly two-thirds of lawmakers who had retired or were defeated at the ballot box went on to work in the influence industry. Nearly 60 percent of these former members of Congress had taken up work for lobbying firms, consulting firms, trade organizations, or business groups to influence — and impede — federal government action.

In July 2022, the world’s largest private equity firm hired Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s son-in-law as a lobbyist.