Think of all the money special interests spend on lobbyists and campaign contributions either to be exempted from the law, to create special benefits in the law just for them or to protect them from ordinary citizens who – God forgive them – really don’t want to be ripped off or provided with shoddy services or merchandise. Think the lax enforcement of oil rig safety and environmental protection was an accident? When Congress and the President (yes, that was a Democrat who did that) repealed the law separating commercial banking from stock brokers and investment bankers, was that “good for the people”? Do you believe that the lobbying money being spent by Wall Street interests – the same one who brought down the global economy by sharp practices and selling debt everywhere they could and were the first to make the big bucks in the aftermath of the collapse – to water down the legislation protecting consumers and the US economy is good for America? As the political process has stretched out longer and longer, it seems that anyone who is a candidate is always running and asking for money. Gotta make a special interest heart glow with excitement.
I’m picturing a group of proud elementary students in a classroom, right hands pressed against their chests, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as they gaze at their flag, dreaming of what they might become in a land… a land so long known as the “land of opportunity.” Have we betrayed them? Visited Washington, D.C. recently? One of the lowest unemployment rates of any major city in the U.S. (around 5.9%; in the top 10% among all U.S. cities). See all the sales in the big stores like back home? Oh, not so much. See the huge discounts in the hotels and super-packed restaurants? Oh, not so much. See all the real estate with a value cut in half by a moribund economy? Oh, not so much. What kind of engine has our nation’s capital become? One that works for the people or one for which the people only work for it? Is Washington a city of leadership and dreams or the capital of self-interest and crass manipulation?
When you look at the backlash of Tea Party candidates and falling incumbents, is that really conservatives telling the government to leave them alone because they oppose all these reformist Democrats or simply a belief that whatever the party in power is in favor hasn’t really created a better life for them? These folks want government to “stop.” And really, who can blame them? Look at Washington! Really look at it. Residents there don’t see the unemployment that has decimated the rest of the country. The jobs are everywhere, but often the wrong jobs. Tea Party adherents are being told that the simple answer is less government, lower taxes and focusing more on our traditional values. That’s a compelling platform, but unfortunately, it simply means that the special interests have succeeded in creating an anti-government groundswell that might just keep their corporate taxes low and those nasty environmental and financial regulations from darkening their door. They’ve got their way, and they damned well don’t want voters to make them accountable! Let’s go swimming in the Gulf and then have a wonderful seafood dinner with the extra profits we made selling our house!
Corporations have a thing about not paying taxes. Go figure. Oil depletion allowances or simply buying their wares from an offshore affiliate at the highest prices possible, shifting the profits from the US to the overseas company. Congress is closing in, but the “keep government off our tax backs” mentality might just stop this obvious line of attack. The evidence is everywhere, but the backlash against government is a blessing that corporate America loves; they’ve got their money’s worth. It’s never about my country; it’s all about “me.”
Look at those lovely Political Action Committees that allow candidates to generate huge campaign financing under the guise of helping other candidates or espousing special causes that require their own funding. What’s the truth here? The June 2nd Washington Post: “Most leadership PACs [focused on fund-raising for a political party and its candidates] have given away less than 40 percent of their expenditures this cycle, even though they typically say they are collecting and bundling donations for others, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics at the request of The Washington Post… Instead, the PACs spend the bulk of their money funding their own operations, spending sizable sums on fundraisers that also offer sweet perquisites for members and their aides. The PACs have financed distant resort stays and expensive meals for members in New York, Miami, Beverly Hills and elsewhere and paid for private jets, liquor, flowers, limousines, ski lift and baseball tickets, and even horse track visits, according to tallies submitted monthly to the [Federal Election Commission].”
What are we doing to ourselves? Why can’t the angry voters understand how they are being manipulated into voting against themselves? And what exactly is the environment – physical and economic – that corporate America is actually creating for itself, its shareholders and executives… oh and its consumers and employees (but who cares?)… in future years? Will they really want to live in this country and raise their children here? When does “me” become “us”?
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