CAN THE WORKING POPULACE EVER HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL SAY AGAIN ? (since WE are no longer Political Equals) In the five years since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision the dominance of big money over politics and policy has grown, seemingly without restraint and with dire consequences for representative self-government. A functioning democracy requires a government responsive to people considered as political equals, where we each have a say in the public policy decisions that affect our lives. It is profoundly anti-democratic for anyone to be able to purchase political power, and when a small elite makes up a donor class that is able to shape our government and our public policy . . . It’s not just the amount of money being spent on campaigns and to lobby our elected representatives—which is on the rise and increasingly secret.1 The problem is that our current system for funding elections allows a few people and special interests to have much more power over the direction of our country than the vast majority of Americans, who have different views on public policy than the wealthy elite.2 We’ve been fighting to control the improper influence of money in government, whether from wealthy individuals or corporate interests, since the founding of our republic.3 But we are at a low point, where large financial interests wield tremendous political power, and much of the blame rests squarely on the Supreme Court and its campaign finance decisions. - Liz Kennedy
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 00:27:48 +0000