Elections Less Than Two Weeks Away

Being a poll worker for over two decades and paying attention to politics since childhood, I have never seen the money that has been spent on this mid term election. Nation-wide, "conservatives" are outspending "liberals" by five-to-one. No matter what the Supreme Court allows, it is immoral and anti-democratic to let money translate into votes. One accusation that has come up in this election cycle is that the "US Chamber of Commerce", a private corporation, accepts money from overseas to influence elections with so-called "issue ads". If a foreign national is prohibited from helping me in the voting booth, why should they be allowed to produce ads telling me who to vote for?

The public is entitled to have presented to them, the true costs to society of the "business as usual" model. There are too many ways to cloak tax breaks for the biggest businesses in a mantle of economic impact, to list here. But for the name it is always just one thing, corporate welfare. We all pay for it. We have not had free markets since at least 1906. Before that, snake oil salesmen abounded; much like today, we still have our charlatans and carpetbaggers. The most stark difference is that snake oil salesmen would get away with twenty dollars and leave behind bamboozled hang-over sufferers, but today's sharks hawk people's life savings and retirement funds. More, not less government regulation could have prevented market crashes many dozens of times. The most powerful forces in America today want us to vote a certain way. That is obvious from what is on the TV. Most of the biggest money is being spent to ravage the few who had the guts to stand up against politics as usual.

Here in Wisconsin, Russ Feingold, co-author of Mcain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation, took on directly the power of large corporate players to guide policy. His opposition in this election has the audacity to claim the Russ is a yes-man, big spender and Washington insider. What is really needed is some sort of truth commission to guard against outright lies and deception, especially in the ads funded by agents from outside the campaigns. If you went to a doctor, would it be a dirty word to call him a career, doctor? What about your mechanic, a career mechanic. One would expect that experience in the halls of Congress, would enhance aplomb and aid in diplomacy. Are we to stand by as excellent representatives are discarded in favor of unimaginably moneyed interests hijacking our representative democracy?

The non-financial S&P 500 companies have enough cash on hand and short term loans to fund a second stimulus of the American economy, but they are holding those funds out of the economy until workers are even more desperate and prices fall again, allowing them to pick up even better deals. These are the same folks who touted trickle down economics and world trade agreements. Why they should have any say at all in politics is beyond me. Our Constitution talks about people, not corporations. Sadly, in economic ways, lack of food availability, ecological damage, dismal health care and woeful educational institutions, we all pay when the rich are allowed to play, elsewhere. The vast majority of the extremely wealthy are also extremely un-famous. They live in the shadows of anonymity, but let their wishes be known through funding politics as usual. We need to know that they are an incredibly strong force in politics, able to contribute vast sums through "issue ads" that do no more than slander an opponent.

When the American Way becomes justification of lies as striving for truth, ignoring the writing on the wall, forsaking our own history, or lying to ourselves about what constitutes freedom, justice or liberty, it will be a way that I want no part of. I wonder why there has been no class action suit against the banks, their appraisers and Wall street for colluding in the massive housing run up. American homeowners lost 30-50% of their home's value and bear no responsibility for the rapidly falling prices. Being taxed on the former valuation, when the market has suffered this much is like stealing 30-50% more in tax.

A friend said it best, there needs to be a nationwide strike. All workers stand firm and offer terms. We will work the same number of hours, for twice the pay, or we will work half as many hours for the same pay. The benefit for corporate America is that they could choose which it would be. For all those who got cut to half time, it would open up the possibility of getting more education, staying home with the kids, starting a new business or enjoying partial retirement. Those who doubled their pay would win also, because they could afford to spend more, save more and live better, supporting their community, the many new businesses and beyond that, one another.

Another solution that I came up with was to break America down into thirteen climate-based colonies, encompassing several states, or parts of states but with similar ecological concerns. These would function as states do now. In one fell swoop we would cut the number of U.S. Senators to 26, from 100. States would remain for Congressional purposes only and allow that chamber to be cut from 435 to just 100, two from each state. This alone would make it harder for corporations to exert their influence on the representatives because of their relatively small number, they could be held accountable much more easily. In addition, we would save on general operations, offices and aides. The total number of representatives would drop from 535 down to 126. The cost of Congress then might conceivably be 25% of what it is now. Any one who has served on a board knows that when groups become too big, bad things happen or worse yet, nothing happens! We voted for change two years ago and the Democrats who fought tooth and nail against any change should go, in essence they were voted out two years ago. A way forward will never be found until someone sticks their neck out.

The third interesting idea that I have heard talked about has been the theory of a maximum wage. Unions worked to bring us a minimum wage, but the idea of a maximum one seems to have never been considered. No one is capable of being ten times as valuable as I, nor am I ten times more valuable than anyone else. If I'm average, then a total swing of maybe twenty times would be close to adequate. That puts us in the realm of income range being from about 16,500 for a minimum wage earner to twenty times that, 330,000 our hypothetical maximum wage. I'm sure that most folks you meet would be thrilled to have an income even half that. What we must not be afraid to do is to talk about the many ways that we could improve our American Experiment, to meet the needs of the largest number of people for the least damage to the planet, as well as one another. I am not the only one who thinks everything needs to be on the table in our search for solutions to our pressing problems. If there are cheaper and better ways of doing anything, institute it. There is no reason that our health care should be worse that dozens of other countries when we pay the largest amount of our earnings for it, more than any other country!

We need to reaffirm our commitment to create positive change in the face of entrenched corporate interests that pursued greed to it's obvious conclusion threatening our entire economy. We deserve to have clean air, conservatives don't stand for that any more. We should be able to eat the fish out of every lake and stream in the US without consuming toxic compounds. Small government folks most often side with the regulated community to be honest in their reporting. Before you vote, remember that Abe Lincoln, the first American Republican President would roll over in his grave if he heard what Republicans are proposing today. We must not succumb to the angry mob mentality that screams "Throw them all out!" Reformers must stay and become more powerful. Those well-heeled friends of the corporate elite are the ones that must fall away to reclaim our democracy. Vote for public servants, not corporate mouthpieces. In the words of Honest Abe, "Though passion strains, it must not break the bonds of our affection."