Lobbyists and Corporations, Arm-in-Arm
Although spending has plateaued since 2008, billions of dollars are hard at work.
This article is for subscribers only.
Lobbying spending in the United States has stagnated at a little over $3 billion a year ever since the 2008 financial crisis (thanks in part to changes in lobbying rules). But the rankings of lobbying's big spenders have shifted, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit research group.
For example, Google, now Alphabet, spent just $180,000 on lobbying when it went public in 2004, putting it at 1,892 in the national lobbying rankings. Now it's in twelfth place, with a $16.7 million tab in 2015. Within Corporate America, Internet-related entities, retail and real estate have seen the biggest jumps in lobbying spending over the past five years.