POWER OF THE WESTERN LOBBY

“. . . [Ammon] Bundy's beloved ranching, mining, and logging industries have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of government largesse. The grazing fees that the government charges ranchers have barely budged in forty years, thanks to the political power of the Western lobby. The Obama Administration did manage a rate hike last year, but, adjusted for inflation, the current price is still dramatically lower than it was in 1978. And the government is lenient about collecting fees. Bundy's father, Cliven [Bundy], was more than a million dollars in arrears before action was taken against him, last year, resulting in the first Bundy standoff.

James Surowiecki, “Bundynomics” in the New Yorker, January 25, 2016, page 23.