Dear Vice News, I was hoping to see the flip side of this too. For example - what if a cow rancher also raises 5 k next month to hire the same lobbyist to undo what Laura just did. Does the lobbyist for hire have a clause which will "turn down proposals to lobby against things that they have worked for previously". How sustainable is such a lobbyist if because of his customers, they constantly flip flop on their demands to congressmen. An interesting thing that i wish you would have touched upon. Hoping this comment makes it's way to your attention before the comment section turns to complete chaos.

​@@thelastpropeller So, here's the thing. You're not going to see that happen. Ranchers don't need a group like Lobbiest4Good to lobby for them. The Agriculture lobby is the 8th biggest lobby in the United States. They pay millions of dollars a year on lobbying and campaign contributions. You'd be hard pressed to find a representative in Congress that doesn't take donations from the ag lobby. So, it says a lot about this Lobbyist 4 Good effort that they are going up against such a powerful lobby. I used to work on Capitol Hill in Washington. The ag lobby has walked the halls of Congress unchecked since-- forever. I'm actually surprised they found a lobbyist willing to take on this cause. It's no easy feat to go up against the ag industry. I'm really glad they are doing it though. It's been a long time coming.

That makes sense, But surely there could be consideration for reform that changes it so, to counter factory farms reducing over subsidies redirecting subsidies to smaller farms that need it. By having subsidies amounting in a bracket system of size and employment along with if animals are in buildings or fields most of the time should determine it, having limits within the bracket mostly stop at the more smaller farms then the med-large to large farms. further more say agriculture industry takes a hit, smaller still gets those government subsidies for industry hardship if in the bracket limits. Not by any type of produce they raise. we should have a specific low interest rate government or state loans to get small upstart farmers started or to grow including green friendly Investments for a farm like windbreakers for fields or solar panel or need it to shift in a less Environmental taxing produce being production like hazelnut trees count as one at the the same time count as windbreakers. Having specific subsidies when taking these loans, another one for environmental friendly, Investments and farm tax deduction for having green energy infrastructure on there land. Should be policies on how large a size of a field can be before windbreakers need to be grown. To cut down on monocropping. Of course have policies so seed companies can't make their own pesticides or fertilizers becuse they been know to make seeds harder to grow with out there other two products.These could increase standard of living for animals by taking a way factories farms unfair advantage and discourage industry to have animals in enclosed places alongside encourage green energy use by farms

Interesting choice of phrasing did that come from at@t?😂👌🏿

@J Hj you don't like hazelnuts?

Pretty much. $16M was spent by the animal ag industry hiring lobbyist last year to write laws favorable to some of the most destructive industries on earth - those of raising of livestock.

Packys Liquor store wait till you see the court system 😂 #commonlaw

That's antisemitic!

@@purplepineapple117 I didn't know there was a distinction of updating law :o?

This is pay to win bruh

They've got a tough job. One thing that was apparent is that our legislative branch is underfunded and understaffed. I'd prefer my taxes go to funding proper legislative staff rather than be diverted to megacorp livestock farms that are polluting our planet. If our reps were properly funded, they could write their own legislation rather than relying on industry lobbyists. :(.

___. Nope it dose not.

@ls7orBust2 why do you think that?

It's like the term "elected official" doesn't mean anything. Shameful.

Sure, but they don't so we need to find a better way.

We live in a capitalistic society.

These people where not giving money to the elected officials, they where paying professionals to facilitate the process. There is plenty of problems with the US system, but this was not an example of that.

@@thorp.n8998 totally agree.

I guess it depends on the issue.

There are levels to this. I'm sure a big shot lobbyist would only work for 1 day with a $5k budget.

it can be a *lot* more than that. As far as I can tell, Ron is helping us out here at a discounted rate.

I mean they also said part-time lobbyist. So it could be like 10 hours a week

Yeah...but also showing a better technique to exercise democracy. Because protesting and polling isn't working like it used to. The game changes and so must we.

