Tiny little point about David

In the United States, it is illegal for former elected officials to be hired directly into any sort of job which may be seen as directly tied to influencing government policy.* This includes especially that they cannot be hired as consultants for lobbying firms. In other words, the personal connections a person acquired from their time as an elected officials CANNOT be used to suddenly augment a private enterprise. The tax payers in essence own those connections, not the individual, and those connections ought to be safeguarded from providing an unfair advantage to a business on the open market. That David Oddsson was specifically hired for his political connections is exactly the issue. Those political connections are not in fact his, they derive from the position he held in service to his country. So it is not at all ridiculous to propose a law saying that former cabinet members here in Iceland, for instance, should be banned from certain jobs. If it is not considered over-regulation in the United States, it should not be considered so here.

*ie: there has to be a significant time lag, of 3 years I think it is, and there has to be another job in between.

Comments

Elísabet said…
mjög góður punktur - ég setti tengil á þessa færslu af facebook síðunni minni, vona að það sé í lagi:)
September 25, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Kristín said…
Mjög interressant.
September 25, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Lissy said…
Beta, þú má gera alveg eins og þu vilt!
September 25, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Unknown said…
This isn't entirely correct. In the United States the waiting period is 2 years for senators and 1 year for congressmen before they can register and lobby congress after they leave their elected office. This has nothing to do with "owning" relationships (in the United States it is customary to consider the individual the owner of the relationship as they are the ones that built it) rather this has to do with protecting taxpayers: A congressman who knows he's in line for a well-paid lobbyist gig with a particular special interest might be tempted to do some favors for his future employers while still on the public payroll. There is nothing that forbids former congressmen from immediately going to work for a media company, and they frequently do.
September 26, 2009 at 4:35 AM
Lissy said…
I am sure if the case were to be argued before the Supreme Court, the idea of "ownership" of these connections would be found to be exactly the legal crux of the matter.
September 27, 2009 at 2:14 PM
Unknown said…
I respectfully disagree. Here is a simple example why: I get elected as a congressman and end up servicg 2 terms for a total of 4 years. During my time as a congressman I meet an executive of a large company in the normal course of that company lobbying congress. I become good friends with that executive, being careful not to vote on any legislation that may benefit the executives company. After 4 years as a congressman I leave office. You seem to be arguing that I cannot remai friends with said executives because the public owns the friendship with the executive, that's where I would disagree... it is my friendship.
September 28, 2009 at 3:27 AM
Lissy said…
What if you go to apply for another position, one which is not at your friend's company, but you use the fact that you are friends with that person in your application process? What if that is your only qualification for the position? That is the analogous situation with David Oddson.
It ought not be necessary to legislate against anything so blatantly silly, but I would say defining the connections one makes as public property (the same way everything I published when I worked at the Smithsonian was public property, even if it was my idea and my research) is a good way to at least stop terribly unethical abuse of said connections.
September 28, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Unknown said…
Well, most jobs I've had I have gotten through connections I have made while working for other employers so I don't see anything wrong with using those connections. Having said that I don't think hiring DO as editor is a good move for Moggan, but they are a private company and can do what they want and if people don't like what they do they can boycut their product.
September 29, 2009 at 4:16 AM
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