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The Center for the Public Interest has a new report on concentration in the telecommunication and broadcasting industries. One section that's getting some attention says that FCC officials have accepted "nearly $2.8 million worth of free trips over the last eight years" from the companies that they're supposed to be overseeing. It's not hard to spot a conflict of interest here.
In the Los Angeles Times, an FCC spokesperson explains that it's important for FCC staff to travel "to interact with experts and educate themselves about pending issues" and that "allowing private companies to pay enables the FCC to save taxpayer dollars".
Both of these are probably true, especially when you consider the cost of an extended stay at the Bellagio. But you know what? If an FCC official has to visit conferences and corporations, I'd like them to save taxpayer dollars by buying a nonrefundable coach ticket and getting a room at the Travelodge, not by accepting gifts from the industries on which they make regulatory decisions. That's how I save my taxpayer dollars.
In the Los Angeles Times, an FCC spokesperson explains that it's important for FCC staff to travel "to interact with experts and educate themselves about pending issues" and that "allowing private companies to pay enables the FCC to save taxpayer dollars".
Both of these are probably true, especially when you consider the cost of an extended stay at the Bellagio. But you know what? If an FCC official has to visit conferences and corporations, I'd like them to save taxpayer dollars by buying a nonrefundable coach ticket and getting a room at the Travelodge, not by accepting gifts from the industries on which they make regulatory decisions. That's how I save my taxpayer dollars.