[sib]

The economist's answer:

If that were so, there wouldn't be so much money spent on lobbyists by companies.

I guess there's a reason they call it "the dismal science."

[willhinsa]

when something doesn't provide a reliable return on investment, they stop spending that money. that's how much you know something works, whether it's buying advertising or congressmen.

[cratermoon]

With the caveat that the ability to measure ROI exists and is also reliable. See for example advertising, and especially online programmatic targeted advertising: https://hbr.org/2013/03/did-ebay-just-prove-that-paid