Lobbyists in Government Positions Means Corporations Re-Writing OUR Rules

Rules and regulations do not come into existence for the purpose of penalizing businesses seeking to operate in a lawful and ethic manner.  Instead, they arise on an as-needed basis to retroactively attempt to address ills caused by corporations who have acted in their own best interest at the expense of a segment of the population or society overall.  

We elect government officials who represent us and work in our favor.  We "hire" them to do the dirty work which often includes protecting us from corporations who can and do harm us intentionally or not for their own benefit.  Yet a significant portion of the population, even on the left, sides with the corporations due to a repeatedly hammered notion that doing anything to regulate private enterprise is somehow un-American.  We are supposed to own our government, yet corporations do; they write the rules and majority cheer for it incredibly.

What we are experiencing currently, the effects of which will be lasting and far reaching, are lobbyists taking on positions throughout our government.  This means they work for the citizens now, right?  Not a chance.  They continue to work for their former corporate employers, seeking to do their bidding from the inside, at all of our expense.

Trump is populating the White House and federal agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who in many cases are helping to craft new policies for the same industries in which they recently earned a paycheck. In at least two cases, the appointments may have already led to violations of the administration’s own ethics rules. But evaluating if and when such violations have occurred has become almost impossible because the Trump administration is secretly issuing waivers to the rules.

This revolving door of lobbyists and government officials is not new in Washington. Both parties make a habit of it. But the Trump administration is more vulnerable to conflicts than the prior administration, particularly after the president eliminated an ethics provision that prohibits lobbyists from joining agencies they lobbied in the prior two years.

Trump also made it easier for former lobbyists in the government to get waivers that would let them take up matters that could benefit former clients.

Please see the full article below which includes numerous specific examples of these lobbyist appointments in action and the consequences.  Corporations over people. Same story, different day.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/us/politics/trump-appointees-potential-conflicts.html