China's house of cards tumbling? States battle the Big Boys in Beijing.

Then I'd argue you are seeing a highly selective picture that fits a narrative you want.

Their capitulation? The politicians are running the show. They have for sales signs on their campaigns, and in some cases they extort the money.

And it's not corporate interests that avail themselves of influence peddling the most, when you look at the game in practice.

Successful corporations that produce goods and services that are in demand can compete in the marketplace quite well without having to pay off politicians for favors. And they also know that they are usually the first scapegoats the fingers get pointed at, due to class warfare populism, which gets easy votes. So by and large they do their best to pay as little as possible. What companies such as Microsoft, for example, do end up paying isn't the result of trying to get politicians to capitulate. It's more like extortion money to keep the Federal government off their backs.

The exceptions are industries that are not competitive and need the playing field made unfair in order to stay relevant, and they very willingly pay. It's why you see accounting firms give so much to campaigns, for example. They need a complicated Federal tax code and an overregulated securities environment filled with inefficiencies to even have a business.

But this largely isn't a game of corporate influence.

Make the connection by going to opensecrets.org and looking at their "heavy hitters" list of the organizations and entities that have given the most money to federal level candidates since 1989. It's a who's who list of organizations that need political influence to advance their cause, because they have no leverage without it.

In the top 10, there is one corporate interest, AT&T, which has survived as long as it has because of political favors, and one commercial interest, the National Association of Realtors.

The others? ActBlue (which has become number one on the list despite only being around since 1994), The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the National Education Association, The Service Employees International Union, the American Association for Justice (the lawyer's group that fights tort reform), The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, The Laborers International Union of North America and The American Federation of Teachers.

I can argue quite convincingly, and with good evidence if given the time and place, that our politician's misplaced allegiances to trading favors for the money those organizations give them, has done way more to put us $14.3 trillion in debt than their tax policies regarding companies such as GE (which doesn't get any special breaks, as far as I know anyhow) or Exxon's subsidies.

Both are insidious. But I'd urge you to forget your narrative and look at the big picture and how the game works and who ALL of the players are.