Blackstone Code

From a certain perspective, people in the middle and lower classes of society who should be protected by the state have instead become the final "bottom line" on certain issues.

The infiltration of capitalists into the top levels of the federal government is shocking. A thought or a word can determine whether a bill can be passed. Perhaps they do not have "power" in their hands, but capital is far superior to power.

On the contrary, capitalists and politicians need to consider the image of themselves in the minds of the people, and sometimes have to restrain their terrible faces.

The people who should be protected have become the last line of defense to protect this country. Sometimes...life, society, and the world are so damn funny!

The day after Lynch had dinner with Congressman Langdon, he was approached by members of the Duncan family lobby.

They will lobby every congressman they can, which is the key to their success.

When many political lobbying groups lobby, they will only choose to lobby key figures, such as the leader of a small group, or some people who can be won over. For those who they cannot win over, or are not critical enough, they will There will be no lobbying.

In fact, the main reason is that the budget is limited. There are hundreds of members of Congress, and each of them is given 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, which is a few million dollars.

Sometimes it is not easy for those who promote the proposal to make the money back. They cannot do it recklessly at a loss, but can only do it strategically.

Lobbying requires more than just talking, but also tangible benefits. If lobbying could be accomplished with words, politicians and capitalists would have been replaced by lawyers long ago.

As soon as Congressman Langdon arrived at his office, someone came to visit him. He asked his secretary to invite the person into his office.

Members of Congress have offices in the Capitol, and they always have some work of their own, such as being a member of a committee, which requires them to have an office space where people can find them during working hours.

Currently, Congressman Langdon has joined the Federal Environmental Committee. The role of this committee is to protect the environment. It is a committee that can be both large and small.

On a larger scale, as long as the factory is open, it will cause pollution to nature, and this matter will be under their control.

To put it mildly, as long as the environment is not so desolate that even the toughest plants cannot grow, it means it is not serious.

So there will always be people who want to use the energy of the committee to do something. If they want to do something, they must first speak out.

Visiting these legislators in the Houses of Parliament is obviously the easiest way.

In order to avoid being harassed all the time, the secretaries chosen by the congressmen are very discerning. They know who should be let in and who should not be let in.

"Hello, Congressman Langdon, I am..." The man who came in was in his forties and looked very energetic. He was wearing a decent formal suit and was holding a briefcase in his hand. He looked very experienced.

If he was a government worker, Langdon would believe him, but he lacked some of the laziness of a government worker.

When Congressman Langdon was looking at his business card, the middle-aged man in his forties smiled and talked about his identity, "Today I am here to talk to you on behalf of the Duncan family about our proposal."

Arrogant!

Yes, Congressman Langdon put down the business card in his hand, and an arrogant atmosphere hit him, making his hair a little messy.

He's met with lobby groups.

Last year, an old city in the north planned to clear out tens of thousands of acres of natural forest due to urban development needs. The local government certainly cannot make the final decision on such a big matter. After reporting the matter layer by layer, the state government reported it to Congress for the final decision.

Before the vote, local lobbying groups appeared. They used a lot of data and evidence to illustrate the necessity of clearing forests and building cities for local economic development.

It wasn't until the end that they slightly expressed the hope that Congressman Langdon would consider this issue for the local economy, which was in urgent need of development, and for the people who were anxiously waiting for jobs, and then presented some local specialties from the bottom of society.

Sometimes it is really difficult to view the behavior of members of Congress with the charge of official crimes. They can cover up their crimes and criminals without any scruples, and they can accept all kinds of "profits" without any scruples and do not care about investigations. Bureau's gaze.

In the end, Congressman Langdon reluctantly agreed to the other party's request and voted in favor of the matter, considering that the people at the bottom of society were indeed very supportive.

And he spent a small amount of money to become a shareholder of a small company that was obviously irregular at first glance. The small company was suddenly acquired by a large company. Congressman Langdon sold his shares and made a huge profit.

You have to say that he did not break the law. In fact, everyone knows that what he did was really illegal. At least there is enough evidence to prove that he agreed to the proposal because he received money. There is a difference between the two things. There is a connection, there is a motive, and he should be guilty.

