Quote:
Originally Posted by reason162
I completely agree with you re Citizens.
However I don't see the regulatory people (and I suppose the environmental/conservation constituency) as analogous to the fat cats buying up policy makers. Those people are on the other side, the commercial side. We recreational guys are just caught in the middle.
The common theme on this (and other) fishing forums is that somehow there are people getting rich off imposing quotas on fisheries. I can't even begin to comprehend the logic of this argument. Surely the greed lies on the side of people who stand to profit off catching fish?
That's not to say that I agree with all regs. I can accept that the science is flawed in some cases, thin in others. I just find the knee-jerk reaction to any talk of regulations as "big government getting rich off us common folk" pretty hilarious.
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Reason - Follow the money.... Are the people at NOAA who manage our fisheries "getting rich off us common folk" ? No, they are common folk just like you and me.... Do they eventually report up to people who are bought and paid for and are creating laws that favor Lobbyists, Special Interest Groups who all bought their favor with campaign funds.... You can bet they are. If not your head is in the sand... That's the way our political system functions.
It's not a fairly tale, it's not a conspiracy theory, it's a fact.
The commercial guys have a very strong lobby in all the upline businesses that make billions of dollars off of what is a public resource. Do you think they don't make contributions to people who are infuencial in fighting to protect their cause? I can assure you they do. Even we as Recreation Fisherman do the same. I know for a fact that a some of the money we donate to Recreational Fishing organizations go to Lobbyists and making donations to political campaign funds and oh by the way, on both parties to cover our bets.
Does all this make it right? No!! Why should any of us on either side have to spend the money on Fat Cats that should be spent on better science...
The answer is, that is how the system works.....The Fat Cats get what they need and we get screwed based on who deposited a larger check to the person in power who was eventually elected.
It's all about money and power and to think otherwise is, to quote you, "hilarious".
