If there's money to be made...
You can be damned sure it affects what our politicos do. Even if they don't WANT to do it, there are those who can make them do it. The money men have the power.
Ever read Robert Ludlum? Every novel of his had conspiracies behind the scenes, where the money men manipulated everything. I thought when I first started reading him that he knew what he was writing about. I still do.