We need to end free lunches. We need to end travel. Lobbyist are evil. Yes bring it all down. If buying a fucking steak buys a staffer I am a fucking garaffe.
This is bullshit.
Sorry, staffers and Members work there asses off. We get pissed on by constituents, we get endless grief all to make sure that you have roads to drive on, national security, and oh yeah that pork I got actually provided 34 new jobs and will make emergency care quicker and more effective. They want to stop staffers from lobbying when they come out. I'm sorry but if my $33,000 Legislative Assistant wants to lobby and double or triple their salary good on them. If they want to represent teachers and make their lives better good on them. We blame lobbyist its a teo way street. Congressman and staff need to remember that they have rules. They have to follow them. If we do anything then let there be trasparency but don't stop lunches and trips. Do you want a staffer educating a Member on a country if they have never been there? Its about educating and undertsanding an issue. Know the rules it is that simple.
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2 comments:
Is it really that simple? Can transparency really help?
For example, I work for a representative and my area of expertise is the insurance industry. Say the lobbyist representing said industry take me out to lunch, allow me to take golf trips, and watch the Os play ball. Say I declare all that, and still help them to pass a bill that would be in there favor. Still no problem.
But if after it passes, I go to work for them and a greater salary. who was I originally working for? My boss the represenative who should be working for his constituents? My friends in the insurance industry? Or myself?
Do the people in power get the breaks?
Remember that supposedly, you not only work for your constituents, but for America.
In your arguement you are an insurance expert, most likely because you have a large insurance presence in your district. You don't become a farm expert if you are an urban seat. So if you are an insurance expert you are servicing your constituents lets say AIG. As a Member and a staffer who represent one of the largest insuarnce companies and the employee lets say 4500 people, are you going to bust your ass to help them. the answer is yes. That is a major business and a major employer.
With transparency most of your constituents wuld say hell yes keep our jobs and our industry going.
The problem and what happened wasn't about a dinner or a trip. You can have dinner but its a $100 per lobbyist per year, or two dinners. They can have trips as long as they are predominanetly work in nature. So the violatioons were the excess in trips and food. the staffers should have known better. There should have been no etraneous demands put on the trips. On the campaign side it was the fact that they were getting to much money and that they were funneling illegal amounts of money to campaigns from one person's client list.
Again we have rules that both sides knew but ignored. That is why transparency is key. If the public or a CoS knows a staffer has had two dinnerd with someone he can tell them don't go.
The real and true probem is campaign finance reform. we need to allow more money into the system but make it clear and increase the amount or even better publicly finance that shit.
Im erked that they want to eliminate earmarks. If I get a million dollars for a hospital to retrofit their prenatal unit good on me. if we geta million dollars for the visionairy art museum downtown good.
Most members and staffers do whats right.
Also rememebr the Constitution and our Declaration of Independence is about protecting civil liberties but remember the people we are protecting are the minority. majority rule can be hurtful in a society, toughtful deliberation protecting the minrotiy so the majority doesnt wipe them clean off the face of the earth is important to.
Watch the elected but watch the watchers..they can be just as hurtful.
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