Forum Post: Where does Corruption begin?
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 24, 2011, 7:58 a.m. EST by sunmoony
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This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Who is to blame for the crash of the economy? Are politician representing the will of the people? Why can politicians take money from big cooperations to found their campains? Who regulates lobbying? What is the role of our government? What do you want our government to do not to do? Is education a right? Should the government protect our rights and freedom? What are your rights and duties as a citizen? How do you define freedom?
I've always held to the wisdom that if you want to get the right answer, you need to ask the right question.
If a meteor crashes into the earth, do I really care enough at that moment to ask where the hell the damn rock came from. Please, you must be kidding. That question will come much later. Right now, I have to deal with the result of the meteor impact.
The real question: How do deal with the aftermath of the corruption, or limit the scope of its damage?
Answer: End the corrupt link between government and big business.
Keep it simple, stupid. After we get things under control - then you can worry about satisfying your curiosity.
Folks - if you have not seen the documentary "Inside Job," may I recommend you do at your earliest opportunity. Also, check our the book "Republic:Lost" by Lawrence Lessig. Here's my 2 cents:
There are a lot of improvements that need to be made. The list 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!!!
On this forum we discuss issues pertaining to the worlds oppression of its people. we will not be interrogated- we answer no questions ! i have the right to remain silent- anything i say will be used against me. we will not be drawn down a rat hole, by someone trying to distract us from our mission.
It begins with an education and a job. Thieves needs you to have a job earning money so they can take it from you someday. They are every where.
a father want his children to get an education and work so they can support themselves
a city, state or nation need educated people to work and support it
a thieve need educated people to work to support the theves needs
All of these roads, lead to the same place. Yes, even the FED.
There might be only one way to ferret out the truth.
OccupyWallstreet!!!!!
The crash started in the housing market. People bought house that they could not afford with unfixed mortgages. All was fine until people could no longer pay the rising interest rate, then they started to spend less which hurt the economy. Then when they started to foreclose the values of other people's houses went down then they owed more than what is was actually worth. So people started to spend less and the money that was in the housing market disappeared and so you have a recession brought on by the greed and shortsightedness of average Americans.
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Human nature fueled by greed, which later led to the corruption that was shared, cultivated and harvested; then replanted to grow more.....The greed that drives the 1% is in every one of us; it is your choice if you venture down this path...
Turn back and take the route that is most difficult, as that is where truth an salvation lies.
All complex problems or questions. If the answers to any of them were simple you'd already have them. Certainly one contributing factor to our situation is that people accept simple answers to complex problems, wrongly believing it to be the answer.
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