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
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dett í, ofan á, úr, út

I´m not sure if someone had dett í (gotten drunk), or if það bara dett ofan á (it just sort of happened), or if some dett úr (forgot), but at any rate, my household goods dett út (have disappeared). Let's review the chronology here. Early August packers from the shipping company arrive at the apartment in Moraga. They load my 4 large plastic containers and 8 cardboard boxes, plus one baby crib, into their truck. I watch my things depart. In September, I ask the friendly girl (Magie is her name) if she happens to know when I might expect my stuff. Late September she tells me. I am most impressed. Extremely so. Mid October rolls around, and I have not gotten a call. And it occurs to me that I am going to be traveling through November. Hmm. So I call again. Well, yes, she tells me, looks like your shipment should arrive on the 31st of October. Now here I admit that maybe I was a little lacks. I had a lot to do before my trip, and so when they did not call me, I did not follow ...
Read more

On Icelandic doctors

My friends and family here in Iceland were very enthusiastic about me going to the krabbameinsfélag for an exam. I was really impressed how easy it was to get an appointment--booked online even! And when I got there this afternoon, the efficiency continued: they have a well oiled operation in place there, all very organized with computers asking questions and keyed lockers to keep one's personal belongings in. Then when it came time to see the doctor, well, that lasted all of 2 minutes. And I paid 3420 kroner. So I was overall a little disappointed. When I mentioned to the front desk clerks that I was wondering if it was possible to actually get an appointment where I could speak to a doctor, I was given a variety of phone numbers. None of the ones I called had appointments within the next 6 weeks. In the United States, when I want a doctor's appointment, I can usually get it within a week of calling, though sometimes I have had to wait 10 days or so. The highest co-pay I hav...
Read more

Cultural tourism in Iceland

I just finished writing a chapter of my dissertation, which resulted in a much larger discussion of cultural tourism in Iceland than I had intended. But the fact is, this is an issue I have been extremely interested and concerned about for at least 15 years, if not 20. I have never, ever liked the way Iceland is marketed to tourists in the U.S. Everything from the unspoiled nature to the crazy city life in Reykavik. It has always left the part of Iceland I loved--the simple joy of being in a relaxing and lovely place with my family--completely out of the picture. In 2001, I went to Hvollsvöllur to examine the Saga Centre as part of a study commissioned by the National Park's service to look into cultural landscapes as heritage tourism. I thought that endeavor might represent a change in how Iceland was presented to tourists. But in the last 10 years, and especially while working at Vikingaheimar, and at meetings with the Saga Trails Association, I came to see just how completel...
Read more