FC: More on "How canny bureaucrats grab dot com wealth"

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

**********

From: "Baker, Stewart" <SBaker () steptoe com>
To: declan () well com
cc: "Albertazzie, Sally" <SAlbertazzie () steptoe com>
Subject: RE: MarvinRunyon.com -- How canny bureaucrats grab dot com wealth
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 15:36:28 -0400

Interesting, Declan, but I've always wondered whether Grover himself was
open to similar charges.  Has anyone compared Grover Norquist's lobbying
clientele with the positions taken by Americans for Tax Reform?  Did ATR
discover the encryption export issue at the same time that Microsoft hired
Norquist?  Indeed, is he shilling for some lobbying client -- perhaps some
other dot.com getting into the postage business -- in this very piece?
There's no disclosure, but the tendentious nature of the article -- trashing
the USPS for postage rates that have stayed remarkably stable in real terms
on the specious grounds that telecom rates have gone down, for example --
has the air of a piece driven by client interest rather than the public
interest.

Stewart Baker
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
phone -- 202.429.6413
email fax -- 202.261.9825
main fax -- 202.429.3902
sbaker () steptoe com



-----Original Message-----
From: Declan McCullagh [mailto:declan () well com]
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2000 10:38 AM
To: politech () vorlon mit edu
Subject: FC: MarvinRunyon.com -- How canny bureaucrats grab dot com
wealth


The Washington Times
op-ed
Marvin Runyon.com
By Grover Norquist

On the Internet, being first to market with a recognizable product name or
service - or simply an idea - can mean instant riches. This creates a
unique
conflict of interest for regulatory officials who sometimes decide who
gets
this vital first-mover advantage, or in some instances, go private
themselves and move to the head of the line.

Take the case of former Postmaster General Marvin Runyon, who oversaw the
regulatory process for online postage. Mr. Runyon decided which companies
could bring products to market, and then conveniently dealt himself stock
options worth a cool $3.8 million after leaving the U.S. Postal Service to
become a director of Stamps.com .

The instant wealth of public officials who become dot-com millionaires
should alarm taxpayers. We rejoice in the success of true entrepreneurs
who
legally and honorably apply skills and name recognition gained in public
service to make their fortunes. But the possibility of self-dealing
privatizations as the Internet economy forces independent government
agencies and public corporations to undertake radical changes could mean
that taxpayers - who capitalized these agencies and are effectively the
shareholders - could get the short end of the stick.

[...] 

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