Reddit reviews Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex

Wow thanks, this clears up what I was asking exactly. Also makes me realize why it's such a hard question to answer. I didn't know there was a difference between competition and bid- that really clarifies a lot. Also, so simple about the headline wording. I just have totally been misreading that, thank you.

I bet you've learned this from professional experience in the military, but could you recommend a good book that covers this stuff for a newbie who wants to learn more? From the bottom up- assuming no knowledge (a layperson's book).

From googling and looking on Amazon, I found these three I'm thinking about getting (below). They all have ideological perspectives, but different ones so I thought it would be a good overview without being too skewed. But if I could find one book instead of three that would be better. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Lobbying-Defense-Insiders-Matthew-Kambrod/dp/1591144256/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1525898006&sr=8-12&keywords=military+industry+contracts

https://www.amazon.com/Americas-War-Machine-Interests-Conflicts/dp/1250069777/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525897967&sr=8-1&keywords=military+industrial+complex

https://www.amazon.com/Prophets-War-Lockheed-Military-Industrial-Complex/dp/1568586973/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525897967&sr=8-3&keywords=military+industrial+complex

Sorry, we're just too far apart for my responses to be worth my time. You're not looking at the negative effects enough, and seem to be very pro-Government. You're also not providing your case for why we should allow lobbying, thus I'm not learning anything new from this discussion. Rather than respond to your points, as this will likely go back and forth for quite a while, I'd rather list a few books/articles that are anti-lobbying for your consideration. Perhaps you could offer some pro-lobbying books/articles, just in case my position is wrong (which I sincerely don't think it is). Here's the anti-lobbying links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying_in_the_United_States

http://www.amazon.com/Prophets-War-Lockheed-Military-Industrial-Complex/dp/1568586973

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_lobbying_in_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_lobbying_in_the_United_States

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/a-pocket-guide-to-lobbying-in-the-united-states/

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/03/627471/private-prisons-spend-45-million-on-lobbying-rake-in-51-billion-for-immigrant-detention-alone/

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php

http://business.time.com/2011/05/26/did-lobbying-cause-the-financial-crisis/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/us/politics/05loans.html?pagewanted=all

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443589304577637773840176082.html?google_editors_picks=true

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100723/09055310339.shtml

http://truth-out.org/news/item/8854-the-top-five-special-interest-groups-lobbying-to-keep-marijuana-illegal

http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/2013/pro-cispa-backers-spend-over-100-times-more-lobbying-opponents/

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/12/13/30-major-u-s-companies-spent-more-on-lobbying-than-taxes/

http://www.npr.org/2009/02/18/100706260/so-damn-much-money-the-influence-of-lobbyists

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/mar/22/our-corrupt-politics-its-not-all-money/?pagination=false

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446576433?ie=UTF8&tag=thneyoreofbo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0446576433

Edit: I'd be surprised if you found any pro-lobbying articles/books that weren't written by politicians, bureaucrats, pundits, or lobbyists.