This post is long overdue but considering our political environment at the moment I suppose it is timely. Back in April when I went to Washington D.C. with IREM we spent one day lobbying our Congressmen on topics related to real estate and finance. I have to admit that had a little heartburn about this considering the fact that leading up to this day I have felt that big money and lobbying are some of the most significant problems in our political system today.
Me outside the office of my Congressman, Ralph Hall.
This is exactly where we ended up having our meeting.
I studied my topic and got ready for the day, calming my discomfort by telling myself that the talking point I had been assigned about Lease Accounting Rules wasn't going to result in the downfall of society. I know I have talked about how amazing D.C. is but it is worth mentioning again. The ever-present history and the beauty of the buildings and monuments remind me of European cities which is high praise. Washington is certainly worthy of its place as our nation's capital.
Given that, you kind of can't help but be seriously impressed when you are walking around Capital Hill having meetings with Congressmen. I guess I could say Congresspeople to be a little more gender neutral but the fact is we only met with men.... or to be more precise, we met with the staff members of the men.
Congress was in session so we would not have been able to meet with the Congressman anyway; however, I think it is pretty typical to meet with the staff - who are all literally about 24. It is really interesting. You get the definite sense that the place is run by twenty-somethings. Most were really nice, some seemed completely bored and we actually had one meeting in the hallway (a pretty common occurrence judging by the number of hallway meetings we walked by that day).
It was an illuminating day. I still think big money and lobbying are huge problems in our political system - as in BIG MONEY & LOBBYING. What I came to understand that day is that lobbying in and of itself is critical to the success of our country. What I saw wasn't BIG MONEY & LOBBYING though there is no doubt it is around. What I witnessed were people who care about issues going to talk to their elected officials (OK, OK... the staff members of their elected officials) about those topics.
It doesn't change the problem about big money in politics and it doesn't mean that the system is not abused. It did give me hope though... and it made me feel better about my part in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment