Big Money in Elections, Politics and Government

Americans need to know we can change this. I think we all know we should, that it's not good.

Americans need to learn how we can change this.

Kansas Makes Clear What Our Problem Is

There's an excellent, even important article on the Topeka Captiol-Journal website presently that points out the biggest problem in our states but in Washington, DC, too.

Conflict-of-interest questions swirl around Kansas GOP senator

Here's the situation taken from a Facebook friend's, Davis Hammet of Loud Light, page today.

After becoming Chair of the Kansas Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Julia Lynn got a job working at Allied Global Services (AGS). Sen. Lynn endorsed and confirmed Brownback’s Commerce Secretary Soave who later was found to be steering government contracts to his friends. AGS got over $13 million in government contracts the last few years. As that scandal came to light, Sen. Lynn used her Chair position to block an investigation into those deals. When questioned about all this she said that she’s exempt from conflicts of interest... This story just made her resign from the corporate job, but she hasn't resigned from the Senate.

Money.

Money is our problem here in Kansas. And Missouri. And all across every state in the nation and, as I said above, especially in Washington, DC.

It's money that has made our health care system tied to profit instead of being universally available as all other Western, industrialized nations have. 

It's money that got us the outrageously priced higher education system we have now that also shuts people of modest or little means from being able to participate.

It's money that has our legislators writing that legislation and our laws for the already-wealthy and corporations, not for the people and nation.

For Kansas and across each state, here is what we need to do to fix this, taken from the same Facebook thread:

Lauren Smith-Sessions    It's time to address paying a livable wage to legislators so that we can elect good people that care about Kansas more than personal gain.

It's just not that complicated.

Pay our representatives at the state level enough to be there and do the work. Then, along with it, make any funds taken from any other person or company illegal.

Then, in Washington, in our Federal Government, we need to, first, overturn Citizens United. Then we need to end campaign contributions entirely. We have to think the unthinkable.

Other nations have done and do this. The UK is an excellent example. By making campaign contributions not just possible but legal, we have effectively legalized bribery. It's insane. It's not true, representational government. It's not "for the people."

Ironic, isn't it? We, the US, the "world's wealthiest nation", being crushed by money.

Link:

National Elections: What the UK Does Right and We Americans Do So Wrong

Money Is Crushing Our Nation

I think we Americans love the fact that we are supposed to be the wealthiest nation on the planet, in the world. A "nation among nations" I think we believe ourselves. Partly in what is--or was supposed to be--our "democracy" or "Democracy" and then, too, in our success, our money, our wealth. I think it's a pretty widespread and common thought and assumption.

Ironically, though, we've come to a time where, in at least several ways, our money is crushing us. It's crushing the people and so, the nation. I'll give examples.

First, there is our healthcare. The evidence:

• We are the only nation that ties health and healthcare to profit and profits
• Ours is the most expensive in the world
• Our citizens, lots of them, go bankrupt, due to healthcare costs and expenses
• We are the only Western, industrialized nation whose citizens do go bankrupt due to healthcare costs and expenses
• More of our citizens go bankrupt due to these healthcare costs than any other reason or source of expense
• Some, far too many, of our citizens die, actually die because they can't afford healthcare

Second, next, is higher education--colleges and university study. We did and do the same with it we did with healthcare. That is, we've made it outrageously expensive, just because we don't limit corporations over-arching need and goal to make money above all costs, students and citizens be damned.

The U.S. Leads The World In Tuition Fees

Then there's what we call defense, military defense of the nation. No one even remotely comes close to what we spend on bombs and tanks and bases around the world. It's crushing us.

The Military Imbalance: How The U.S. Outspends The World

Meanwhile, our schools and roads and highways and sewage treatment and all we need the nation over, goes wanting so we, the people go wanting. And let's all keep in mind, it was military spending the world over that bankrupted the now-former USSR. We learn nothing. (And under the "We Learn Nothing" file, look at Vietnam and Afghanistan as just two perfect example).

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we let business ruin us, ruin the nation--we legalized bribery of our government representatives, most specifically in Congress, in the nation's Capitol.

Jimmy Carter Calls US Campaign Finance Ruling "Legalized Bribery"

And this is the result.

Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy

We have to take our nation back. We have to take it back from the money, back from the big money, back from the corporations and already-wealthy. We have to take it back, honestly, from the Republicans and their political party.

And it's got to come from us, people.

How to Fix the Corruption In Congress and Washington

Redux.  From a few years ago.


We need to do this.

We need to overturn Citizens United.

We need to end campaign contributions entirely.

We need to Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government

Link:

End corruption. Defend the Republic. | RepresentUs

We Must Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government

Jennifer Lawrence says what I've been saying for at least a few years.



Don't let anyone say or tell you we can't do this.

We can and must.

It has to come from us.

Links:

Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government

End corruption. Defend the Republic. | RepresentUs

Quote of the Day: On Money In Politics

"The money that is spent in elections is absolutely unconscionable - even if it's private money. It's true that one's not corrupted by the expenditure of one's own money, but to some extent the system is. We cannot have a system in which the only people you can count on for a vote that doesn't look as though it might be a vote for a special-interest group are people with enormous fortunes."

Links:

Millicent Fenwick - Wikipedia

Millicent Vernon Fenwick (Hammond) (1910 - 1992)

Chapter 2: Republicans

Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government