Michael Lissack who believe that such rationing occurs on the merits... well there is a bridge in Brooklyn I might be able to get you a good price on if you are interested. It has been estimated that there are more than ninety-one thousand lobbyists and people associated with lobbying activities in and around Washington. Academic attempts to calculate their annual cost to the over- all U.S. economy generally put it in the 5 percent to 12 percent range, which comes to roughly $300 billion to $700 billion. But the number of lobbyists in Washington pales beside the aggregate number nationwide. In the game of taxes, the states and localities often have as much to offer a thief as the Feds -- and with less work. Wall Street makes money by underwriting municipal bond issues, col- lecting huge fees for guaranteeing the sale of city and state debt. Others simply advise elected officials on the process. Some manage the money mu- nicipalities collect with the issue. Indeed the business is important to Wall Street’s profitability. In 1993, it accounted for 9% of total public and corpo- rate new issues. And that year, it was everybody’s game to win. Low interest rates drove cities, counties and states across the nation to refund their debt just as many homeowners sought lower borrowing costs by refinancing their mortgages. While one executive described his business as not rocket science, its status as a one-time financial backwater allowed campaign contributions to grow increasingly important in influencing elected officials’ decisions on underwriting contracts. Distributing lucrative bond-underwriting work to favored law firms, investment bankers, financial advisers, and other consultants has long been a part of local politics. Those who get the work often contribute to political campaigns. Some bonding authorities are so small they don’t even have offices. When a bond issue is needed, politicians call up an underwriter and lawyers; the process essentially takes place by mail. Others are known as captive authorities, created by the nonprofit organization selling the bonds, housed in an office of the nonprofit, and existing only to sell its bonds. Often authorities compete to sell bonds. And it is not unusual for a nonprofit that gets rejected by one authority to turn to another authority to issue its bonds. Each day, hundreds of quasi-public agencies and state governments
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