“I don’t know much about Americanism, but it’s a damn good word with which to carry an election.” Warren G. Harding
“Substance Vs Image” - That’s what that quote says to me! We have a political system in crisis. Up and down the governmental layers the power of corporate money has rotted our democracy. Did you know that the courts simply see all of this corporate money buying up politicians and their votes as “freedom of speech?” Boy, some people have a whole lot more freedom than others nowadays. We saw locally that If you have the money you can buy yourself a state law. Across the board the corporate raiders simply donate their way to new regulations (or more likely deregulation), new policies, and new laws.
The problem is bipartisan. The Republicans get the lion’s share of the money because they are the traditional friends of big business and currently hold power of all branches of federal government, but Democrats too have learned to play the game and regardless of what side you are on, we (meaning the 97% of us that do not make up the wealthiest class) are the real losers in it all.
Waiting on the next swing-by of Haley’s Comet makes more sense then waiting on the media to take on these corporate crooks because, unfortunately, the “fourth branch of government” is part of the scheme. NBC is owned by GE, ABC by Disney, CBS by Viacom, Fox by Rupert Murdoch who is wealthy enough to play poker with Bill Gates and match his every bet. Even locally our media are getting consolidated, condensed, shrunken, and atrophied into, “all the canned news that’s not fit to print.”
People speak of news bias in conservative or liberal terms, but that’s not quite accurate. Media bias that matters is corporate interests Vs public interests and guess which side comes out smelling as sweet as honeysuckle is this arena! I purposefully chose the word, “arena” because the little news blurbs that do get fed to us are trivial and meant to entertain rather than enlighten the public and increase the potency of our democracy.
The problem of government for sale to the highest donor is serious business. It is entwined in every layer of government from the city and county levels right on up to Jefferson City and on over to Washington, DC It’s getting so that you have to be quite wealthy to run for a local office! We already know that most higher offices are reserved for the affluent and that the composition of the “People’s House” is about fifty percent millionaires! Think of that — the “House of Representatives” is about 50% millionaires while “We the People” in comparison are less than 1% millionaires!
So, what are we to do about this corporate buyout of our government? There is hope even though it can seem overwhelming when face with the deep pockets of big money, a complacent media, and dubious elections; however, the fight is important if you believe that our democratic-republic is worth fighting for.
First, we need major finance reform! The very idea that a dollar is free speech and $1,000,000 is just more free speech has got to come to an end. Corporations need to be strictly prohibited from contributing to politicians or political parties or campaigns of any sort! For those who would say, “corporations have rights” I say, citizens have rights, not corporations!
We need publicly financed elections! Sound expensive? Try allowing corporations to add so much special interest pork to the government’s bottom line that you have to mortgage the nation’s future just to...pay for...the daily running....of things. Oh, yes, I forgot that we are already doing that! Of course, at present, elections cost far too much, go on far too long, and allow far too much fact-fumbling (see Sally Faith or Tom Green for more information on this last one), but politicians would have to learn to function within set guidelines: how much money they could spend; how long the campaign could go on; what could not be mailed out (i.e. LIES); etc.
Next, Americans need to hold these corporate leaders who speak so freely of their patriotism but act so corruptly in their business dealings to higher standards. Not the “image” things that the mass media love such as who has smoked pot (Bill Clinton) or snorted coke (George W), but the substance things such as who is raiding retirement accounts (Ken Lay) or moving their corporate accounts to a PO box on some Caribbean Island to avoid paying taxes (Dick Cheney)!
Lastly, we need to Regulate! Corporations have done a great job making this a four-letter word, but regulations are nothing more than prevention of abuse and accountability. We citizens face regulations all the time. We want to drive, we have to prove we can see; know the rules of the road; have paid our taxes; have insurance; carry a license; and don’t drive while intoxicated. Here’s an example of regulation that many people in Missouri can appreciate — usury laws. Our state (still) does not allow a bank to arbitrarily assign penalties for a returned check. Let’s say you write a check to a friend for $10.00 for baby-sitting and it bounces. The bank can charge you $20.00 on your $10.00. It may seem high, but without regulations the bank could make that fee $50.00 or $100.00, and what are you gonna do about it?
So then, let the people regulate the corporations with real power to stop corporate abuse (far more insidious stuff than check fees are at stake here) and you will see politicians everywhere breathe easier (metaphorically and literally) and sleep better at night because then they will be able to do the People’s work and pass legislation based on reason rather than “rea$on.”
ttt
