/biz/ - Business & Finance

/pol/lack here.

Actually, they do care. FAAAAAR more than you'd imagine. It's just that their involvement is different than what you see on 4chan.

First, keep in mind that a good amount of the politicians in the US are being paid by rich people or corporate interests via various avenues. We're talking $3.2 BILLION spent in 2015 in lobbying alone based on data Senate Office of Public Records (fun fact: only a faction of lobbyists are registered as such; a great deal have titles like "strategic consultants", or "government relations specialist", or the like). Then there the other ways money is funneled: paid speeches (because Hillary giving 3 speeches to Goldman Sachs is seriously worth $675,000), donations to SuperPACs, prestigious internships at certain firms given to the children of politicians and their close allies, etc. It's all trade offs.

Why is this done? Because business interests want to affect/change/influence legislation that affects them and how they make money. If you want to see day-by-day movement of this, I suggest reading Politico's daily "Influence" and "Morning Money" email newsletters:
>http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/politico-influence
>http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-money

Politicians need the money because they need money to stay in office. Mounting reelection campaigns are expensive. Plus, if you're higher up in the totem pole, you need to give money to your backers in Congress. After all, you can't become Majority Whip or the like if you don't have enough congressmen who will vote for you. It's all horse-trading.

This same dynamic plays out in autocratic states and other democracies by the way.

Next, keep in mind that the ~REALLY~ successful people own or have large stakes in media entities. Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post. Rupert Murdoch owns the WSJ. Etc. And they all use these as well to advance their own business agendas at times.

(cont.)