Forum Post: One message the majority of American agree with that will lead to real reform!!!
Posted 12 years ago on Jan. 13, 2012, 9:09 p.m. EST by LSN45
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There are a lot of improvements that need to be made. The list of reforms Americans want to see is long and varied depending on who you talk to. That said, I believe there is one reform that would provide the American people the best chances of seeing other meaningful reforms actually happen - that is REAL, loop-hope free CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM! I have seen others on this site calling this the "fulcrum" or pivotal issue. Right now the current legalized bribery, pay-to-play system of campaign donations and paid lobbyists has disenfranchised the American voter. Until this is fixed, any other reform the politicians may try to placate us with (be it a change to healthcare, clamping down predatory school loans, new financial regulations, etc.) will be about as effective as a farmer putting a new roof on his CHICKEN COOP, but still letting the FOX guard it.
We need to go back to the original political currency. Instead of the current system of who can collect the most money from corporations and special interests it should be who has the BEST IDEAS to EFFECTIVELY RUN THE COUNTRY (we don't need "Wealth Redistribution," what we need is "Political Influence Redistribution")!
For the sake of our children and future generations of Americans, we need to take back our democracy from the rich and powerful who are using their vast sums of money to "speak" as if they represent millions of Americans. This "Corporate Personhood" that has crept into our laws is allowing them to manipulating our policies in their favor at the expense of the average American (the recent "Citizens United" Supreme Court ruling is a miscarriage of justice and must be reversed. The $50 or $100 a normal American may give to a political campaign becomes meaningless when corporations or other special interests are handing our millions to buy political access to the decision making process.
For decades now the corporations and special interests have had our "representatives" bought and paid for (both on the right and the left). Concentrating our efforts on getting the money out of our politics is the best way we can create an environment in which further reforms can be realized. Until we end the current system of legalized bribery (campaign donations) and paid lobbying our politicians will continue to be the LAP DOGS of the corporations and special interests. What we need first and foremost is real, loop-hole free CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM!!!! If the corruption is not dealt with first, the chance of any other meaningful reforms becoming a reality is almost zero - the special interests will just use their money to buy votes and put forward bills that create loop-holes or otherwise twist the law in their favor. If we want our children to live in a country where there vote matters, we need to get the money out of our politics, otherwise they will increasingly become the 21st century version of the "landless peasant." Spread the word - End the LEGALIZED BRIBERY!!! CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM needs to be THE main goal of the protests!!!
I agree. As an author I spent a year and a half researching the ties between Wall Street, Corporate America, and Congress.
During the aftermath of the 2008 crisis these three propered while the rest of us suffered. I recently published my book titled The Unholy Trinity: How The Greed of Wall Street, Corporate America, and The United States Congress is Destroying America and The Middle Class. It details just how intertwined the three are and how their greed is bankrupting our country.
While campaign finance reform is critical, it must change to the point where average Americans can run an effective and competitive campaign against wealthy candidates.
The most critical change that must occur is term limits. We must force Congress to pass this critical legislation and limit both the House and Senate to two 4 year terms.
Thank you so much for the post - I'm going to check out your book. I'm all on board with tighter term limits. Our career politicians are becoming a law unto themselves.
i agree with two points
Ok I get corporations but you said, "we need to take back our democracy from the rich and powerful who are using their vast sums of money to "speak" as if they represent millions of Americans" What do you mean here? That people with a lot of money can't donate to who they want to?
No - I'm not suggesting that individuals should not be able to donate to who they want to. From what I understand the limit for individuals giving to any one candidate is about $2,500. These laws already exist, and although I personally would like to see this limit lowered to level the playing field for the average American, that is besides the point here. Where I think we need reform is cases where power gets concentrated and the "bull horn"effect happens. The problem I would like to see addressed is the corporations and special interests having disproportionate influence over our election process. In the recent citizens united case, SCOTUS essentially equated the spending of corporate money on campaigns with free speech. In today's political environment this gives the upper hand to the corporations. I think these are the types, the "rich and powerful" we need to be careful with.
Ok I understand now. Thank you for the clarification. I do actually agree with you in that corporations should not be able to donate and that there should be a cap on an individual's amount to donate.
You're welcome. There is a good book out there you may be interested in. "Republic: Lost" by Lawrence Lessig which researches the topic. I think it said he is a Harvard law professor. One more thing that bugs me with the citizens unite - if money equals free speech in America today, does the lack of money mean a lack of free speech? I just think we need to be real careful with this, or the ruling class will just get stronger and stronger influence and often their motivations do not represent the best interests of the country as a whole.
I don't think no money means no speech just less than should be allowed because without as much money you have less pull. However, with the internet today you should have no problem getting a message out. Whether or not it is a good idea is something else entirely but you should still be able to get your ideas out.
We already have term limits.
It is called voting.
But why don't Americans use this existing tool to limit terms of poor representation?
So I only get to choose between red and blue. This really sucks!
Exactly! The establishment loves to polarize the American public with the "right vs. left" hometown football rivalry - meanwhile they are laughing all the way to the bank. American needs to wake up and realize that all the money has essentially disenfranchised votes. Yes you can still vote, but the only candidates you can choose from have to have sold their souls to special interests to even get on the ballot. In the end all we have are corporate or special interest stooges in the running.
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