Is the problem here NVIDIA or is the problem that our government doesn't function unless there's a pac funneling money into decision-making?

Hardly surprising to see a company with strategic interests strategically try to achieve them. A business exists to make money, and if pulling policy levers is required to make money, you'll see them try to pull the levers.

Reverse Citizens United and you solve these kind of problems at the source.

PACs are an investment. You'd be stupid (principles be damned) not to invest. (Not defending this--this is the system that promotes wealth hoarding and theft of government funds)

It's worth listening to Lawrence Lessig, speaking in 2011, "Republic Lost" on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik1AK56FtVc (It's a "Talk at Google")

I think he laid it out very clearly, but never found traction to try to change this (I don't think US Congress wants to be changed, though).

Yeah I generally lean libertarian but I tend to agree with reversing citizens united.

So the first step down the lobbying-is-good-for-governance that both sides embraced was when they defunded the congressional research office. So a vital way in which congress "informed themselves" was basically minimized to the point that the only way for congress to now inform themselves is via lobbying and th eonly way to write complex legislation is via those lobbyings.

This is the endpoint of that effort and the people who pushed it most likely knew what they were doing.

Can you first establish that there is a problem? I'm not sure what problem you are even referring to. It's just assumed.