Oh,
happy days….for a
few moments there I
thought that I’d
have to invent
something to write
about this
week…Never fear
though, here comes
the morning news and
I have fresh meat to
start off the day.
You can always count
on the old
government to give
you something to
write about, can’t
you?
As you have heard me
say many times
before, I was always
under the impression
(I now believe I’m
wrong) that the
folks who got
elected were sent to
their elected
positions to
represent us and
look out for our
best interests. I
now believe that the
folks we send off to
do that chore are,
for the most part,
looking after their
best interests and
then if they have
the time and the
inclination, they
might (note the
word…might) look
after what we, the
voters desire and
are concerned about.
If you’ve had kids,
you should know what
I am about to say is
true. When you set
up the rules for
your children you
had to be very
specific. I mean
very specific. For
example, if you told
them they were not
allowed to play on
the roof of the
house, but you
failed to identify
what days they could
not do so; most
likely you had to go
back and specify
that they could not
play on the roof of
the house on ANY day
of the week.
Likewise if you told
them that they had
to wear pants or
shirts, then you had
to identify what day
of the week as well
as the time of the
day along with where
they were required
to wear pants and
shirts. Oh, yes and
that both pants and
shirts were
required, not just
one or the other.
Now you would think
adults would follow
the rules a lot
easier, wouldn’t
you?
Nope, not in our
good old state
legislature. Let’s
examine what is
happening.
Some five years ago
the ethics committee
established a rule
which stated that a
political candidate
or officeholder must
disclose the amounts
they were holding in
their campaign
donation accounts.
They failed to state
that the total value
of such deposits as
well as any
investments must be
reported as well.
The requirement was
only for the amount
of the donations.
So, now the rules
committee changed
the rules to further
state that the
officeholder or
candidate has to
report everything,
interest, stocks,
bonds as well as
T-bills. Anything
that can increase in
value as a result of
campaign donations
has to be reported.
As you might expect,
some legislative
members are upset.
They think the rules
are too broad and
will require
‘additional burdens’
on the candidates if
they have to itemize
what they did with
the money they have
received. Their
argument is that
some investments
such as stocks or
bonds might be
physically in the
hands of the
legislative member
and not recorded in
any actual account.
Gosh, that’s tough,
isn’t it? I mean
they might actually
have to disclose
something to us…the
mere citizens of the
land. Heaven forbid.
I mean let’s look at
the situation here.
Suppose an old boy
has about 2 million
in his campaign
account. With his or
her connections it
should be fairly
easy to generate 8%
a year from this
amount or about
$160,000. None of
which has had to be
reported under the
old rules. Who would
know? The rules just
specified that the
amount of the
donation (not the
value of the money
once it was
invested) had to be
reported. Remember
my first paragraph
about being specific
with your children?
I suppose the
legislators just
misread the intent
of the campaign
contribution rule.
We or the rules
committee didn’t
tell them that we
wanted to know about
all of the campaign
funds, the original
amounts as well as
the value of any
investments of those
original amounts.
So, you might be
asking why is this
important? These
legislators don’t
make much money for
the most part. So,
what’s the harm?
Well consider
this….what if
legislator X decides
to invest his
campaign fund in
stocks or bonds of
companies who are
lobbying for new
legislation or who
might have some
adverse legislation
passed what would
materially affect
them? How can the
public know why
anyone voted the way
they did unless they
have an idea of what
the legislator owns
or invests his or
her money in? I
smell conflict of
interest here.
The sad thing about
activities such as
this is the fact
that a lot of these
people seem to be
only looking out for
their benefit rather
than ours. And you
know what; this is
only about the stuff
that we know about.
What else is out
there that no one
has discovered?
This kind of stuff
makes me sick to my
stomach.
