Thursday, October 27, 2011

A Top Side Look at NYC Politics - Thought Groups / Think Tanks, Lobbies, PACs and more.

NYC is a complicated City of 8 + Million Residents and an under counted Populace in Queens that will hurt us for years to come on the US Census. As a CPA Practice our expertise is not really about Lobbying or Political Action although we would certainly use our understanding to support Client interests if we see place where Clients from the Business, Non Profit or Individual Sector are being hurt by policies.

Our overall Focus is non-partisan research to present information and let you decide, and the human acknowledgement that there may be the occasional times where we are compelled to speak out from an angle of what we believe to be a centrist view point.  It's not an easy role to stand for principles so we appreciate that the role of Legislators and elected officials is a challenging one. In Our case a fair role that we fit would most likely be to facilitate communication between financial and community decision makers. You'll have to know that we come from a Family that is half Medicine, Altruism and Social Good and Half Strict business so we probably land centrist in view points. But wherever we land it's about bringing something better - it's about how we work together to build a better future for the Economy and the Community.

Our goal is to better connect the line between Government, Business, Non Profit and Individual Financial Decision Makers and to be well versed in the points for ALL where your business meets Regulations and potentially opportunities interfacing with Government - ie Grants for Non Profits, RFPs for Business, Knowledge of Law for Businesses and how Individuals can better connect to services that support needs. It's similar to the Banking Service Model where we are trying to be broad based in knowledge so that for any client need we meet we can be here for you with a Solution Set of Opportunities whether your role is Financial Decision Making in Government, Industry, Businesses, Non Profits of Individual Roles.

We start to leave this analysis with a look at some resources:

Manhattan Institute - Conservative Think Tank, provided ideas for the Giuliani Administration in reforming New York in some areas.

Still researching on other competing thought groups for more open ideas to represent in balance opinion groups, and will update here as soon as we find it (if you know the groups you are invited to tell us so we can update). In the weeks ahead we will be working to back fill this.

PACs:

PACs are Political Action Committees that are funded to lead Legislative Causes that can influence the Rules and Laws we all live with so it is best to be aware of how causes work and to understand for better or worse how these causes interact with your own needs. Knowledge of PACs can help you be more effective in supporting the needs of your Family, your Non Profit or Business Cause through Elections and related Decision Making activities that ultimately impact Family Finances.

Courtesy of NYS information about PACS http://www.elections.state.ny.us/PAC.html

 Courtesy NYC Campaign Finance Board http://www.nyccfb.info/reports/pclt_13.htm?sm=press_pacList

New York City Lobbying Group Registration:

NYC Lobbying Bureau at the City Clerks Office. A Comprehensive resource on registered Lobbyists including Laws regulating Lobbying in NYC.

2011 List - All NYC Lobbying Organizations http://www.nyc.gov/lobbyistsearch/directory.jsp
search by year to find Lobbyists - a brief overview exhibits a cross section of Businesses and Non Profits, Unions, Healthcare and more.

NYC Lobbying Group Registration provides a good research Start Point to back fill research on Lobbying Groups that are at work in NYC and to understand their interests and causes.

A Resource for learning more in general at the Federal Level and I have seen some NYC lobbying listed there is:

OpenSecrets.org this is their own information on who OpenSecrets.org is:

Our Mission: Inform, Empower & Advocate

The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the organization aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government. In short, the Center's mission is to:
  • Inform citizens about how money in politics affects their lives
  • Empower voters and activists by providing unbiased information
  • Advocate for a transparent and responsive government
We pursue our mission largely through our award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, which is the most comprehensive resource for federal campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available anywhere. And for other organizations and news media, the Center's exclusive data powers their online features tracking money in politics — counting cash to make change.

Our General View Point is that it's important to understand the full cross section of how government works and it's no secret that Lobbying is part of the process. In Fact one of the great challenges in Government at Large is the Balancing of citizens interests with  the interests of better financed groups. It's an important issue of balance because the interests that most need protection are the rights of individuals who may in fact may have less money and less representation in their needs. In Some ways this is the important role Non Profits can fill to help.

Since we are not experts in this area we are leaving this piece in an open status and are interested in your productive additions to knowledge here. As we receive feedback from our request for help on this article we will update here or in future articles,

DCarsonCPA.com is the web presence of Dean T. Carson II, CPA here for you on Accounting, Taxes, Advisory, Consulting, Operations and more. Supporting the better connection of Government, Industry, Business, Non Profit and Individual Financial Decision Making and occasionally looking at Quality of Life issues that ultimately impact us all. We care about your Finances, Our Families, the Economy and the Nations Future on all of the levels where we can help through better connecting Local, State, and National Financial Decision Making Information. Learn more about services at www.dcarsoncpa.com or reach us at info@dcarsoncpa.com .

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