Follow the Money: Top 10 Industries By Lobbying Dollars

Politics, Business, Money, News

Lobbyists are one of those things that Americans love to hate. Or rather, we love them if they’re hitting up our elected officials for the stuff we support, and hate them if they’re pushing for stuff we disagree with.

For example, liberals tend to get their tie-dye in a twist over the the oil lobby, gun lobby, and religion-in-school lobbies. Conservatives, on the other hand, get all red in the face and sweaty over social program lobbies, education lobbies, and renewable energy lobbies. Lobbying, though, is a key component to the way the U.S. government works, and is guaranteed by the first amendment. Whether the current lobbying system is actually fair or not is up for debate—obviously the more money a particular lobbying group can throw at their efforts, the more likely elected officials are to listen. So, when thinking about why politicians vote for or against a particular bill, it can be helpful to know which industries are spending the most money to influence them.

Here are the top 10 industries for 2010 by lobbying dollars, in reverse order:

Real Estate

 

Tenth on the list for lobbying dollars spent in 2010 is the real estate industry with $9,003,035 spent. Apparently the real estate industry is nonpartisan, because almost equal percentages went to Democrats and Republicans.

 

Consumer Banks

 

Close behind real estate at number nine is consumer banks, which spent $9,011,959 in 2010 lobbying dollars. They skewed farther to Republicans, though, with 61% of that total supporting Republican candidates. Both real estate and consumer banks are part of the overall category of “Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate,” which spent a cumulative total of $62,905,312. Suddenly the reasoning behind the bailout makes so much more sense.

 

Oil & Gas

 

Everyone loves to hate the oil and gas companies—except Republicans, that is—and it’s clear why, since the oil and gas industry spent $10,490,239 in 2010, 73% of which went to Republican candidates.

 

Electric Utilities

 

And speaking of energy, electric utilities spent $13,105,686 in 2010. You might think at least half of that targeted Republicans, but the electric utility PAC skewed slightly Democrat at 55%. Then again, solar and wind still make electricity.

 

Building Trade Unions

 

Sixth on the list of top 10 lobbying industries is building trade unions. Now we really start to see political lines drawn in the sand—of the $15,046,146 the building trade unions spent in 2010, 93% went to Democrats. In fact, in the Labor Union category, which includes industrial, transportation, and public sector unions, 93% of the cumulative $63,665,882 went to Democrats.

 

Pharmaceuticals

 

Pharmaceutical companies come in fifth out of our top 10, lower than you might expect given their reputations. “Big Pharma” spent $15,116,923 in lobby money in 2010, with a surprising 54% going to Democrats. It wouldn’t be surprising if that had something to do with President Obama’s health care plan.

 

Construction

 

The overall construction industry, which does not include labor unions, is fourth on the list, having spent $15,534,354 to lobby in 2010. If you consider the recession and the industries hit hardest—construction, banking, and real estate—it’s no wonder that these industries fall easily into our top 10. Construction spent slightly more money (59%) lobbying Republicans.

 

Public Sector Unions

 

Public sector unions protect government workers, including teachers, postal workers, and firefighters, and are the third biggest lobbying industry. Interestingly, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers make up $12,320,913 of the $17,610,966 spent lobbying in 2010. Like other unions, the public sector union lobbies heavily skew Democrat, at 92%.

 

Insurance

 

As the biggest piece of the “Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate” category, the insurance industry spent a massive $21,189,648 on lobbying in 2010, 53% of which went to Republicans. Given what the insurance industry stood to lose as a result of healthcare reform, it is unsurprising that they threw everything they had into their lobby. It was probably one of the most important political years ever for this industry.

This leads us to the number one industry by lobby dollars in 2010:

 

Heath Professionals

 

Healthcare professionals lobbied to the tune of $26,350,343 in 2010, 56% to Democrats, which is very telling with regard to that political year. We have to think healthcare reform, which finally passed at the end of March 2010, was a large part of that effort.