Is this a sign of what is wrong with the US government?
@thegreatdebater (7316)
United States
May 27, 2012 1:59pm CST
Newt Gingrich's empire of companies that specialized in using his influence in Washington to direct public policy is crumbling. Starting last May when he began his run for president his companies, which he sold his interest in, have had a dramatic fall from grace. His empire worth an estimate $110 million last May is deep in debt, and are either closing for filing bankruptcy. Now this is not a post about Newt as the person, more as the power broker that used his name and influence to create this huge empire. The fact that his influence was worth $110 million alone says something about how powerful some people are in Washington. Do you think this is what is hurting this country, or is this just lobbying at it's best?
4 responses
@mensab (4200)
• Philippines
27 May 12
lobbying is part of a political process to encourage private sectors to participate in the decision-making. the process has become monetized by scrupulous businessmen and politicians. the public must reclaim the process to get back the true arm of citizen's voice in the decision-making in the democratic state. newt empire has fallen, the others must follow.
1 person likes this
@sierras236 (2739)
• United States
28 May 12
Frankly, there's a lot of information that's missing from your discussion. Did selling his interest hurt the business or was it another case of bad management? Did the companies pay their bills or push them off for a later date? Did they gamble on a bad bill? Etc...
Apple was almost in the same position at one point. Steve Jobs was Apple. If Apple didn't transition as well as they did, they might have been in the same exact position.
In fact, businesses are more likely to fail once their lead person leaves. There could be a number of reasons for the failure but it happens most quite a bit.
Is it a sign of what's wrong with the US government? If the company failed due to overspending, than I would say yes. But if it failed for some other reason, than I would have to know the exact reason to compare the two.
@sierras236 (2739)
• United States
28 May 12
You are right. The biggest problem is a lack of accountability. Never has it been more apparent than with this administration.
But I understand why the companies went bankrupt. They were banking on a product that no longer exists in its original form.
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
29 May 12
Sierras, ALL administrations have lacked accountability, and this one is no different.
I agree that these companies lost their main purpose for existing, but doesn't this make you wonder how much power people like Newt have on our government when smart business people will spend hundreds of millions to shape policy.
@6precious102 (4043)
• United States
27 May 12
I think one of the problems our government has is thinking they'll always have an unending supply of money to work with.
@Fatcat44 (1141)
• United States
28 May 12
I do not like this kind of stuff. Especially if it carries the name of The Tides Corp, Acorn, and has George Soros behind it.
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
29 May 12
Fat, we all know it isn't just the left that spends money to influence our government. Don't you find it ironic though that Newt was given all of this money to garner influence from a democratic administration? I guess bipartisanship has a price!!!
