Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets

Schweizer, Peter

ISBN 10: 0544334558 / ISBN 13: 9780544334557

Published by Harper Paperbacks, 2014

About this Item

Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Seller Inventory # G0544334558I4N10

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0544334558
• ISBN 13: 9780544334557
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 0.61 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

“Schweizer names guilty parties . . . He exposes powerful figures in politics, law firms, and corporations.” ― Forbes

Washington is no longer about lawmaking, it’s about moneymaking

Conventional wisdom holds that Washington is broken because outside special interests bribe politicians. The reverse is true: politicians have developed a new set of brass-knuckle legislative tactics designed to extort wealthy industries and donors into forking over big donations ― cash that lawmakers often funnel into the pockets of their friends and family.

Inside this best-selling bombshell of a book, Schweizer reveals the exorbitant secret “fees” each political party charges politicians for top committee assignments; how fourteen members of Congress bagged hundreds of thousands of dollars using a little-known self-loan loophole; how politicians use PACs to bankroll lavish lifestyles; and much more. Washington’s extortion racket has gone unreported ― until now.

• Extortion, Not Bribery: Discover why the real scandal isn’t special interests buying politicians, but politicians shaking down industries for “protection money” and campaign cash.
• Milker Bills and Tollbooths: Learn the brass-knuckle tactics politicians use to introduce threatening legislation—not to pass laws, but to squeeze millions from targeted donors.
• The Permanent Political Class: See how top lawmakers from both parties charge secret “dues” for powerful committee assignments and leverage their positions to enrich friends and family.
• From Votes to Cash: Uncover the shocking, legal ways members of Congress use PACs and a little-known self-loan loophole to funnel campaign donations directly into their own pockets.

About the Author

PETER SCHWEIZER is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and he is the founder and director of the Government Accountability Institute. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek/Daily Beast, and elsewhere. His books include Throw Them All Out, which exposed congressional insider stock trading and led to the passage of the STOCK Act.