I didn't say nobody could talk to industry. See points 2-4.
If, e.g., the FCC believes they need input, they can ask. I expect that regulators would get in the habit of requesting quite a bit of information on a regular basis.
If trade associations would like to get Congress to attend to an important issue, they can call up a newspaper reporter and try to interest them in an article. And note that there's nothing stopping an individual citizen from calling up a representative and saying, "I'm an airline pilot, and I am concerned about urgent issue X!"
Lobbying is an arms race. The best solutions to arms races is to limit to the lowest sustainable level. And it's important to note that lobbyists are not just competing with other lobbyists. They're competing with everybody who can't hire a professional lobbyist. That is, the majority of America.
If, e.g., the FCC believes they need input, they can ask. I expect that regulators would get in the habit of requesting quite a bit of information on a regular basis.
If trade associations would like to get Congress to attend to an important issue, they can call up a newspaper reporter and try to interest them in an article. And note that there's nothing stopping an individual citizen from calling up a representative and saying, "I'm an airline pilot, and I am concerned about urgent issue X!"
Lobbying is an arms race. The best solutions to arms races is to limit to the lowest sustainable level. And it's important to note that lobbyists are not just competing with other lobbyists. They're competing with everybody who can't hire a professional lobbyist. That is, the majority of America.