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Sempre meno, sempre più poveri. I lobbisti di Washington

Terzo anno consecutivo in discesa per i lobbisti di Washington. Calano in numero e in disponibilità finanziarie. Loro, quelli della celeberrima K-Street, osannati in televisione (un caso su tutti: House of Cards), al cinema, nei libri e, ovviamente, sui giornali, costretti a fare i conti con la crisi.

Questa è la tabella degli ultimi cinque anni, per importi spesi e numero di lobbisti registrati. Dal 2010, dopo una serie di record positivi negli anni precedenti, non si sono più ripresi. Girano meno soldi e, quindi, anche meno lobbisti.

ear Total Spent Number of Lobbyists
2013 $3,209,702,081 12,281
2012 $3,307,985,590 12,436
2011 $3,327,304,936 12,712
2010 $3,548,598,489 12,966
2009 $3,502,512,434 13,788
2008 $3,301,063,025 14,196

Chi perde di più? Lo mostra questa tabella, per settore produttivo. Non vanno male le “cause ideologiche” (per esempio gli abortisti), il settore legale e il micro-business. Tutti gli altri piangono.

SECTORS

Sector All 2012 All 2013 Difference Pct Change
Ideological/Single-Issue $126,364,651 $142,693,727 $16,329,076 12.9%
Agribusiness $139,481,313 $149,483,306 $10,001,993 7.2%
Construction $47,410,162 $48,991,726 $1,581,564 3.3%
Communications/Electronics $390,661,069 $390,791,203 $130,134 0.0%
Labor $46,310,734 $46,277,803 $-32,931 -0.1%
Lawyers & Lobbyists $24,747,006 $22,037,084 $-2,709,922 -11.0%
Defense $136,193,593 $133,255,857 $-2,937,736 -2.2%
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $488,606,400 $484,201,853 $-4,404,547 -0.9%
Other $226,002,356 $216,979,006 $-9,023,350 -4.0%
Health $490,257,628 $479,711,898 $-10,545,730 -2.2%
Transportation $238,812,946 $221,074,856 $-17,738,090 -7.4%
Energy & Natural Resources $384,675,745 $356,195,408 $-28,480,337 -7.4%
Misc Business $549,747,075 $478,527,416 $-71,219,659 -13.0%

Volete andare ancora più nel dettaglio? Detto, fatto. Ecco la lista completa per singolo settore commerciale:

