5 ms·

It's amazing that there aren't conflict of interest laws or regulations to prevent this sort of thing.

by sandipc 15y ago

jkeel 15y ago
No joke. Every time I see a story like this I think, "is this type of stuff legal in other developed countries?"
- hugh3 15y ago
  Let me see... in the Australian context such things can and do happen, but happen much less because "lobbyist" is a bit less of a job category than it is in the US. Part of the reason, I think, is that individual parliamentarians make fewer of their own decisions than they do in the US. It's almost unheard of for an individual member of parliament to vote against their party on a given issue, so all decisionmaking on whether to support a given law is done at the party rather than individual level. And you can't persuade a whole party to support a law just by buying it steak dinners and hookers, you have to convince 'em that it's actually a votewinner. (Or you could just get your industry group to donate huge sums of money to the party, which is how, for instance, the Australian Hoteliers' Association keeps liquor licencing laws written to their advantage in most states).
- hexis 15y ago
  Gerhard Schröder, former chancellor of Germany, had a similar situation with Gazprom a few years back. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Schr%C3%B6der#Gazprom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Schr%C3%B6der#Gazprom
benmathes 15y ago
How would such laws be created with such a personnel system in place? If they existed, who would enforce them? I'd love to be proved ignorant on this and see some unrelated-to (and therefore incorruptible-by) enforcement agency slap the fuck out of Ms. Corrupt Lobbyist, but I'm doubtful.
- reginaldo 15y ago
  They would establish something like time-limited non-compete agreements: when you accept a position, you'll know that, when you leave it, you'll have to spend 2-3 years without working in a related field. Hell, they could even be 2 paid years.
- phlux 15y ago
  You have a law that states: --- (that) any official in a position within a government body, whether elected or appointed, which regulates a particular industry, area of industry, or the laws and compliance of said industry, may not take a position within any company that benefited directly from any regulatory or oversight decision of the oversight body within the last 5 years on any case where the stated company or organizations competitive status with respect to monopolies, anti-trust, or anti-competitive business environment was considered. --- This would mean that anyone who was in a position of oversight for a given industry and who had to consider, directly, regulations which may or may not benefit a particular company may not accept a position with that company for at least 5 years after their departure from that official position.
  - iuguy 15y ago
    Then all you do is increase the cost by about 5 years worth of pay and we're back to square one. Admittedly, it'll handle lobbying at the local level for construction jobs for example, but it won't stop the oil lobby in Alaska.
  - btilly 15y ago
    The immediate reaction to this proposal will be the argument from every corner that you have just barred anyone with industry knowledge or expertise from being willing to take any government regulation position. Thereby guaranteeing incompetent regulation. (Insert long list of examples where unknowledgeable regulators have proven incompetent to regulate.) You can be sure that this argument will be accompanied by large donations to lobbyists, and by outrage among all government regulators who were expecting to wind up in the industry that they regulate (and that they frequently came from).
eli 15y ago
Though Ms. Baker was appointed to what is considered an independent regulatory agency, she signed the administration’s ethics pledge upon taking office in July 2009. Under the pledge, she will not be allowed to lobby anyone at the F.C.C. for two years after her departure. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/f-c-c-commissioner-to-join-comcast/?partner=rss&emc=rss http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/f-c-c-commi...

It's amazing that there aren't conflict of interest laws or regulations to prevent this sort of thing.

by sandipc 15y ago

It's amazing that there aren't conflict of interest laws or regulations to prevent this sort of thing.

jkeel 15y ago

No joke. Every time I see a story like this I think, "is this type of stuff legal in other developed countries?"

hugh3 15y ago
Let me see... in the Australian context such things can and do happen, but happen much less because "lobbyist" is a bit less of a job category than it is in the US. Part of the reason, I think, is that individual parliamentarians make fewer of their own decisions than they do in the US. It's almost unheard of for an individual member of parliament to vote against their party on a given issue, so all decisionmaking on whether to support a given law is done at the party rather than individual level. And you can't persuade a whole party to support a law just by buying it steak dinners and hookers, you have to convince 'em that it's actually a votewinner. (Or you could just get your industry group to donate huge sums of money to the party, which is how, for instance, the Australian Hoteliers' Association keeps liquor licencing laws written to their advantage in most states).
hexis 15y ago
Gerhard Schröder, former chancellor of Germany, had a similar situation with Gazprom a few years back. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Schr%C3%B6der#Gazprom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Schr%C3%B6der#Gazprom

benmathes 15y ago

How would such laws be created with such a personnel system in place? If they existed, who would enforce them? I'd love to be proved ignorant on this and see some unrelated-to (and therefore incorruptible-by) enforcement agency slap the fuck out of Ms. Corrupt Lobbyist, but I'm doubtful.

reginaldo 15y ago
They would establish something like time-limited non-compete agreements: when you accept a position, you'll know that, when you leave it, you'll have to spend 2-3 years without working in a related field. Hell, they could even be 2 paid years.
phlux 15y ago
You have a law that states: --- (that) any official in a position within a government body, whether elected or appointed, which regulates a particular industry, area of industry, or the laws and compliance of said industry, may not take a position within any company that benefited directly from any regulatory or oversight decision of the oversight body within the last 5 years on any case where the stated company or organizations competitive status with respect to monopolies, anti-trust, or anti-competitive business environment was considered. --- This would mean that anyone who was in a position of oversight for a given industry and who had to consider, directly, regulations which may or may not benefit a particular company may not accept a position with that company for at least 5 years after their departure from that official position.
- iuguy 15y ago
  Then all you do is increase the cost by about 5 years worth of pay and we're back to square one. Admittedly, it'll handle lobbying at the local level for construction jobs for example, but it won't stop the oil lobby in Alaska.
- btilly 15y ago
  The immediate reaction to this proposal will be the argument from every corner that you have just barred anyone with industry knowledge or expertise from being willing to take any government regulation position. Thereby guaranteeing incompetent regulation. (Insert long list of examples where unknowledgeable regulators have proven incompetent to regulate.) You can be sure that this argument will be accompanied by large donations to lobbyists, and by outrage among all government regulators who were expecting to wind up in the industry that they regulate (and that they frequently came from).

eli 15y ago

Though Ms. Baker was appointed to what is considered an independent regulatory agency, she signed the administration’s ethics pledge upon taking office in July 2009. Under the pledge, she will not be allowed to lobby anyone at the F.C.C. for two years after her departure. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/f-c-c-commissioner-to-join-comcast/?partner=rss&emc=rss http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/f-c-c-commi...