Forum Post: [DELETED]
Posted 9 years ago on June 5, 2014, 5:30 p.m. EST by anonymous
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The purchase of the republic......by /charles-hugh-smith
The massive consolidation of wealth, combined with the removal of any limits on money in campaigns, has allowed for the purchase of our government......
The first is the increased concentration of corporate and private wealth. Both of which are quickly yelled down in the media as anti-free market and class war hysteria.
The second is the use of this wealth to capture all three branches of government in order to ensure the continued extraction of capital from the many and to the few.The rich might have climbed the ladder because they earned it, but they have then purchased government to pull up the ladder behind them.
The consequence of the first two components is a democracy in name only that represents the very few.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/06/purchase-republic.html
Have you seen these?
https://archive.org/stream/initiativerefere00nati#page/n0/mode/2up
http://www.princeton.edu/~mgilens/Gilens%20homepage%20materials/Gilens%20and%20Page/Gilens%20and%20Page%202014-Testing%20Theories%203-7-14.pdf
Very good historical and contemporary sources.
Thank you much
Edit I also appreciate this other study I believe had been linked by you somewhere else http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/23757-this-just-in-us-ruled-by-the-rich
they own the property
Who sold it to them?
We did.
We can be more green
http://www.nationofchange.org/26-easy-ways-be-more-green-1401977916
bump for you
That in and of itself is a bill and sounds perfect to me. (With a bit of elaboration - you are in business) now...
Why dont we just work towards outlawing lobbying completely?
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Ending lobbying is more about remedying representative democracy than about getting money in or out of the system. Politicians should listen to their constituents, not only first but exclusively.
Congressmen should not be allowed to listen to people outside of their districts.
I agree completely with getting politicians to listen to their constituents exclusively. I do think that lobbyists are a part of the money problem though. They often give gifts, or offer employment opportunities to congressmen. Perhaps it's not the same as getting the money out, but it is about getting corruption out.
It's a step in the right direction, but it's far from the ultimate goal.
I agree, remember that we did not get here overnight. The rich worked their way in, gaining power a little at a time. For us to retake that power will require either a violent revolution, or a slow erosion. Each piece of power that we retake, is more power that we can use and less that they can use.
I'd say the rich have the least power they've ever had; but that's semantics. And I am definitely not in favor of a violent revolution. Not because I am against violence, but because that would be extremely ineffective.
Tax reforms that can help US all
http://rooseveltinstitute.org/sites/all/files/Stiglitz_Reforming_Taxation_White_Paper_Roosevelt_Institute.pdf
http://billmoyers.com/video/#79761
Including financial transactions tax
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how will the republicans and democrats get people to vote for them ?
unemployed work for the dude with the money
the dude has all the money
I like that movie.
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Well, I guess you already you know that I'm not surprised. It's not that people aren't willing to talk about it. It's that people aren't willing to do more than talk about it.
Some of us are, HJR 1009, a proposed amendment to the Arkansas constitution was passed by both houses, with much help from the citizens of Arkansas. It does extend term limits, as it opponents claim, however it prohibits corporate donations to Arkansas candidates as well as forbidding them from accepting gifts from lobbyist. I am not a big fan of extending term limits, however it was a compromise to get the bill passed and on the ballot. The bills opponents, guess who, are outright lying about the bills purpose, mentioning only the extended term limits. We need help getting this passed, but will we get it? Only time will tell.
So -1 points for getting off my ass and doing something? Really. I guess I'd have 5 points if I were talking about some unattainable Utopian ideal. There are those of us who are doing, and those who are talking. Those who are doing realize that the end goal is not attainable in a single step. Many of those who are talking have been doing so since 1968 with exactly zero results to show for it. Keep talking, and I keep doing, we'll see who gets something done first.
Pretty much sums it up right there.
Working on a state level is still possible. I can and often do talk directly to my legislators. It isn't because I am special, it's just because they are far more accessible on the state level. We tried several times to get a resolution like this passed by citizens petition, but the AG squashed that. Our legislators were able to help us get it on the ballot.