But if we really want to say that he violated the law, first of all, he has no clear concept of his job. He is just a member of the Environmental Committee. His job is to raise his hand or not, and he is not a key figure.

It is based on a vote of 18 people, and one person's approval or disapproval has no impact on the overall situation. It has no effect on promoting the development of the incident, and it cannot be mentioned as a pure official crime.

In addition, he had just invested in a small business and was immediately acquired at a premium of perhaps hundreds or thousands of times. This was because he had good vision and could not prove that this incident was an extension of other incidents.

So he accepted the money and nothing happened. This is what congressmen do.

But no matter how "overdone" everyone does, it actually stays within a certain range. It's like those people who publish photos of themselves unable to wear clothes in magazines and newspapers to seek help from well-intentioned people, but never think that they are doing so. girls.

They can do it, but they will never admit it.

All lobbying groups will never admit that they influence other people's decisions. Their job is only to provide more information so that people have more choices.

All congressmen will not admit that they are paid to do things. Their decision to choose this or that is entirely their own subjective judgment.

This gentleman from the Duncan family is different. He doesn't hide his purpose of coming here at all. When he opens his mouth, he has an aura of "you must be convinced by me". This feeling is actually very unpleasant.

Congressman Langdon looked at him. The middle-aged man in his forties smiled slightly, as if he didn't care at all about the mood of a congressman.

"Have you read our proposal?" This gentleman pulled out a chair and sat across from him when Congressman Langdon didn't invite him to sit down, with his legs crossed.

He placed his briefcase on the table, clicked the locks on both ends, and took out a stack of documents.

Congressman Langdon was very unhappy in his heart. He couldn't bear to be offended by someone he had never even heard of.

People are like this. If Mr. Geruno treated him like this at this moment, or if it was more cruel or humiliating, he would think it was nothing.

But he couldn't help being offended by a little-known character.

However, I couldn't help but endure it because this guy represented the Duncan family, one of the most terrifying families currently known in the Federation.

He nodded unhappily, "I've already seen it..."

The middle-aged man sitting opposite him nodded with satisfaction, "Then if there is anything you can't understand about some of the problem descriptions in this proposal, or if there are some parts that you think are still unclear, I can help you. explain."

The middle-aged man looked up at Congressman Langdon with a confident smile on his face.

If it's a senator, then the person who goes to them will be a former senator, a former governor or even a former president.

The place to talk to them about this matter wouldn't be at the Capitol, it should be at a golf course, an opera house, a cruise ship or a private beach or island.

There is only one congressman in front of us. From the perspective of the Conservative Party or the Progressive Party, changing a congressman only requires one election or a small accident. Adjusting congressional strategies can filter out some people.

Of course, this is predicated on the fact that there are enough interests to support them in doing so.

Speaker Langdon shook his head, "There's nothing unclear to me."

The middle-aged man looked at him twice, and the smile on his face looked a bit...unpleasant.

He picked up another business card, put it on the table and pushed it over:

"Congressman Langdon, I noticed when I came here that you are a member of the Environmental Committee, right?" He fiddled with the name tag on Langdon's desk, and the words "Member of the Environmental Committee" were clearly written under his name.

Congressman Langdon nodded, and then said, "It just so happens that we have a company that is a little confused when it comes to federal environmental policies. Maybe you can help us..."

Congressman Langdon didn't even say whether he agreed or disagreed. The middle-aged man began to remind him that there were benefits to promoting this proposal.

There is no doubt that this is a consulting service and there is a lot of money to be made.

Look, this income is completely legal and avoids all problems. At the same time, it does not require him to do anything. There is no connection between consulting on environmental pollution issues and promoting the Overseas Security Act. He can accept it calmly. Make money and pay taxes, just write a check and spend it when needed.

People don't associate those two things together, except themselves.

They developed corresponding lobbying strategies based on each person's different identity and background.

Seeing that Congressman Langdon was still hesitant, the middle-aged man said kindly, "You know, Mr. Geruno is very concerned about changes in the natural environment. We plan to set up a foundation..."

Langdon had no more hesitation. He put away the business card on the table, "I have read the proposal. It is very reasonable. If Congress votes on this proposal, I will definitely approve it!"

The middle-aged man didn't need to say anything else. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and shook Congressman Langdon's hand. "Happy cooperation!"