April 4th, 2014 “Today the Supreme Court ruled that an individual can donate unlimited amounts of money to campaigns citing the First Amendment. In doing so they have commodified speech…In doing so they have implicitly ruled that the voice of the wealthy is worth more than the voice of the rest of us. This is a sad day for the USA.” Social Justice Solutions
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A couple decades ago I was given some advice for traveling from a coworker,
“If you want to check the political barometer of a country or city, just ask a cab driver.”
That advice has held true in every country I have visited. Taxi drivers are conversationalists and political events are hot topics. The cabbie’s view is often a true distillation of the sentiments of street level citizens. After reading about the recent Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance, I knew exactly where to turn for analysis, Jasin Fell. Jasin is a taxi driver from Portland, Oregon
“The following statement is not an opinion. It is a matter of fact. America is no longer a Democracy. The definition of our current governing body is a Plutocracy. Though this trend is hardly news to many of us, the recent developments involving the “supreme court” and Citizens United have delivered a fatal, game-changing blow to whatever semblance of democratic process which still existed. Of course the proper recourse to this literal coup upon our governing body should be a massive general strike. Our best foot forward would be to implement hardline campaign finance reform immediately. However, my intention has less to do with strategy than it does with definition of terms. No matter what becomes of our struggling union, let us no longer collectively refer to America as a Democracy, because this is patently untrue. As of the decision handed down by the Supreme Court regarding Citizens United, this guarantees unmitigated financial influence upon our politicians and governing processes. Democracy in the U.S.A. literally no longer exists as of April 2nd, 2014. This is a historic and shameful day. America is now officially a Plutocracy, a state governed by those who possess the most money, not by those who labor for it.”
The decision has been passed down by the Supreme Court in an obvious sign of disconnection of the government from the people they are there to serve. What will we do next? How can we bring the system back to the people? This is the word on the street, from the wheel of a cab.
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Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Yeah that was a terrible decision, and Roberts is blind or naive. Even if you accept the idea that money = free speech there are still some instances where there are limits placed on free speech, for example in matters of public safety. And I’m pretty sure curbing free speech a tad with reasonable campaign finance laws isn’t going to spell the end for our democracy. For people interested in doing something about this I’d check out the websites from groups like Public Citizen.
According to New York Times “The median net worth for lawmakers in the House and Senate was $1,008,767 — up 4.4 percent, according to the analysis, conducted by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, which examines the influence of money on politics in Washington.
Over all, at least 268 of the 534 current members of Congress had an average net worth of $1 million or more in 2012, which is the year covered by the reports that each lawmaker had to file in 2013.”
Please. Because someone can donate $1500 to two, or 12, capaigns means my vote is worthless? Honestly? Despite the paucity of actual evidence that money wins elections? Some studies show a minor but the majority show none. Its like ignoring climate change data because you don’t like it. That it feels wrong doesn’t change the facts.
I’ll take a country where speech is unlimited over one where is limited any day. No amount of optical donations will say my vote. If my opinion can’t win public approval, so be it.
Sure, money doesn’t quid-pro-quo erase your vote. What it *does* do is ensure that the only candidates that you *can* vote for are those endorsed and funded by the wealthy backers. So sure, your vote “counts,” but you only get a choice between the overt apologist for plutocracy who will always vote for the interests of the wealthy over regular, working people, or the covert plutocrat, who mouths platitudes about “change” and being “for the middle class” while still voting for the interests of the wealthy over regular, working people. If that’s not the definition of rendering your vote meaningless,… Read more »
I suppose you could ask George Soros, or the labor unions. They have a pretty good idea of how money works in politics.