> And I'd asked what your data are. Got any, or do you prefer asking to answering questions?
You're the one supporting the assertion that "the value add of $1 dollar of lobbying/capture efforts goes farther than $1 in R&D or whatever after a certain point." It seems like that's the assertion that requires supporting data. My point simply is that, in the absence of data, we can look at what we would naturally expect to happen if your premise were true--prices would get bid up. The fact that lobbying prices aren't getting bid up suggests your premise is false.
You can add further layers of speculation to explain that unexpected result, but now you're really going out on a limb. I think a simpler explanation is that your premise is simply false. Lobbying has low expected ROI--that's why companies spend so little on it. (In particular, I suspect that lobbying just isn't very effective, so the expected value of a very favorable law or policy, weighted by the incremental increase in probability of that coming to pass through lobbying, is low.) That hypothesis explains the data, without resorting to additional handwaving.
You're the one supporting the assertion that "the value add of $1 dollar of lobbying/capture efforts goes farther than $1 in R&D or whatever after a certain point." It seems like that's the assertion that requires supporting data. My point simply is that, in the absence of data, we can look at what we would naturally expect to happen if your premise were true--prices would get bid up. The fact that lobbying prices aren't getting bid up suggests your premise is false.
You can add further layers of speculation to explain that unexpected result, but now you're really going out on a limb. I think a simpler explanation is that your premise is simply false. Lobbying has low expected ROI--that's why companies spend so little on it. (In particular, I suspect that lobbying just isn't very effective, so the expected value of a very favorable law or policy, weighted by the incremental increase in probability of that coming to pass through lobbying, is low.) That hypothesis explains the data, without resorting to additional handwaving.