5 ms·

Eliminate lobbying for one. Loopholes aren't accidental, and it's pretty clear that policy that affects the money tends to be influenced by it. A group of advi

Eliminate lobbying for one. Loopholes aren't accidental, and it's pretty clear that policy that affects the money tends to be influenced by it. A group of advising software people isn't gonna do anything when FAANG is spending millions on lobbying the policy that ultimately governs them.

adventured 5y ago
Lobbying will never be eliminated. There is no scenario where that is ever going to be allowed to happen. Both sides of the political aisle love it and use it to their advantage, it's useful and lucrative for the political class. Their only interest is in controlling it, never eliminating it. So what's the next best option after that?
JumpCrisscross 5y ago
> eliminate lobbying If Congress is about to pass a bill regulating tech companies, should it be illegal for said companies' employees to reach out to their representatives? What if one of them offers to drive others to D.C. to meet the bill's sponsors in person? What if one of them, say a manager, picks up the gas tab? Would a service that notifies you when bills in your interest areas come up for debate be considered lobbying? Should a Congressperson's staff, drafting a bill to regulate agriculture, be banned from reaching out to farmers for input? Lobbying encompasses a lot of activities. Some of it is fundamental to citizen-representative communication. A lot of it is sleazy. One of the principal problems the lobby-reform movement faces is in imprecisely delineating between the two. (Lower-hanging fruit, in my opinion: elected officials "retiring" into padded Board seats and advisory roles. And campaign finance.)
- a1369209993 5y ago
  > should it be illegal for said companies' employees to reach out to their representatives? If they're doing so on their own behalf, with no compensation or censure for doing so or not, that's fine. If they're doing it on their employer's behalf, their employer (not them) should face felony charges. From the first amendment: > the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. People have a right to reach out to their representatives. Corporations do not have a right to reach out to people's representatives.
  - JumpCrisscross 5y ago
    > People have a right to reach out to their representatives. Corporations do not have a right to reach out to people's representatives. This is the assembly dilemma. How do you nullify rights for a group of people without nullifying it for individuals. Tell me how you you would word a law that makes it illegal for corporations, groups of people, to lobby without making it illegal for individuals (or small groups thereof). Then I’ll tell you how I’d pay for those things alongside a similar, coïncidental bump in compensation. Then you’ll tell me how you’d ban that. And we’d go in circles, all the way until the right has been—practically speaking—extinguished.
    - a1369209993 5y ago
      You... do realize lobbyists are paid, right? > Tell me how you you would word a law that makes it illegal for corporations, groups of people, to lobby without making it illegal for individuals Eh, sure: corporations are legal entities with things like tax filings, budgets, and bank accounts. If any of that money is spent on influencing legislators, the corporation is dissolved, and all of its assests siezed.

adventured 5y ago

Lobbying will never be eliminated. There is no scenario where that is ever going to be allowed to happen. Both sides of the political aisle love it and use it to their advantage, it's useful and lucrative for the political class. Their only interest is in controlling it, never eliminating it. So what's the next best option after that?

JumpCrisscross 5y ago

> eliminate lobbying If Congress is about to pass a bill regulating tech companies, should it be illegal for said companies' employees to reach out to their representatives? What if one of them offers to drive others to D.C. to meet the bill's sponsors in person? What if one of them, say a manager, picks up the gas tab? Would a service that notifies you when bills in your interest areas come up for debate be considered lobbying? Should a Congressperson's staff, drafting a bill to regulate agriculture, be banned from reaching out to farmers for input? Lobbying encompasses a lot of activities. Some of it is fundamental to citizen-representative communication. A lot of it is sleazy. One of the principal problems the lobby-reform movement faces is in imprecisely delineating between the two. (Lower-hanging fruit, in my opinion: elected officials "retiring" into padded Board seats and advisory roles. And campaign finance.)

a1369209993 5y ago
> should it be illegal for said companies' employees to reach out to their representatives? If they're doing so on their own behalf, with no compensation or censure for doing so or not, that's fine. If they're doing it on their employer's behalf, their employer (not them) should face felony charges. From the first amendment: > the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. People have a right to reach out to their representatives. Corporations do not have a right to reach out to people's representatives.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago
  > People have a right to reach out to their representatives. Corporations do not have a right to reach out to people's representatives. This is the assembly dilemma. How do you nullify rights for a group of people without nullifying it for individuals. Tell me how you you would word a law that makes it illegal for corporations, groups of people, to lobby without making it illegal for individuals (or small groups thereof). Then I’ll tell you how I’d pay for those things alongside a similar, coïncidental bump in compensation. Then you’ll tell me how you’d ban that. And we’d go in circles, all the way until the right has been—practically speaking—extinguished.
  - a1369209993 5y ago
    You... do realize lobbyists are paid, right? > Tell me how you you would word a law that makes it illegal for corporations, groups of people, to lobby without making it illegal for individuals Eh, sure: corporations are legal entities with things like tax filings, budgets, and bank accounts. If any of that money is spent on influencing legislators, the corporation is dissolved, and all of its assests siezed.