[sbierwagen]

  There are beneficial lobbying groups out there helping to 
  bring a voice to issues in an arena where they would 
  otherwise normally be drowned out.

Lobbying is like advertising[1] in that it's a vicious cycle. If company A spends $100 on advertising, then they capture the market, and push out company B. In retaliation, company B spends $150, and company A spends $200...

In 2010, Coca-cola spent $2.9 billion on advertising. They only did that because Pepsi spent about the same amount.

"Good" lobbyists only exist because bad lobbyists exist. If you could cut the budget of every lobbying firm by 50% then nothing would change. The only thing that affects outcomes i proportional spend.

1: In fact it is advertising, to an audience segment of one.

[canvia]

Companies like coca cola and mcdonalds have to advertise that much because they offer poor quality products that would otherwise be irrelevant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8344345