to have formally held a position in the Tobacco Industry? How can anyone who has a vested interest in the Tobacco Industry be in a position of voting for or against any/all legislation concerning this industry? Thanks.
God's Speed and Grace,
Nancy
2007-10-15 05:42:19 · 6 answers · asked by Nancy E 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Government
Why limit this to just "the tobacco industry" ? According to your "conflict of interest" idea, everyone who has a business background of any kind would be in a state of having a conflict of interest in terms of voting for anything having to do with their business.
It IS a conflict of interest, and there ARE rules pertaining to the regulation of it, in terms of members of Congress not being able to vote on legislation that could directly bring a financial benefit to a specific company that they are vested in. The rules are, I'm sure, quite detailed and specific. And the Ethics Committees in Congress do deal with allegations, from time to time, that one of their own has violated those rules. Once in a while, a member who does have a conflict of interest on some particular legislation abstains from voting on it.
2007-10-15 05:49:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think someone who has worked in the tobacco industry might have a better understanding for developing government policy on tobacco. What's a conflict of interest is if he still owns lots of stock in tobacco companies, then he has an incentive to use government to help the industry.
That's the problem in the US, that people are using the govt. to get rich by designing regulation to help their industries. Sometimes the lobbyists for the industry are invited right into the committee room to actually help -write- the legislation!
Of course the poster boy for this corruption is our benighted Vice President, who has personally made tens of millions on the war in Iraq by swinging billions of taxpayer dollars to Halliburton in non-competitive contracts.
2007-10-15 12:48:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Following your reasoning, teachers could not hold political or governmental office. Nor could doctors, nurses or anyone in the medical field. Actually, anyone who held a job prior to serving would be excluded assuming that "once you work for some industry you are 'vested' in that industry." Doesn't make sense to me.
It would matter more to me what stocks are in their portfolio. Now THAT is vested interest.
2007-10-15 12:46:16 · answer #3 · answered by jurydoc 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Nancy, i could not possibly agree with you more, but why limit it to the tobacco industry.
any industry should not be in a position to regulate,govern,the every entity that they were or still connected to,period.
2007-10-15 12:51:27 · answer #4 · answered by Constipated CON. 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
ALL industries are regulated to some extent by the government. To follow your argument to its logical conclusion, nobody who has ever held a job outside the government would be eligible for a government job.
2007-10-15 12:47:11 · answer #5 · answered by TG 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Same could be said about oil or military contractors and I would say "yes", they will always be a conflict of interest whatever the past business was.
2007-10-15 12:45:40 · answer #6 · answered by Edge Caliber 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