Monday, November 19, 2007

Lobbying & Representation

I have started redoing the laundry room. Painting. New linoleum. Moving water heater, washer, dryer. I continue to work half time. It is why we have representative government. It allows me to get work done in two places at once. Or does it? I could call my representative my lobbyist. I expect him/her to lobby on my behalf. My tax money pays his/her salary. But I don't pay for the election process. My lobbyist must spend a lot of time scrounging around, pandering, begging for money for re-election. It takes time away from what and why I elected them in the first place. Pure lobbyists are on payroll. They don't have to worry about being re-elected. They only have to worry about achieving their agenda. Seems a lobbyist on payroll is a more efficient way to achieve an agenda. There are many, many more lobbyists on payroll than are elected. Lobbyists on payroll are not my lobbyists; they do not represent me or even my section of the nation. Clearly their way of life is attractive to representative, like mine, because so many representatives when they leave office go into different sorts of lobbying. Lobbyists live in capitols like representatives and they therefore are closer to my representatives than I am. Not only that, but they like to visit my representatives. They go to lunch together. Not only that but they offer free services -- like drafts of legislation. And clearly, also, offer job opportunities. The outfits that hire lobbyists also are big donors to representatives wishing re-election. Their donations are bigger than mine. I see where I am placing my representatives in a situation where they clearly have conflicts of interest. I would like to see a situation where politicians begged for my vote and not for someone else's money. They only way that will happen is if the electorate (all of us) also covers the costs of election.

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