Associations reduce consumer freedoms

"Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent." Napoleon Bonaparte

Check out this link to California lobbyists who lobby to enrich their professions and make life complicated for us consumers. The year is for 1999. This is just a list of "Employers In Professional/Trade". No surprise who the largest contributor is, the California Medical Association.http://www.sos.ca.gov/prd/lobreport99_1qtr/e_professional.htm

Milton Friedman (1912-2006), proposed allowing doctors without licensing to practice medicine. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/17/milton_friedman/
Friedman was a free market advocate who looked out for the consumer.

It is no surprise that as the number of "associations" has grown in the U. S. since its beginning, the number of rules and regulations have also grown. The members of these associations parade on Independence Day and wave the flag for freedom as they lobby for more protection from competition.

The government has become community property and these associations try to exploit the common property. They lobby for rules and regulations that restrict our freedoms. And you thought it was the North Koreans, North Vietnamese, communists, or Muslims who were going to take away your freedoms. With the power of these lobbyists, does your vote really matter?

Charles Tolleson

And one of the most powerful lobbying groups in CA is the California Correctional Peace Officer Associations. http://www.cjcj.org/cpp/political_power.php

3. Money to the Judiciary- Between 1989 and 1999, 39 inmates were shot to death, and 200 more were wounded. Not one district attorney in the state prosecuted a correctional officer for any of these assaults.1

The CCPOA gave at least $108,000 to local district attorneys from 1996 to 2000. 2

"You can investigate it until you're blue in the face but you still have the problem of who prosecutes it.To accept one of these cases would eat up everybody you have in the place, plus every red cent you've got to get one of these cases to court," said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Attorney General Lockyer. 3

This quote illuminates the challenge of facing an opponent who is armed with a team of 20 lawyers.

Local district attorneys have good reason to hesitate before taking a position against the CCPOA's interests. Greg Strickland, former district attorney in Kings County, home to Corcoran state correctional facilitity, attempted to take a brutality case to the grand jury. The CCPOA fueled his opponent with $30,000 in the next election, leading to Strickland's defeat. 4 A similar scenario happened in Del Norte County and in Susanville. 4

When local district attorneys fail to prosecute charges against a correctional officer, they will refer it to the Attorney General's office. At this time, the Attorney General's office is too overwhelmed to respond quickly or consistently or sometimes at all.

The State Supreme Court -

State supreme court justices are appointed by the governor for life. Theoretically this frees them from the ongoing distractions of running elections and creating political alliances.

The role of the supreme court is to interpret laws, not to create them. The judicial branch of the government plays a vital role in the checks and balances of the democratic system.

CCPOA contributed $25,000 to Chief Justice Ron George in October 1998. 2 What can CCPOA hope to gain from such a contribution?