Lobbying has become a pervasive problem in our society.

Lobbying isn't restricted to former bureaucrats with direct links into the halls of power.

For example, a small group of citizens in a Lower Mainland community have banded together lobby their municipality to try to force taxpayers to pay for their doggie doo bags.

True, municipal bylaws force people to pick up their dog's doo, but does that mean taxpayers have to pay for doo bags?

The problem here is that politicians have the power to arbitrarily redistribute dollars from one taxpayer to another without limit, and this encourages people to head to their office to whine for handouts.

Politicians encourage this behaviour by caving into every demand, no matter how trivial.

We are in trouble. For too many people, it has become normal to demand satisfaction through politics. As a result, it becomes less natural to think of helping themselves.

It is time to moderate the mania for seeking the hand of government in everything.

Someone will have to pay for those doo bags. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch (TANSTAAFL).