Edmond Sun - 01/31/2018

OPINION
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A4
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the f
press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to p
redress of grievances.

THE EDMOND SUN

Page : A04

Limit special
influence groups
by limiting size
of government
I
once watched, "The Best Government Money Can
Buy,” a documentary that details the considerable
influence of lobbyists over the development and
implementation of policy.
It also clearly illustrates some of the constitutional
and practical barriers to the various proposals
designed to limit the power of special influence.
In reality, this documentary (no doubt like many
similar pieces of literature and video designed to
expose the influence of special interests) actually
offers little in the way of a solution.
Upon the conclusion of the movie, the viewer could
easily become depressed and conclude that nothing
can be done. The courts have made it clear: political
contributions should be treated as free speech and will
always be the constitutional right of the donor.
While it is important to bring transparency and

Fiscal He
openness to these contributions, there are important
boundaries that government cannot cross in limiting
who may give to a political campaign and who may
not. This frustrates many who understand the prob-
lem but are unable to provide a solu-
tion.

In reality, this leaves two real solu-
tions to reducing the influence of lob-
byists and big money in politics while
complying with the important consti-
tutional free speech protections.
The first method is to elect citizen
legislators who do not accept contri-
butions from groups that have lobby-
Jason ists. This is tough, because there are
only a handful of legislators who have
Murphey made this commitment.
There's a great calling for new candi-
House dates who will step forward on the
District 31 platform of refusing lobbyist money.
And I believe strongly that voters must
support these candidates.
I now believe that the ultimate way
to limit the influence of special interests is the all-too-
often ignored solution of limiting the size of govern-
ment.
If government had not intruded into every aspect of
life, the ability of the powerful, rich, special interests
groups to influence power would be limited.
Put simply, the reason so many invest so much into
government is because they seek to leverage the power
of the government to work in their own interests.
I have observed that the same groups who decry the
power of the wealthy and their influence over politics
oftentimes suggest that the solution to the problem is
to expand the size and scope of government.
Expanding the size of government additionally
empowers those who have the wealth to buy influence
with the politicians who control the government.
Ultimately, the way to empower the average individ-
ual is to reduce the power of government over his life.
This puts the individual back in charge of his own des-
tiny and takes away the ability of others to control
him.
S
ome years ago there was a very Administratio
successful ad campaign for a As the chart
product that used the tag line years the OCC
“You can pay a little now, or a lot ent accountin
later.” Admittedly, it’s a slogan that’s boards perfor
been so overused it’s almost a cliché. nine operatio
However, this phrase still provides a
great deal of common sense and
more than a little truth. Those
charged with handling public funds
would do well to follow its intent.
At the Corporation Commission
(OCC), we have seen first-hand the
effectiveness of being proactive when
it comes to the millions of dollars
that flow through this agency as it
works to protect the public interest
and foster economic development in
Dana
its regulation of the Energy, Murphy
Transportation, and Utility sectors. In
2013, we asked the state auditor and Oklahoma
inspector to embed auditors within Corporation
the agency to not only take an initial Commission
look at our processes, but also to stay Chairman
here and continue to work to help us
improve.
In addition, regular audits (per-
formance, financial and operational) can be. Just as
as well as grant reviews have been result in ident
ongoing and performed by various of relatively sm
entities, including independent before they be
accounting firms, the Office of so too do all th
Management and Enterprise Services, agency busine
the Department of Commerce, the Our work is
Environmental Protection Agency, the fiscal health is
International Fuel Tax Agreement sary services t
Program Compliance Review ing the OCC c
Committee, the Federal Highway al and statuto

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