Back in the early 80s when I worked in the US for a Saudi Arabian firm it was the law to register as an agent representing a foreign country if one dealt with the federal government. I guess the law changed?

I don't see what he'd be worrying about unless he'd have to reveal who the real owners of the firm he represents and there's something... unpopular about them.

Early 80s... Damn, that was almost 30 years ago!!!!!

Whoa, what a revelation!

Now looky here, there are plenty of foreign firms that have US branches (sometimes manufacturing, sometimes sales/service/distribution. The participate in the same national standards agencies and othewise operate in the same social/economic/regulatory environment as their US based peers, so it's kind of a "no brainer" that they would have lobby representation in the fascist government that exists today in Washington DC.

I would also point out that there is a general trend towards coordinating national standards, for example DIN with ASME (you can look them up if you want). Industry groups such as the one you highlight are vehicles to that end and eliminating them from the political equation would generate just another roadblock towards a global economic community that isn't completely insane (as the national one is rapidly degenerating into).

"And as far as PACs go, if it's a foreign company dumping money into our political system, I don't see how that's different from illegal aliens voting."

If the companies were operating here illegally, then I could see your point. LOL

Those foreign firms employ thousands of US citizens, why would you deny them representation in their own government?

Besides, as you should be aware, the ownership of large corporations is sketchy. In many cases there isn't really a distinction that has meaning. Most people considered Saab a swedish car, yet it was owned by GM. Your GM car may have been made in Japan, yet your Toyota may have been made in the US...

What it really boils down to isn't ownership, but simply the geographic location of their headquarters and who really cares?

Hey Carla...that dickwad lame ass mumbling bafoon you backed for senate..well, he won...and for the next 5 years we all have to suffer through this embarrassment until he's booted out(in the primary)...but do you really have nothing better to do than tap dance on the grave of some guy who once worked for Gordon Smith? Seriously? You won...this guy lost..let it go sweetheart. It's just fine if you want to sound crazy and spew your bleeding heart partisan garbage all over the internet..that's what this site is for...but at least try to keep it relevant....we all know that Beth Slovic sucks..echoing her ain't exactly helping your cause...time to find a new role model. Best of luck.

What it really boils down to isn't ownership, but simply the geographic location of their headquarters and who really cares?<<<

I dunno, a Pakistani company fronting for a terrorist group might be a concern to some -- not implying this is the case here.

Or say a Sudanese group seeking arms exports by using a company based in Algeria.

I can think of lots of reasons why ownership and geographic location matter. But the main point is why would an American working for a foreign enterprise object to registering he/she is doing so? It's quite possible to be working for an enterprise and never even realize it's a front for something else, or as Old Ducker points out, to work for a legitimate corporate entity with a complicated portfolio of products and organization.

Well for what it's worth, Carla, if we would just entirely divorce politics from economics, we would eliminate the desire of any industry group to have lobbyists, whether foreign or domestic.

Hmm, how to explain . . . ?

It's a corporation, the dominant institution of our kind. It is "flagged" in another country, so some different rules apply (e.g. tax rules). We would prefer to know who our insect overlords are paying the major benjamins to, in hopes that we could follow the money to divine their purposes and perhaps undo some of the damage.

We know it's a losing game on our part. Still, we like to keep track of our losses.

It's one of histories oddities that the same right wing reactionaries who regularly take rhetorical advantage of the conspiracy nuts who believe in the NAFTA superhighway / black helicopter / one world government balderdash now want to criticize people who want to merely REGISTER lobbyists for a foreign-flagged corporations.

Well, it's not really odd, since there were never any principles at stake except the advancement of naked capitalist advantage.

You know what? We didn't win. We pretty much never win. We're going to get a Supreme Court nominee who believes pretty much the same thing as you do about capitalism uber alles. She's a Latina. Am I celebrating? No, I am not.

We're going to get healthcare for more people, pretty much everyone if Obama has his way, but still dominated by large corporations who are constrained by law to maximize their profits. Are we celebrating now? No, we are not.

We're going to have an engorged "defense budget" that will sail through Congress largely uncontested. The large corporations will be sucking at their teats contentedly once again. Are we progressives dancing in the aisles in victory? No, we are not.

