It is time for voters to demand that our elected officeholders start voting into law the opinions and desires of the American public rather than those of the huge corporations funding and controlling American politics.
The public overwhelmingly supports universal, single-payer national health insurance even if it means higher taxes. The majority of both Democratic and Republican voters understand the need. Only the campaign cash and financial power of drug companies, HMO's and the insurance industry oppose this policy. The Republican Party has been the chief obstacle blocking national health insurance.
Republican politicians from George W. Bush to your local Republican Congressperson are reaping huge financial rewards from blocking tax-payer provided health insurance. Many powerful Republican figures have actually gone from public service to being on the payroll with huge salaries of the corporations blocking national health insurance.
While these Republican politicians and corporations are reaping huge profits, the American public is doing the dying and suffering. The health of the nation is poorer. No other developed nation has millions of citizens without access to government provided healthcare.
Our businesses are being put at a competitive disadvantage with those of other nations for the private profit of this powerful elite alliance. All the other developed nations in the world do not burden their businesses with the healthcare cost of employees and their families.
The American people want trade policies that halt the export of good-paying American jobs to third world nations. The "Wal-Martization" of the American economy is the greatest threat to the American nation, our middle class and national security in the history of our nation.
Our citizens want "fair trade" over the falsely-named "free trade" policies undermining our economy. We need good paying jobs. We need government policies to re-establish our manufacturing base. Our trade policy should be designed to promote the good of the majority instead of the profits of the large international corporations. Republican "free trade" is really a way to undermine minimum wage laws, occupational safety regulations, laws against pollution, child labor laws, etc.
Americans want the large corporations to stop controlling our major media outlets. We want local control and ownership. We want more diversity of views in our newspapers, radio stations, broadcast TV stations and cable systems. We want our Internet to be free of corporate control and access fees. The Bush Republicans and a few Corporate influenced Democrats are supporting even more policies to promote media concentration.
The Corporate attack on the Internet is already underway. Republican officeholders have already passed laws that threaten the Internet as we know it. Telecommunications corporations see it as a future cash cow and want to impose fees for what has always been free. If the Republicans retain control of Congress, the Internet will never again be the same. We will see political censorship imposed by corporations with the active support of the Republicans besides profiteering.
These are just a few issues where the economic power of large corporations and the political power of the Republicans are thwarting the desires of the American people. All citizens need to vote this November for candidates who will reverse these policies. We need change. The change we need is a real government by the people, for the people and of the people. It is an old idea.... But a really good one!
Written by Stephen Crockett (co-host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com ). Mail: P.O. Box 283, Earleville, Maryland 21919. Email: midsouthcm@aol.com . Phone: 443-907-2367.
Feel free to publish without prior permission free of charge as a Letter to the Editor, Guest Editorial, OpEd or Democratic Voices column.
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