2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumA Brilliant Plan To Give Billionaires Who Try To Buy U.S. Elections A Taste Of Their Own Medicine
How bad has the money-in-politics situation gotten? A new study by researchers at Princeton and Northwestern universities found that, and I'm quoting directly here: "When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.
In other words, if you can't afford to hire a lobbyist or raise money for politicians, your opinion literally does not matter.
BUT...THERE IS HOPE...
http://www.upworthy.com/a-brilliant-plan-to-give-billionaires-who-try-to-buy-us-elections-a-taste-of-their-own-medicine?c=fea
dotymed
(5,610 posts)sendero
(28,552 posts)... that this might work myself. A few bucks from everyone and we can have a voice at the table also.
I thank you for bringing this to my attention. I pledged and hope that everyone here will consider pledging if they are able.
BlueJac
(7,838 posts)Quite a shame or would you call it all a sham?
blm
(113,052 posts)heheh
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)Note, use the dash between wolf and pac.
The Vermont case is really awesome and inspiring: the first state to pass the WOLF PAC resolution:
This can happen. Enough people are fed up, and if they focus on the same objective they can do anything.
merrily
(45,251 posts)It could simply add to the already obscene amounts of time and money being devoted to getting people elected.
And, if Sheldon Adelson or David Koch calls, he will still have a better chance of getting his call taken than will a donor to a PAC.
However, we who are not multi-millionaires (at the very least) don't have a lot of options. Some, but not many. So, I'll give it a try (meaning, a donation) and wish it well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig
skydive forever
(444 posts)By his own math that's what he hopes to come up with, to start. The Koch brothers have already pledged to spend 125 million dollars. I truly wish it would work but I'm very skeptical.
sorefeet
(1,241 posts)with billions of dollars for a lottery, they can spend the money on this project. Fix the problem with our own money and move on to the next fix. It's a shame we have to resort to bribery also. All because we have immoral, thieving, greedy, lying scum as our leaders.
toby jo
(1,269 posts)'Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them'
Money v money? I have my doubts on that, too.
Dollars have no consciousness.
The shift comes from more of the 'dollars are not citizens' thinking of the post upthread. Dollars are THINGS that can be held in account. Citizens are living being. The chasm is huge. A reciprocal relationship to the mind that gave us 'citizens united'.
Sienna86
(2,149 posts)This may be a part of the solution and I'd rather be part of the solution than part of the problem.
zeemike
(18,998 posts)I hate to be Debbie Downer about it but they want us to compete with billionaires who can take that 12 million out of petty cash.
And in fact a money race will only increase the profits of companies who make it off of advertising which are owned by billionaires.
I am afraid that only boots on the ground will get us out of this mess...and that too will be difficult because people are afraid of losing their jobs...and so any demonstration will be confined to the week end and everything will go back to normal on monday. Only when people are hungry enough will they act.
djean111
(14,255 posts)happen.
zeemike
(18,998 posts)It is quite a fund raising tool.
djean111
(14,255 posts)zeemike
(18,998 posts)But it is beans for me...but then I like beans as well as peas...and sometimes I splurge and make split pea soup.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)sendero
(28,552 posts)... is a seriously good idea that deserves everyone's consideration!
polynomial
(750 posts)Again this topic hits my ontology button, for me that is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality, as well as the branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being.
As soon as the word metaphysics or metadata surface my mind flies into incredible political dimensions.
Guess thats why I call myself Polynomial, that being in mathematics that is used in science and economics or those special places in matrix politics polling, or cleaver ways to gerrymander, using packing and cracking methods to load a matrix. Those are possible curious paradigms from the ancients like Herons problem that creates triangular mapping.
Now understanding how Lobby Money, Champaign Money, are key players is the trickle down economy to go get a job or die quickly, saying that laughingly in admiration for Alan Grayson. Or do without health care food stamps, or unemployment compensation in time to cut the ranks for golden parachutes. Or, too big to fail, because the bogie man will get you anyway.
Then we all wonder why the young have the tendency to murder, or our military has a suicide rate greater than combat deaths. We the people should know if this lobby money is matched with Arab Al Qaeda money and those business partners of Bush and company.
Being a novice at this money game linked also to the free speaking Internet system which big money does not want to be free in speech develops a huge passion in me to help change.
There is a short fall that is definitely illustrated by an arrogant and deifying mainstream media that has a We the People via the FCC give a business and educational responsibility license to serve the public but does not.
This past month Senator Dick Durbin has been showing advertisements here on the Democratic Underground blog to make legislation to take big donations out of politics. From my view it is a good start, and hope he succeeds.
The political commercial lies are out of control, beside regular news telecasts, exampled by the Fox news media beating up Rahm Emanuel for his approach on education to get rid of the failing infrastructure then build a solid new k12 system implementing fiber optics that could relieve transportation problems, save gas and oil.
Did you know the railroads use as much or more fuel then Americans Navy. Yikes, then many wonder that our railroad infrastructure need tax money to improve using electronics to move into the new era, yet the railroads use an ancient Zenos paradox to move trains in what is called half the distance principle, or more commonly known as the turtle and rabbit story. Sheesh.
Remember the child stories where the rabbit never catches the turtle. Now we know why trains take a while longer. Seems like that is built into the everyday politics, the need to implement technology should be the free market investment to change rather than our tax money.
I envision an advanced educational system in Chicago to inspire the young to gain the knowledge of an undergraduate before completion of high school. These changes could make Chicago one of the most competitive systems in the world for the new millennium. It would be very impressive to see Chicagos plan team up with Senators Durbins initiative in the new technology for the millennium.
Ever since Thom Hartmann in his radio program had the courage to examine the appeals court ruling about Fox News to have ability to lie about news just increased my passion to try to help change the system. There is a certain education to real history to listen to his rants, especially those about Bush torture criminal war crimes.
We the People need to get to those political door ways. Thousands or millions need to make a stand in the doorways of our political system till these political people serve our needs rather than stealing our tax money through profiteering Wall Street schemes.
This is never ending we the people should keep talking about it, this is a plus one taken away from the profiteers the schemers.