Quotes

Bill Gates (billionaire, major philanthropist)- “*I decided the philanthropic role is where my contribution would be more unique, and so that is what I will work on the rest of my life. I actually think, maybe I’m wrong, that I can have as much impact in that role as I could in any political role. In any case, I would never run for political office.*” [arguing that unelected philanthropy roles can be as impactful as elected political roles]

Donald Trump (billionaire, US president)- “*As a businessman and a very substantial donor to very important people, when you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do.*" [speaking about donating money to politicians]

Joe Biden (US Senator, Vice President, President)- "*I need you very badly. I hope if I win this nomination, I won’t let you down. I promise you.*" [Speaking to about 100 political donors at a fundraiser]

Jimmy Carter (US President)- "Now (America)'s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president." [on the Citizen's United ruling]

Mike Lee (US Senator)- "We're not a democracy." [A tweet about the US political system]

- "Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that." [another tweet]

Mick Mulvaney (US Representative and presidential cabinet member)- “We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress. If you were a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you were a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.”

Jack Abramoff (Former lobbyist )“You can’t take a congressman to lunch for $25 and buy him a steak. But you can take him to a fundraising lunch and not only buy him that steak, but give him $25,000 extra and call it a fundraiser.”

*-“I would say to [the Member], ‘When you’re done working on the Hill, we’d very much like you to consider coming to work for us.’ **The moment I said that, we owned them.** And what does that mean? Every request from our office, every request of our clients, everything that we want, they’re gonna do.”*

Andrew Cuomo (governor of New York)- "Too often government responds to the whispers of lobbyists before the cries of the people."

Bryony Worthington (British Lord)- "Having been a lobbyist myself you can't overstate how easy it is to get things done your way."

Bernie Sanders(US Senator)- ""This is what oligarchy looks like: Today, the top one-tenth of 1 percent owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. The top one-hundredth of 1 percent makes more than 40 percent of all campaign contributions. The billionaire class owns the political system and reaps the benefits from it."

Leona Helmsley (billionaire)- “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.”

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-bill-gates-in-abu-dhabi-ill-never-run-for-office-2012oct09-story.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/trump-buying-politicians/498749/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-wont-demonize-the-rich\_n\_5d09ac63e4b0f7b74428e4c6

https://www.ecowatch.com/jimmy-carter-the-u-s-is-an-oligarchy-with-unlimited-political-bribery-1882080975.html

https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1314016169993670656

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/25/mick-mulvaney-faces-backlash-after-telling-bankers-if-you-were-a-lobbyist-who-never-gave-us-money-i-didnt-talk-to-you/

https://represent.us/action/5-facts-lobbyists/

https://www.betterworld.net/quotes/bernie/bernie8.htm