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The High-Risk World of Lobbying

Examining the dynamics of Wall Street, it’s easy to conclude that normal investors–the millions of regular men and women with full-time jobs who trade a bit on the side or have big 401(k)s and IRAs–are sort of the pawns of the more sophisticated investors, who have regular access to inside knowledge and the ability to […]

Examining the dynamics of Wall Street, it’s easy to conclude that normal investors–the millions of regular men and women with full-time jobs who trade a bit on the side or have big 401(k)s and IRAs–are sort of the pawns of the more sophisticated investors, who have regular access to inside knowledge and the ability to actually move markets. Well, the same phenomenon is occurring on K Street, too.

Specifically, on the issue of global warming, a few very well-connected companies are leading the charge for mandatory federal restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. They plan to get rich off of these restrictions in one way or another, and they’ve convinced other companies to jump on the bandwagon. But I promise you, that not all of these “green” corporations are going to come out in the black from this.

My most recent Examiner column looks at PepsiCo, a new member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, and asks whether they’re being used by the likes of General Electric and Alcoa, who have much more aggressive lobbying forces.

The regulatory front is more treacherous. Any cap-and-trade legislation will be complex and nuanced, with the details determining who gets rich and who suffers, meaning he who has the best lobbying team usually wins.

Just looking at Pepsi’s cohorts in USCAP, it’s easy to see the soda maker is not the biggest kid on the block. Pepsi spent $1 million on lobbying last year, compared to GE’s $23.6 million, General Motors’ $6.4 million and Alcoa’s $1.6 million.

More specifically, PepsiCo has not lobbied on environmental issues in more than three years, according to federal filings.

Read the whole article here.

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