I agree that it is a sad day when Google does lobbying, but keep in mind that Google is doing it because the alternative is to have the government in the future trying to shake down the company in the name of “preserving competition.” Last December, I had an article on the Mises page that said Google would be a likely target of the feds if the company continues to do as well as it has done.

Google has a choice: pay lobbying firms in DC or pay fines to the government. Stephen is right in that this is a form of tribute, but one cannot blame Google for wanting to survive.

Also, the NY Times article points out that Google — which is dominated by liberal Democrats — has sought out Republican lobbying firms. The company does not do this because it suddenly has “gone Republican.” It is either do business this way, or have the government extract and extract and extract.