Economics as a Paid Lobbyist of FedEx,

Economics

As a paid lobbyist of FedEx, I would like to see the government encourage more global trade. There are two reasons for this. The first is that global air trade is one of my company's most profitable services, and the other is that our revenues are tied closely to the state of the global economy. Trade agreements are a form of trade policy that enjoy broad Congressional support and are easier to implement than spending-related fiscal policy or monetary policy. Chiff.com (2012) notes that lobbying is the "process of petitioning the government to intervene in special causes. Aside from broad trade-related issues, FedEx could benefit from its ongoing classification as an airline, something that gives it special privileges compared with UPS, especially with respect to labor freedoms. Maintaining this flexibility and cost advantage helps FedEx and its competitors are trying to undermine this advantage.

Shalal-Esa (2009) notes that there are thousands of lobbyists with the federal government, and this includes our competition both foreign and domestic. The U.S. Postal Service has lobbying power as a federal agency, and UPS has been lobbying to have FedEx's status as an airline removed. In order to counter the effects of the lobbying against us, we must undertake lobbying of our own, so that the balance of power in Washington lies with our interests and not the interests of the other companies.

2. Lobbying can be useful because it can act as shorthand whereby elements of society can ensure that their stories are understood by lawmakers. Lawmakers do not always have time to understand each issue fully, so gaining the perspective of those who are most affected by issues is something that can at least in theory be beneficial. For any company, having a lobbyist in the seat of government can be especially useful to ensure that adverse legislation is avoided and that when possible fiscal policy is directed in the areas most beneficial to the corporation.

There should, however, be limits to lobbying, which is presently an unregulated activity, and one without structure. For example, government should seek out interested parties when considering legislation. At present, the interests of those with lobbyists are probably served better than the interests of those who do not have lobbyist representation.

Other restrictions should also be in place to ensure that the process is conducted ethically. For example, any financial or other remuneration should be banned, as this is bribery, and there should be strict controls on anything that even resembles bribery. Likewise, there should also be controls on relationships for people in Congress. They should not have active ties with commercial interests, and should not act on issues in which they or close family members have financial interest. Rules should be in place therefore that prevent Congresspeople from becoming lobbyists before their term, and from lobbyists becoming members of Congress for a period of time.