Lobbying thrives on government — specifically the government’s willingness to meddle in every sector of national life, multiplying the number of aggrieved citizens who either want to protect themselves or to benefit from the meddling.
It’s not a coincidence that while the lobbying community roughly doubled in size, the federal government’s budget grew by nearly two-thirds. Big government raises big stakes.
It’s possible that smaller government would have the opposite effect. Nobody will know until it’s tried. The 1995 lobbying reform was passed by a Republican majority loudly and ostentatiously committed to shrinking government’s scope and power.