This definitely flunks the stink test.
But here’s an amazing facts regarding the story.
Galvin said yesterday that he is reviewing the law and may impose fines – up to $1,200 a year on Cognos and up to $200 a year on McDonough – for each year they failed to file. He said those are the maximum fines permitted under the state’s lobbying law.
$1,200/year for the company and $200/year for the guy?? Are they serious? That’s a lunch bill for this guy while he’s hob nobbing. Don’t you think we need a little higher fine for people or companies violating this law?
Can someone also explain this statement…
Threatening to suspend Vitale’s lobbying rights would have had no effect, Galvin said, because he is an accountant, not a professional lobbyist.
So is he a lobbyist or not? The story says he was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for lobbying so…
Is Galvin or Coakley going to do anything about this guy?
Donkey crap don’t smell no better than elephant crap…there’s just less of it to clean up.
of people skimming the cream off the top. From Boston Firefighters to Mass Turnpike Officials to Lobbyists. We need some reforms here and when you add this up we are talking some real money too.
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p>We can’t count on DiMasi but maybe the Gov will do something about it and you are right that this problem has no party affiliations.
All the same, at least Galvin is paying attention, outing the practices – frankly, “we” the taxpayers need more of that kind of public shaming of those who are soaking us.
but these guys are professionals. “Shaming” may work for many of us but these guys are immune to it. I swear some of them relish any attention, even “shaming” since they know the public will go on with their lives and forget it ever happened.
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p>Think of recent events, even within the last 12 months when there was public outrage about something. Time passes and nothing happens. Next thing you know the issue has evaporated and our “shamed” person is being reelected, reappointed or given a raise. How big of a deal was “mandatory drug and alcohol testing” going to be for Boston Firefighters? Sounded like a done deal to me but here we are in late July with nothing going on in that regard, nor even any mention of it.
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p>Instead of “shaming” which I wish would be enough, we need laws and people with the balls (and no political aspirations) to prosecute. How about we start by increasing the fines from $1,200/$200 to $250,000 and $100,000 and get the law a little tooth!
I think the group Common Cause tries to do something periodically. I don’t know how successful their drives have been to date. We (myself included) probably need to do more to help them. I can’t think of many things that would generate less support in the Legislature itself than stiffening ethics rules and penalties.