Special Interest Groups Quotes

“Those seeking election like to believe they're following the trade winds of popular opinion and reading the financial star fields correctly to guide their vessels home. In reality, they've been paper captains from the start of their voyage.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Don’t throw the person out with the opinion.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Applying the term ‘hate speech’ has become the latest way to defend a position that cannot be defended by creating the appearance that you’re defending it.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Hate speech’ is the slight-of-hand used to distract people from the indefensibility of a position by making people feel sorry for it.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“This longstanding bipartisan revolving door between government and business reflects the inconvenient realities of life in a capitalistic democratic republic. On the one hand, when work- ing well, this revolving door allows businesses and government to draw on talented, ethical individuals from the private and public sectors to serve the interests of both shareholders and citizens. On the other hand, this revolving door can lead to corrosive cronyism and corruption that eats away at the integrity of both business and government as narrow interests are served, to the detriment of shareholders and citizens.”
― Tom C.W. Lin, The Capitalist and the Activist: Corporate Social Activism and the New Business of Change

“Reading The Wealth of Nations as an attack against lobbying from special interest groups and cronyism suggests that for Smith the violence and inefficiencies of rent seeking mercantilist policies cause harm and are unjust.

For Smith, rent seeking and state capture by special interest groups is not only inefficient, but uses the (actual) "blood and treasure" of fellow citizens to enrich a few merchants under the false pretence of enriching the country. The Wealth of Nations can therefore be read as a moral condemnation of mercantilist policies: unjust policies are also inefficient policies.”
― Maria Pia Paganelli, Adam Smith: The Kirkcaldy Papers