INDUSTRIES

Industry/Interest All 2012 All 2013 Difference Pct Change
Food Processing & Sales $29,394,011 $39,594,313 $10,200,302 34.7%
Gun Rights $6,129,911 $15,162,052 $9,032,141 147.3%
Computers/Internet $132,918,902 $140,127,606 $7,208,704 5.4%
Non-Profit Institutions $37,100,287 $44,154,921 $7,054,634 19.0%
Chemical & Related Manufacturing $56,042,693 $61,231,485 $5,188,792 9.3%
Democratic/Liberal $938,921 $5,040,748 $4,101,827 436.9%
Health Professionals $80,861,988 $84,461,415 $3,599,427 4.5%
Food & Beverage $27,294,795 $30,290,645 $2,995,850 11.0%
Retail Sales $49,121,490 $51,415,727 $2,294,237 4.7%
Gun Control $240,000 $2,217,765 $1,977,765 824.1%
Insurance $150,947,803 $152,856,559 $1,908,756 1.3%
Misc Defense $41,558,847 $43,286,993 $1,728,146 4.2%
Misc Issues $48,374,439 $50,026,292 $1,651,853 3.4%
Beer, Wine & Liquor $19,583,899 $21,212,707 $1,628,808 8.3%
Building Materials & Equipment $15,460,123 $16,773,740 $1,313,617 8.5%
Building Trade Unions $3,664,925 $4,945,100 $1,280,175 34.9%
Crop Production & Basic Processing $20,553,073 $21,824,912 $1,271,839 6.2%
Agricultural Services/Products $34,459,809 $35,728,115 $1,268,306 3.7%
Misc Unions $7,016,374 $8,231,000 $1,214,626 17.3%
Oil & Gas $143,609,996 $144,472,462 $862,466 0.6%
Dairy $7,262,249 $8,033,091 $770,842 10.6%
Misc Communications/Electronics $4,015,000 $4,740,000 $725,000 18.1%
Fisheries & Wildlife $2,370,415 $3,070,622 $700,207 29.5%
Abortion Policy/Pro-Abortion Rights $1,216,441 $1,889,621 $673,180 55.3%
Transportation Unions $11,003,513 $11,587,905 $584,392 5.3%
Human Rights $42,170,629 $42,652,876 $482,247 1.1%
Foreign & Defense Policy $4,825,102 $5,263,330 $438,228 9.1%
Steel Production $8,017,782 $8,386,031 $368,249 4.6%
Automotive $57,860,212 $58,188,857 $328,645 0.6%
Home Builders $5,265,116 $5,584,728 $319,612 6.1%
Construction Services $10,231,156 $10,482,080 $250,924 2.5%
Pro-Israel $3,582,488 $3,815,744 $233,256 6.5%
Industrial Unions $7,716,336 $7,925,423 $209,087 2.7%
Credit Unions $9,802,353 $9,963,000 $160,647 1.6%
Special Trade Contractors $3,904,297 $3,986,978 $82,681 2.1%
Misc Agriculture $825,349 $885,000 $59,651 7.2%
TV/Movies/Music $117,915,007 $117,972,447 $57,440 0.0%
Abortion Policy/Anti-Abortion $631,890 $657,117 $25,227 4.0%
Republican/Conservative $994,914 $1,018,931 $24,017 2.4%
Women’s Issues $658,321 $671,000 $12,679 1.9%
Misc Business $6,985,717 $6,976,782 $-8,935 -0.1%
Misc Health $9,921,776 $9,874,474 $-47,302 -0.5%
Finance/Credit Companies $36,635,705 $36,521,968 $-113,737 -0.3%
Lodging/Tourism $9,107,575 $8,961,613 $-145,962 -1.6%
Poultry & Eggs $1,624,198 $1,455,000 $-169,198 -10.4%
Savings & Loans $686,250 $486,500 $-199,750 -29.1%
Clergy & Religious Organizations $2,433,719 $2,145,626 $-288,093 -11.8%
Waste Management $5,072,575 $4,772,000 $-300,575 -5.9%
Commercial Banks $61,849,445 $61,501,596 $-347,849 -0.6%
General Contractors $12,549,470 $12,164,200 $-385,270 -3.1%
Telecom Services & Equipment $54,562,373 $54,144,584 $-417,789 -0.8%
Accountants $15,180,000 $14,746,800 $-433,200 -2.9%
Real Estate $82,041,606 $81,589,522 $-452,084 -0.6%
Air Transport $78,925,312 $78,395,483 $-529,829 -0.7%
Misc Services $5,951,835 $5,317,982 $-633,853 -10.6%
Livestock $2,781,816 $2,134,035 $-647,781 -23.3%
Textiles $1,996,010 $1,342,950 $-653,060 -32.7%
Defense Aerospace $58,476,226 $57,755,612 $-720,614 -1.2%
Lawyers/Law Firms $14,396,138 $13,600,889 $-795,249 -5.5%
Environmental Svcs/Equipment $5,996,939 $5,195,378 $-801,561 -13.4%
Forestry & Forest Products $15,891,645 $15,082,740 $-808,905 -5.1%
Misc Transport $16,256,615 $15,359,413 $-897,202 -5.5%
Hospitals/Nursing Homes $92,461,082 $91,376,021 $-1,085,061 -1.2%
Recreation/Live Entertainment $8,113,689 $7,026,808 $-1,086,881 -13.4%
Printing & Publishing $14,374,473 $12,984,020 $-1,390,453 -9.7%
Business Services $41,654,406 $39,935,116 $-1,719,290 -4.1%
Lobbyists $10,350,868 $8,436,195 $-1,914,673 -18.5%
Tobacco $26,689,163 $24,746,100 $-1,943,063 -7.3%
Misc Finance $31,003,605 $28,994,085 $-2,009,520 -6.5%
Health Services/HMOs $70,692,393 $68,516,051 $-2,176,342 -3.1%
Environment $16,601,595 $14,278,251 $-2,323,344 -14.0%
Casinos/Gambling $34,312,668 $31,620,952 $-2,691,716 -7.8%
Trucking $12,621,743 $9,856,756 $-2,764,987 -21.9%
Electronics Mfg & Services $18,488,877 $15,644,675 $-2,844,202 -15.4%
Securities & Investment $100,459,633 $97,541,823 $-2,917,810 -2.9%
Other $19,572,641 $16,425,649 $-3,146,992 -16.1%
Sea Transport $26,501,820 $23,346,889 $-3,154,931 -11.9%
Telephone Utilities $48,386,437 $45,177,871 $-3,208,566 -6.6%
Public Sector Unions $16,909,586 $13,588,375 $-3,321,211 -19.6%
Defense Electronics $36,158,520 $32,213,252 $-3,945,268 -10.9%
Civil Servants/Public Officials $75,542,856 $70,697,959 $-4,844,897 -6.4%
Misc Energy $49,132,184 $43,747,685 $-5,384,499 -11.0%
Mining $32,556,168 $25,319,022 $-7,237,146 -22.2%
Education $91,352,853 $83,554,851 $-7,798,002 -8.5%
Railroads $46,647,244 $35,927,458 $-10,719,786 -23.0%
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $236,320,389 $225,483,937 $-10,836,452 -4.6%
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $108,255,826 $96,476,715 $-11,779,111 -10.9%
Electric Utilities $145,937,468 $129,618,239 $-16,319,229 -11.2%
Business Associations $173,308,690 $108,331,903 $-64,976,787 -37.5%

E i lobbisti che dicono? Non tutto il male viene per nuocere. I dati non sono drammatici e non raccontano necessariamente una crisi. Non irreversibile quanto meno. Raccontano semmai un riposizionamento del mercato di cui è utile prendere quanto prima le misure. Può darsi che stia tramandando l’epoca del lobbista tradizionale: bravo conoscitore della legge, ma ancor prima ottimo intenditore di transazioni, stati d’animo e “chi è chi”. Può darsi che sia ora di “de-lobbizzarsi”, aprendo la professione a settori nuovi (il No Profit ad esempio), con metodi nuovi, e anche budget diversi da quelli cui siamo stati abituati finora. A proposito, leggete questo pezzo del New York Times, è illuminante: Qui.

 



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