Crony capitalism in the U.S. occurs when Republican and Democratic congressman write legislation, provide corporate subsidies, give government grants, or provide special tax breaks to favor a large number of public and private firms, such as defense manufacturers, big pharma, the big Wall Street banks, multinational corporations, the entire agricultural industry, etc.
Large multinational corporations use lobbyists to influence politicians who are directly involved in the legislation of policies affecting those companies. For example, General Electric spent $134 million in lobbying from 2009 to 2014. They paid zero U.S. taxes in 2010. Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed Martin spent $280 million combined on lobbyists during the same time period to persuade the government not to cut defense spending.