Nah man that is uter bullshit "if the government doesn't take decisions that benefit you just pay for them doing it" don't you think that the already powerful have more money than you and as such ville be able to get they're interest over yours and bankrupt you in the process

Lobbying is not a bad term. It's literally just raising awareness of your cause. You may not be a fan but think about it. Elected representatives too many big faults. This could be a legitimate way of being heard.

It falls under the 1st amendment - petitioning the government for grievances. It'd be very hard to stop lobbying altogether. Now - campaign finance reform - that'd be a good place to start. HR-1. We need it!

@@Mrchair-bk5ns If you are trying to work within the existing system sure lobbying is good if used by good people and sure lobbying is not a bad idea but once you add in market dynamics, money, and the limit of time, it becomes a system easily corruptible.

Exactly, fight fire with fire

Its very naive to think that ordinary citizen groups can compete in financing lobbying and campaign donations with big fossil fuel and agricultural interests. You have to exert political pressure in all ways, but the majority of people do best by organizing together on grassroots level, not by piling up 5k to talk to congressmen about incentives to make it easier to switch from dairy to soy bean farming. You have to question the whole structure of American politics to make true change

@@shruk4 agree, but your question won't be heard without playing the game a bit.

No. Direct action gets the goods.

Town halls are a good strategy for regular folks to get time with their representatives.

It sure used to be... we're in a really messed up timeline...

more like money talks

The one we like to highlight is, "in D.C., if you're not at the table... you are on the menu."

Pretty much, yeah. I don't like the system, but that's the system we have. If we don't participate, we get the short end of the stick.

2 hours and 11 people already agree with you. It's amazing how uneducated people are, i'm not even american and i know that, this, what they are showing in the video isn't presumed to be a representative democracy, nor trying to be that. It is a republic, america is a republic, and the parts of the government they are showing in the video are that of a republic. edit: So complaining that about how what they showed in the video isn't "representative democracy" is like complaining about how it didn't help me with my math homework. It's a complete non sequitur.

Evan Cholerton isn’t it amazing how people keep referring to our democracy ? Last time I checked our government is a Republic and not a democracy. The only fashion in which democracy is supposed to take place is in the election process and not as a way the government is supposed to be run

It’s his fucking job to listen no matter

@Pierce Murphy they're paid to have power, that's it

Just despite knowingly taking money instead of helping people and letting thousands of ppl die, you must baby them and pretend to be thier friend.

@@XXTacoBellLovaXX they don’t need to be your friend and just cause they’re your representative or you voted for them doesn’t mean you can’t call them out on their bullshit. Then if worth it, don’t vote for them. Being hospitable doesn’t mean ignoring when they’ve done something egregiously wrong.

You should take a look in the mirror for saying that you sad sad little man

yeah and now some vegan is going to ruin food, wtf.

no it isn't. All you morons that think it's broken have zero idea what you are talking about, but you watched a 5 minute youtube video critical of the government and so you think you know enough about a highly complex, technical, topic to call it "broken". Which, by implication, gives the impression it should all be scrapped.

@Testudo Graeca lol. Anarcho communism is unrealistic and naive

@@BLUEGENE13 it litterally contridicts itself since anarchism is about the annihilation of state power communism needs the state to have complete control over all things

No it's not. It's working as designed. The whole system needs to be dismantled.

yep - that's me!

thats me too lol

@Nick F are you asking if I'm from Portland?

Yeah right

Brad Robb yeah - 'everyday person' is a little insulting, isn't it? I prefer to think I'm somewhat special and unique. But in this sense - Lobbyists4Good is pointing out that I'm an individual citizen trying to get my government to take actions that will bring farm policy in alignment with the climate crisis - all without vilifying farmers. Maybe it seems weird that an individual person like me would take up this cause, but, well, I have a son, and we are looting his future with current farm (and energy and infrastructure) policy. And I'm angry about it. Rather than fall into loathing and victimhood, I'm taking action. Do you think more of us should? You can join me on team 'everyday person' here: www.lobbyists4good.org/animal-ag-subsidies

I know it was for me. You could tell, couldn't you? I'm never very good at hiding my internal feelings when I encounter a fist bump in the wild.

this is pretty well known if you’re familiar with how politics work.

