Slashdot Mirror
Ask A Tech-Savvy Lobbyist About The Politics Of Computing
Morgan Reed is a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. with the law firm of Venable, Baetjer, Howard & Civiletti. He has represented a wide range of clients, from the International Pizza
Hut Franchise Holders Association (really) to the Telecommunications Industry
Association and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). That means he's paid to personally persuade (not to mention cajole and
badger) lawmakers with real shoe-leather tactics, on issues that few lawmakers have the time to personally spend years
learning about. He's also a Slashdot reader and Linux hacker, with work on the Linux Router Project (LEAF/ LRP). Morgan has volunteered to expand your
knowledge about the intersection of technology and politics. Ask Morgan (one question per post, please)
about how clueful politicians are when it comes to technology, what tactics are likely to impress your representatives
to make intelligent tech-related decisions, and what you can do to steer the course of legislation which could affect
your freedoms. We'll pass your questions on to Morgan, who will get back with answers shortly.
As a hardcore free-market driven Libertarian, every problem I see posted on slashdot (and other sites) that has to do with the government intervening or not intervening seems like its caused directly because we've allowed government to get too involved in our lives and our businesses.
Does it ever occur to anyone that reducing the size of government to that of the Constitutional limited variety would really help us? We're talking about through copyright extensions out (100 years + the life of the author???) back to the basic 7+7 years maximum. We're talking about dropping the idea of intellectual property. We're talking about getting rid of "Limited Liability" for corporations, so that shareholders can hold CEOs and other officers liable for corporate errors and misjudgements.
It shocks me that people totally ignore this. How is it for the lobbiests? Are any lobbiests out there looking to REDUCE the size of government and the intervention that comes from it?