Election and Campaign Finance Reform
It is an unfortunate truth that we live in a country with a government that is for sale to the highest bidder. It has been demonstrated over and over again that the political candidates who spend the most on their campaigns are the most likely winners of their races, and that the greater the difference between candidates’ spending, the greater the chance that the bigger spender will win. As a result, our election results are now being dictated by whatever megacorporation is willing to pay the most to make sure their candidate is elected. No citizen of the United States can hope to influence an election the way that these corporations do, so on election day our choice comes down to which corporations we want to make richer. Most politicians are only concerned with pleasing their corporate campaign contributors, and why wouldn’t they be? There is nothing the rest of us can do that can compare to the influence of the world’s wealthiest corporations.
Groups ranging from the ACLU to the Supreme Court of the United States have opposed attempts to put some power back in the hands of the citizens of this country. They argue that corporations are people, and therefore cannot have their freedom of speech limited, ignoring the fact that granting corporations the power to determine election results violates every right of every citizen of this country. In fact, since a Supreme Court ruling in 2010, there have been absolutely no restrictions on corporate campaign spending, and it has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. Something must be done.
There have been several proposals made to get campaign spending back down to a reasonable level, to give Americans a fighting chance of influencing their own government. However, because of the 2010 Supreme Court decision that states corporate campaign spending is protected speech, any real reform will now require a Constitutional Amendment.
As a Presidential candidate, I am entirely in support of a plan to amend the United States Constitution in order to restore the reins of government to the people, where they belong. There is no other option, if our goal is to have a healthy democracy with a government that is accountable to those it wishes to govern. Our founders could not anticipate the rise of multinational corporations and billionaires who have more resources at their disposal than any king in history. It is time for the American people to take back control and make sure our government is acting in all of our interests, not just the interests of the wealthiest corporations.
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Aw, this was a very nice post. Taking the time and actual effort to generate a really good article… but what can I say… I put things off a whole lot and never seem to get nearly anything done.