Even the "health budget," a commitment to cure cancer in our lifetimes, is really a shift of public monies to investors in large pharmaceutical corporations.

In the past three days I've gotten two messages from banks that my credit card rates are being unilaterally raised, not because I've missed a payment or anything (never happened), but because they might not be able to later. One of these banks by the way is Citibank, to which we (our tax dollars) have given 46 billion dollars, which is just a little shy of about twice what they are capitalized at (about $26 billion). In other words, I've helped to pay double what they're worth so that they could screw me over for the Ayn Rand principle of the thing, no pun intended. It's a small thing, but it helps to put the perversity of the system in perspective at night as I fall to sleep . . .

So, yes, please, I'd just as soon that the lobbyists of these particular corporations register and become at least slightly known to the general public.

It's a small thing. Small things are all we have.

Joe Hill,

Ayn Rand would doubtless classify the existing regime as "Looters." The difference is that unlike she (were she still alive), you voted for them. Will you ever wake up?

The right and left should form a compact. The Left will only support Nader/Kucinich types. The Right will only support Ron Paul and his legion. Once we have purged politics of the fascists, we can then resume the time honored practice of eliminating each other. Capisce?

:)

This post is a good. I enjoy dancing on Smith's political grave, frankly. Our state is massively better off with him in retirement. Thanks..

I am a hardcore political junkie, and I'm glad you posted that, Carla.

It surprises me not, but it'd never of been known if you'd not reported it.

Meantime, with millions of Americans without jobs, the invasion continues, no Liberal Democrat will address the 500 pound gorilla in the room, and millions of invading, plundering, welfare loving, Illegal Aliens taking millions of jobs that should be American jobs and 100,s billions of dollars in social services that should be for American citizens!

One cannot be political correct and admit that Illegal Aliens are an large part of the problems in this Nation.

Their negative impact extends to every area from Sub-par loans & defaults, Underground economy, Massive document fraud, Lower standard of living, Crime, Overflowing prisons , Bankrupted hospitals, Failing schools, Property Taxes, Insurance costs, Environment, Culture, Welfare costs, Welfare fraud, SS fraud, Voter fraud, Disrespect for our laws & country, our Constitution against invasion and even Balance of payments occurring from oil and other imports to support the 20 to 30 million illegal aliens in this country!

One has to only look at Calif. which is basically mostly an Spanish speaking, Bankrupt state that cannot afford to provide Welfare, Schooling, Medical, Prison cells etc. for millions of MS-13 Gang bangers, Drug dealers, Rapist and other assorted Criminals and uneducated, fast breeding, third world rejects from Mexico!

In a very few years it will be impossible to see where Mexico ends and Calif. begins as both will be an third world cesspool!

Failure to secure our borders and reward the Invading horde for their invasion and their relatives in an never ending chain with American Citizenship is nothing less than committing National Suicide & will assure our future is an over populated Spanish speaking third world Nation that is an Cesspool of Corruption, Crime, Poverty and Misery modeled on Mexico!

There's the "the U.S. stole the southwest" argument.

Well, the land in dispute was "owned" by Spain for a couple of centuries. Then by Mexico for about 25 years. During these periods, there weren't more than a few thousand Spaniards or Mexicans in the entire territory. It's been owned by the U.S. for about 160 years now, much longer than Mexico's reign. And the U.S. has actually done something with the land, made it habitable for tens of millions. The difference between American and Mexican "twin cities" straddling the border is like night and day, yet the land is obviously the same. It's not the dirt that's important, it's the people. Put another way, if culture didn't matter, Mexico and Central America would be paradise.

Then there is they are all God,s children argument.

Isn't everyone God,s children? If so, then guess the open borders crowd are saying everyone and anyone has the right to Invade this Nation, waving their flags, demand their rights, while feasting at the trough of public welfare and Kill, Rape and Rob thousands of American citizens each year! There are 100,s of millions probably billions from India, China, Africa, etc. that would like to immigrate to the USA. If it ok for Latinos to pour across our borders then unless the open borders crowd are racist it should be ok for any and all of the world people no matter their Education, Religion, Race, Criminal convictions, Diseases, or Terrorist ties to invade this nation & be rewarded with American citizenship!

