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Forum Post: We need to Address the ROOT CAUSE!!!

Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 25, 2011, 10:55 p.m. EST by LSN45 (535)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

There are a lot of improvements that need to be made. The list reforms people 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 our 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. They are twisting our laws and manipulating our policies in their favor at the expense of the average American. 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!!!

18 Comments

18 Comments


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[-] 2 points by beamerbikeclub (414) 12 years ago

Yes!

I hope people with join me in repeating, especially when talking to our less enthusiastic supporters and fellow Tea Party-ing Americans. If only we could get our elected representatives to actually represent US, and not their corporate donors... we can fuss & fight over ALL the other issues and work it all out using OUR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, and I like to add, I will be honored to LOSE on any such issue as long as the Congress REALLY debates it and REALLY has the prospect of being held accountable to their constituents for that vote.

[-] 1 points by coffeedrinker (2) from East Lyme, CT 12 years ago

Campaign finance reform is one part of the problem that needs to be addressed.
We also need a constitutional ammendment to prevent any federal, state or local government from investing in, or subsidising, any business or commercial enterprise. We aslo need to require that governments not redirect tax dollars to other governments. This simply results in lack of accountability for the sake of building political patronage. For example, if the federal government wants to build and maintain an interstate highway system, then the federal government should do that. Delegating such tasks to the states simply creates waste.

[-] 1 points by NintyNiner (93) 12 years ago

LSN45, Your dead on!!!

National Security Issue!!!

We need Politicians that are the most qualified, not the ones with the most lobbyist money!

Nuclear war is less of a threat to National Security than Lobbyist agendas!

Changes need quick before its too late!!!

[-] 1 points by randart (498) 12 years ago

I like the idea of a transaction tax on stock market deals. Tax them if it drops, because you know someone is reaping profits from that too, and tax them if it goes up. Just a small tax on ALL transactions would probably resolve the deficit issue in a short time.

Oh, tax the banks heavily for owning land and housing they have on the books that once belonged to a person. Banks should only be able to carry a repossessed property on the books for no more than a month or two. Make it very uncomfortable for anyone to own more than two houses.

Real change only comes from the people and that is usually after being oppressed for a long time. I think the time is coming for real social changes.

[-] 1 points by HankQT (7) from Charleston, SC 12 years ago

Corporations confiscating America’s savings are the root cause of our current financial state. I have worked the trenches. I am a retired computer financial systems analyst. A decade of looting has impoverished the middle class to subsidize corporate goals: Lavish executive pay. legions of lobbyists, profit growth exceeding GDP growth, campaign funding as of 2010, M&A frenzy, etc. The illicit transfer of funds from the masses to a few created a huge wealth gap. With fewer solvent customers, commerce slowed and the market tanked. Retirement dreams have faded. Jobs outlook is bleak.Housing is kaput. Ad nauseam. This crime wave has brought us to the brink of ruin. A democracy is being traitorously forged into a plutocracy. Greed is not illegal but larceny is. Alert the Administration, daily. Harangue your Congressmen. Enlighten your friends. If you incurred substantial losses since 2000 insist the FBI investigate your situation. Impale or hang in effigy the SEC as a poor guardian / rogue cop / gang leader.

[-] 1 points by RogerDee (411) from Montclair, NJ 12 years ago

Excellent point. And I agree.

[-] 1 points by stuartchase (861) 12 years ago

Well, then here's the place to start because these two companies only exist because they briebed and used their business ties to survive.

http://occupywallst.org/forum/something-to-think-about-part-1/

[-] 0 points by FirstLight (21) 12 years ago

Incorrect, that isn't the ROOT cause, this is the ROOT cause: http://www.wilpf.org/docs/ccp/CP_article+timeline.pdf

[-] 1 points by LSN45 (535) 12 years ago

First Light, We are saying the same thing and I think we are talking about the same end result - abolishing corporate personhood is almost a synonym for Campaign Finance Reform (CFR). CFR envelopes corporate personhood, but goes a little further in that it addresses the "Special Interests" half of the equation for the big donors that are not corporations (the PACs, wealthy individuals, etc.). That said, please spread the word loud and clear that we need to end corporate personhood, reverse the treasonous "Citizen's United" ruling, and do whatever it takes to put the American people back in the drivers seat.

[-] 0 points by RedJazz43 (2757) 12 years ago

We live in a corporate state. Corporate domination of Congress is only a manifestation of the corporate state. Campaign Finance Reform, like every other reform that has attempted to regulate corporations (especially the regulatory commissions) will not alter that relationship unless we go after the power of the corporations directly, not their outward manifestations, by seizing all corporate assets and reorganizing them democratically from below in the interest of everyone instead of the interests of a tiny group of shareholders.

[-] 0 points by PRJ (115) 12 years ago

The Root your cutting at the shoots not the roots. Occupy the foreclosures.

[-] 1 points by LSN45 (535) 12 years ago

PRJ - How can the foreclosures be the root - I'm not seeing the causality. It seems like a symptom to me. Forclosures are happening because our bought and paid for politicians are doing the bidding of the financial sector's corporations and special interests rather than representing the people best interests. That said, I'm not an expert - help me understand if I'm off base.

[-] 1 points by PRJ (115) 12 years ago

What is money or for that matter stocks representative of? What is the difference between own and rent? How is class judged? What do the wealthy have that the poor cannot afford or do without?

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[-] -1 points by LogicalReason (6) 12 years ago

Root Cause of size, growth, theft, and existence is nothing but the Federal Reserve.