@@cerebrumexcrement I didnt mean like these stories but rather other kinds like corruption and problems in other countries. Even tough I dont know nothing about american politics

This program would help farmers transition away from environmentally damaging livestock farming, and transition to sustainable plant farming (or something like wind or solar energy production). For example, the dairy farmer I mention in the video is interested in getting out of producing milk, and instead of using his 1200 acres of land to grow soybeans and grain for the cows, he'd plant hazelnut trees which are native, and would replenish the topsoil. He's very aware that monocropping the land the way we do is killing top soil. Even as he tries his hardest to to do no-till and other measures, he . knows it's not sustainable. Also, he knows tha that animal ag is highly inefficient and unsustainable at the scale it is now (330kg methane is attributable to each milking cow in the US at the moment - that's EPA data). This program is all about *helping* farmers be part of the solution, rather than vilifying them. Subsidies only keep farmers stuck being part of the problem. That sucks for everyone - tax payers, environmentalists, farmers, and vegans alike.

@@montonye the video did not make that very clear I would like to see the language of the proposal

@@joshscott5213 I don't have the updated language of the proposal yet.I plan to post it when we're done with it. We're working with non profits like Rowdy Girl Sanctuary in Texas to make sure the language would support them helping farmers transition. We're still working all that out.

@@montonye That makes sense, But surely there could be consideration for reform that changes it so, to counter factory farms reducing over subsidies redirecting subsidies to smaller farms that need it. By having subsidies amounting in a bracket system of size and employment along with if animals are in buildings or fields most of the time should determine it, having limits within the bracket mostly stop at the more smaller farms then the med-large to large farms. further more say agriculture industry takes a hit, smaller still gets those government subsidies for industry hardship if in the bracket limits. Not by any type of produce they raise. we should have a specific low interest rate government or state loans to get small upstart farmers started or to grow including green friendly Investments for a farm like windbreakers for fields or solar panel or need it to shift in a less Environmental taxing produce being production like hazelnut trees count as one at the the same time count as windbreakers. Having specific subsidies when taking these loans, another one for environmental friendly, Investments and farm tax deduction for having green energy infrastructure on there land. Should be policies on how large a size of a field can be before windbreakers need to be grown. To cut down on monocropping. Of course have policies so seed companies can't make their own pesticides or fertilizers becuse they been know to make seeds harder to grow with out there other two products.These could increase standard of living for animals by taking a way factories farms unfair advantage and discourage industry to have animals in enclosed places alongside encourage green energy use by farms.

Thanks Ben!

Outrageous isn't it? I agree - you likely won't get rid of lobbying, as it's protected by the 1st amendment (petitioning the gov't for grievances). But regulation - esp regarding campaign finance reform could restore more democratic forces. Have you read up on HR-1? If you like that - please call your reps and tell them to support it!

Which one? Ron the lobbyist? Or Billy, the founder of Lobbysts4Good? Cuz Billy's bangs be bangin'

Right?

It's all about showing how supporting your legislation will lead to their re-election. It's just the way it works. Unfortunately, the way things are set up, special interests with loads of $ have the resources to game the system. The only hope we citizens have is to organize ourselves, and for some of us, call on people like Billy at lobbyists4good to give us a platform for crowdfunding and getting an inside track into accessing our elected officials. If you do nothing else, I urge you to contact your reps and tell them to support HR-1. Check out the Represent.us video if you're not familiar. ( act.represent.us/sign/What-is-HR1/ )

Yep. ... Have you called your rep to demand they pass HR-1? As far as I can tell that's the legislation that can put us in a better direction. Doesn't fix everything, but it gives more power to voters. Also - have you joined a local represent.us chapter? Represent.us is one of the few grass-roots initiatives around that has a chance of fixing our government. Lastly, if you believe in the lobbying effort you see here, you can donate to my campaign here: www.lobbyists4good.org/animal-ag-subsidies

Yee

It's bigger than ExxonMobil. Much much bigger. This is why getting money out of politics is so hard and people like this are forced to play in their game rather than flipping the table.

