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user-inactivated  ·  2765 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Barack Obama's $400,000 speaking fees reveal what few want to admit

OftenBen has a pretty good point, kleinbl00, goobster. A very common criticism I see of congressmen is when they leave their office and take up cushy jobs at legal or lobby firms for major corporations. If a person has an influential position on a law being made that affects telecommunications for example, and then after they leave public office takes a job at a phone or cable company, it retroactively colors their decision as a possible conflict of interest. Large payments for public speaking could easily have that same impact.