Rent Seeking Quotes
In this context, “rent" means payment is required for the use or right to use anything such as using land for a pipeline, for mining, prospecting for oil, the rights to fish for caviar sturgeon, erecting a building, obtaining an official document, etc. The Russian economic system and culture has created a striving for getting paid to grant rights as opposed to getting paid for making something, creating something, or performing a service for someone. In the breakup of the Soviet Union, some individuals obtained (by various means) the right to charge rent to others for much of the great trove of Russian land, waters and other natural resources. They became billionaires – oligarchs – and many are still paying off government officials to control those rights.
The bills that Congress tends to pass provide benefits for very few but spread the costs over many of not the whole population. In the majority of concentrated benefits, the beneficiaries have made large campaign donations and/or have retained powerful lobbyists. They are special interests in the truest sense of the word. See {633225} for a good example of this principle.
Rent Seeking: When a company, organization or individual uses their resources to obtain an economic gain from others without reciprocating any benefits back to society through wealth. Google Definition
