Up on the Hill in D.C., sticks and stones of legislation pile up in committee, needing but a shove from Congress to trigger an avalanche that will bury you; and you sit there wondering what to do.
Labor pools dry up, covers drop, costs continue to increase. And on the horizon? You: a phantom of an operator, done in by your own apathy—too pooped to cross swords with Government.
Last one out, turn off the lights.
Here are a few quick thoughts on the legislative process: Most legislators (except Jesse Helms) introduce legislation they feel are in your best interests. They wouldn’t think of doing otherwise. That’s why we call them “representatives.” In their wildest dreams they wouldn’t do anything to offend you. Why would they do that? Your vote is their ticket to cushy jobs, jam-packed with perks that would make Chicago aldermen envious.
Every once in a while, however, a mental meltdown afflicts legislators. They propose bills that are not in your best interests. Can you believe that? Were they aware of that hardship, they’d be petrified and penitent. You could look it up. But, unless you remind them that they’ve messed up, they don’t know that they have.
Here’s the sad part: You’re too busy to tell them they’ve messed up. Here’s some of what you’re doing that keeps you so busy: you’re filling out all of those infuriating forms the infuriating Government has asked you to fill out which you wouldn’t be filling out had you taken the time to tell your Government what you thought of their infuriation.
So, because you’re so busy, this is what you think: Let the other guy write his/her congressperson. You know what the other guy thinks? He thinks you’re the other guy. Buckpassing. It’s the American way.
The Elliot Group is an executive search company. Every year for the past six, it’s sponsored what it calls, a “human resource conference.”
One of the speakers this year was Rick Berman, president, Berman & Co. (D.C. and Sacramento), not, by the way, a particular favorite of mine; nevertheless, every once in a while (and I’ve heard him speak every once in a while) he makes sense. Berman’s company provides government relations services to companies that can’t afford to staff someone fulltime to do that. That’s called outsourcing and Berman’s company is the beneficiary. Following a lengthy recitation of bills that are driving all of you bats, Berman looked to the future and cited pending legislation that will drive you battier. How will you cope? Best to understand the ground rules.
Here’s how pending legislation becomes law, is tabled, or dies in committee. Lobbyists. They manipulate logic, imply constituent disaffection, badger legislators, all in the name of their clients’ concerns. Inevitably, legislators succumb to these tactics and carry out the bidding of lobbyists. Right? Not quite.
More often than not, this is what happens, says Berman: the strategies of one group of lobbyists are neutralized by the strategies of an opposing group. Of the thousands of bills proposed, only a handful pass. Those that do (even those that don’t) seldom owe their destiny to lobbying efforts.
Says Berman, “They owe it to grassroots support (or lack of it)—far more influential than the efforts of lobbyists [Berman is one of those, so he knows whereof he speaks]. A clamoring of constituents is far more effective than the badgering of lobbyists.” This, too, is germane: silence is deadly.
“You don’t use your energy,” Berman admonished the group. “You don't use your power.” Right now the IRS is auditing tip income with an eye to increasing the percent you pay FICA tax on. What will you do when the IRS tells you to pay FICA tax on 12 percent instead of the 8 percent you pay now? What are you waiting for? Now is the time to act, Berman advises.
Foodservice is a nice industry, says Berman. We’re not power-brokers bent on making the world safe from hazardous wastes. People like us. We’re Mother’s Day and apple pie. Legislators will pay attention to us. We’re not adversaries. “Remember,” cautioned Berman, “the science of politics is compromise. Get involved in the process before it’s too late.”
“Before we’re legislated out of business,” someone next to me whispers.
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