Only a few people know how much it takes to bribe a legislator. It doesn’t take much to influence a vote to, for instance, extend Mickey Mouse’s copyright protection. A few hundred thousand dollars, a parade of Disney characters prancing through the halls of Congress, and, presto, the Disney copyrights on Donald and Mickey get an extension unavailable to other copyright holders.
That’s a perfect example of changing the laws to help a tiny special interest. Passing laws to protect polar bears costs a lot more. First of all, there are more polar bears than ever, and their numbers are growing. So, bigger lies have to be told to cover up the truth. But, “protecting” polar bears makes it more difficult to drill for oil, so overseas oil producers are willing to pay a lot for lies and laws that maintain their monopoly.
Existing oil interests, mostly in the middle east, will spend any amount to stop competition. They are more desperate than Disney to get laws, public opinion, and the media opposed to all workable means to achieve energy independence.
Fewer Americans believe what they read in the newspaper or hear on government-controlled broadcasts. As it becomes harder to convince people paying four or five dollars a gallon for gasoline that they should go on doing so to protect a handful of thriving carnivores, vastly bigger bribes are needed. Some have to be given more directly.
Big, direct bribes are easier to find. Soon, we may start to see evidence of some elected officials putting money in offshore accounts in exchange for votes. It’ll be a big story. The internet won’t let it die.
