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When Microsoft was founded, the company devoted very few resources to lobbying activities. After a high-profile antitrust case against it, however, the company began to lobby heavily. Why does it make financial sense for companies to invest in lobbyists?

Representatives of competing firms often comprise special interest groups. Why are competitors sometimes willing to cooperate in order to form lobbying associations?

Special interests do not oppose regulations in all cases. The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 would require online merchants to collect sales taxes from their customers in other states. Why might a large online retailer like Amazon.com support such a measure?

To ensure safety and efficacy, the Food and Drug Administration regulates the medicines that pharmacies are allowed to sell in the United States. Sometimes this means a company must test a drug for years before it can reach the market. We can easily identify the winners in this system as those who are protected from unsafe drugs that might otherwise harm them. Who are the more anonymous losers who suffer from strict medical regulations?

How is it possible to bear a cost without realizing it? What are some examples of policies that affect people in ways of which they may not even be aware?

The United States currently uses a voting system called 鈥渇irst past the post鈥� in elections, meaning that the candidate with the most votes wins. What are some of the problems with a 鈥渇irst past the post鈥� system?

What are some alternatives to a 鈥渇irst past the post鈥� system that might reduce the problem of voting cycles?

AT&T spent some $10 million dollars lobbying Congress to block entry of competitors into the telephone market in 1978. Why do you think it efforts failed?

Say that the government is considering a ban on smoking in restaurants in Tobaccoville. There are 1 million people living there, and each would benefit by \(200 from this smoking ban. However, there are two large tobacco companies in Tobaccoville and the ban would cost them \)5 million each. What are the proposed policy's total costs and benefits? Do you think it will pass?