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7. Corporations, which already control most of the institutions that affect our lives -- including making sure there will be no truly effective national health-care reforms -- now have been given carte blanche by the U.S. Supreme Court to spend us much as they wish, however they wish, to influence more aspects of American life, specifically the electoral process. They can, for example, openly move to buy politicians now, as they have been given the same status as actual persons. One perhaps unforeseen consequences of this new activist-court opinion is that foreigners and multinational corporations, and even other governments through corporations, can buy their way directly into influencing American elections. If China or France, or even al-Qaida, doesn't like certain U.S. policies, they can just pour billions into corporations designated to electing friendly politicians in the U.S. Congress.
The Pandora's box has been opened through this unwise court decision, and we all are going to pay a penalty for years to come -- at least until the composition of the Supreme Court changes with fewer conservative ideologues on the bench.
One possible partial solution would be for public financing of all federal elections, but it's difficult to imagine incumbents, who now will have all the corporate funds coming their way, turning down those huge amounts of money for the relatively paltry sums offered by public financing. But the U.S. citizenry still should push for this solution as the most logical way around this corrupt system of buying influence and votes.
Without some major electoral-financing reform, elections will mean little, if anything. And thus we drift toward unparalled catastrophe.
As I say, I'm just listing seven off-the-top-of-my-head Larger Issues here that go beyond the daily political minutiae. I'll be interested to see what you come up with on your own list. #
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Bernard Weiner, a poet-playwright-photographer and Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked as a writer/editor with the San Francisco Chronicle for two decades, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org). To comment: >>crisispapers@hotmail.com<<.
Copyright 2010 by Bernard Weiner.
First published by The Crisis Papers 1/26/10.
>>www.crisispapers.org/essays10w/drifting.htm