Americans spent 4 billion dollars in 2014 on Halloween costumes for their pets... we have the money, we just don't use it wisely!

Erick Rodriguez Cool CRUISE CONTROL you got going on there, bud.

ALL CAPS DOESNT HELP YOU AT ALL ASSHOLE.

@@mikerphone. HR-1. It doesn't solve everything but it would go a long way toward making our elected officials more attentive to voters than to interest groups at least.

I've been told many times I need to watch that show. I'm thinking maybe I should watch me some Veep.

That’s an EXCELLENT question

yup. Bingo. For example: the animal ag industry spent $16million on lobbying last year. Return on investment? About 2000x when summing up all indirect and direct subsidies. And who is paying for all the water, air, and GHG pollution? Humanity. Sucks man.

they’re pretty cheap. you can buy one for about $10,000 or more. $100,000 - $500,000 is more in the high end.

@@cerebrumexcrement I hear in 2020 there going on sale 2 for 1 for about 500,000

5 or 10 grand..Peanuts

I don't think it costs nearly that much, probably 100k max

if you look at FTX lobbying and campaign finance records you can see what it costs to buy a politician in full

Thanks for calling me fit :) I've gotta say, I was bracing myself for the youtube comments but people have been mostly cool. You included. My two cents: some vegans are 100% vegan for the animals - not for their health - and so they don't take care with their diet. A person can eat oreos all day and technically be vegan. On the other hand, there's an entire movement called WFPB - Whole-food Plant-based. Some options: * download the 'daily dozen' app on your phone, and make sure you eat all the things listed and you get all the nutritional variety you need. * nutrionfacts.org has some good info - * challenge22.com helps you try a wfpb diet for 22 days and * PCRM has a 21 day kick start. Being a healthy vegan isn't only about removing animal-based products, it's about adding in some key veggie foods that you might not have been eating previously (e.g. ground flax seeds).

@@montonye That's what I told one co-worker. Eating Trader Joe Vegi Stick snacks and Pirates booty can't be good (high in salt and you can't consume that stuff EVERYDAY). Again, you do you and thank's for not being so militant about me having a nice steak once and awhile.

just saying what?

@@montonye that's i would be cool if you could hire (with kickstarter) a lobist for Social issues when you are not a rich.

people are so stupid and uneducated it's incredible, i'm not even an american and i know this. AMERICA IS A REPUBLIC. Congress is an institution of a REPUBLIC the senate is an institution of a REPUBLIC. The only little sliver of democracy is the fact people get to vote, for the people who fill the position of a republic type government.

Exactly - which is why we are continuing to raise money until this legislation passes. Other like-minded people and I are organizing into a full-time political lobby. You're exactly right - one month isn't enough. It's only the beginning.

Took Jon Stewart 19 YEARS OF LOBBYING for one bill to get passed, the 9/11 benefits funding bill

Because that’s what they’re advocating for. They want to reduce livestock production and increase plant production. Like the oil lobby goes for politicians that will already be inclined to do their policies.

Maggie Mae no

I see what you're saying, but what would you propose instead of helping farmers transition? Telling them to F off and figure it out on their own? As for your car, personally, I'd rather that counties plan public transportation so you don't need a truck or car at all. I forget who said it, but the sign of an evolved city is when the rich people happily use public transportation. I'd get behind my tax dollars going to initiatives like that, how about you?

Please - take a look at HR-1. IMO, it's a step in the right direction. If you agree, call your reps - esp if they are team GOP.

We are a oligarchy Republic now it seems but it can still be reformed

Then again to someone like you all black guys look like Chris Rock. Smfh guy looks NOTHING like Chris Rock.

just like healthcare! /s. /cry.