There's the "lettuce" argument

We'll be paying $50/head if we don't have illegal aliens working in the fields. As Phil Martin, ag economist at UC Davis shows, the field labor cost in a $1 head of lettuce is about 6 cents. Triple those wages and Americans will do the jobs. (They're not career positions. They're seasonal jobs for young people, starting in the world of work. I have did similarly menial jobs.) And you'll be paying 10% more for lettuce and other produce. Do you spend $1,000/year on produce? OK, you'll pay $100 more.

The lettuce argument also parallels that for the retention of slavery.

Immigrant Argument!

There's the "everyone's an immigrant except for the 'Native Americans'" argument. Well, the American Indians didn't sprout from the land, they came across the Bering land bridge from Asia. So if the criterion is "You're an immigrant if you had an ancestor who immigrated here," then American Indians are immigrants, too.

In that case, "immigrant" is no longer a useful word, since Everyone's an immigrant.

Illegal pay taxes Argument!

There's the "illegal aliens pay tons of taxes" argument. Sure, they all pay real estate taxes (in rent) and sales taxes (most states). Those working on the books (typically using stolen Social Security numbers) pay FICA and, perhaps, income taxes. But they're mostly ill-educated and low-skilled and pay very low taxes connected to their working -- in fact, most claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, i.e. negative income tax! If a family with both parents working has two kids in school, that's at least $15k/year just for schooling, way more than the taxes on, say, $35k/year aggregate income.

Robert Rector at the Heritage Foundation has done the systematic accounting on all this. A typical household headed by a low-skilled illegal alien is a net drain of about $20k/year for the rest of us, year after year. (Low-skilled Americans are a similar burden, but they're part of the national family, not gate crashers from other societies.)

Illegal Bad..Amnesty good Argument!

There's the "illegal immigration is bad, but make them citizens and problem solved" argument. Nope. If that were the case, legalizing (i.e. amnestying) the illegal aliens would solve the problem. But they'd still be (on average) low-skilled workers whose burden on the rest of us would continue. In fact, once legal they'd be able to access more public benefits programs, so their cost to the rest of us would actually rise substantially. In addition to bringing in their relatives under chain immigration in a never ending chain! In short, all of the problems of mass illegal immigration are shared & increased by mass amnestying them.

Then there is the straw man Argument this Nation cannot afford to deport 12 million people!

Never noting if our Politicians had abide by our Constitution and enforced our Laws there would not be 12 millions to deport. Even worse, there is not 12 million but between 20 and 30 million but the government prefers to lie and down play the number! ( Same as the 1986 Amnesty was more than double the government estimate, so will this one be) At any rate deportation would save billions in the long run over what they will cost this Nation in welfare in the coming years. Every person with less that a high school education cost a average of 55 thousand over their life time, so apply that times the 12 million plus all their relatives & their relatives in a never ending chain & deportation would be a great bargain and save billions if not trillions in the coming years! But deportations is not necessary, just close our borders and enforcing our Laws with E-Verify. Fine companies, imprison executives and cut out the welfare they will self deport. No jobs, No Welfare equals no Illegal Aliens!

The flood of immigrants drives wages and living conditions in our central cities toward those of the Third World & has already destroyed Calif..

This tidal wave imposes sprawl, gridlock, pollution, and environmental damage on our metropolitan areas & Nation.

Immigrant families needing services overwhelm our schools, taxpayer-funded health care facilities, and other public agencies.

Those requiring services don’t assimilate and, instead, expect to be served in their native languages.

American civic culture frays as each ethnic group establishes its own grievance lobby and pushes for preferences.

Communicable diseases such as tuberculosis (new, drug-resistant strains) return.

Shortages of water and other resources loom, especially in immigration-blitzed Southwest.

Most that come across our open borders come from countries where, Crime, Corruption, Poverty, Misery, Anti-education, and hate for Americans has existed for centuries and is normal. Should anyone be surprised they bring those same family values across the border with them?

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