Soon the republicans will take over the house, but before they do, the democrats are getting some things done. I don't agree with all they are doing , but at least it looks like Washington D.C. is working for now even if it is only temporary.
There are those that are happy with the new tax bill that went through but I am not one of them. Our government needs to get our national debt under control and I don't see how giving tax breaks accomplishes that. During the Bush years we started 2 wars that were NOT PAID FOR. The medicare prescription drug plan was started (which I like) but it was NOT PAID FOR. We had the Bush taxcuts of 2001 and 2003 which were also NOT PAID FOR. We had rendition programs that would sweep people into Guantanimo WITH LITTLE TO NO EVIDENCE OF WRONG DOING, also NOT PAID FOR, NOT TO MENTION ILLEGAL. And to top it off we had an illegal torture program, NOT PAID FOR, AND IT WILL COST US DEARLY IN THE WORLD WIDE ARENA OF POLITICS.
Our political process is broken. There is too much influence by corporations and other special interests that incentivise our politicians make bad laws and bad decisions regarding the vast majority of the public. Our laws are no longer writen by politicians but by corporations and their lobbiests for the benefit of those big money interests. If our laws were actually written to benefit the average American, there would not be ANY for profit company, (whether on the insurance, big pharma or healthcare facilities) that makes money on the backs of the sick and the poor. Nor would there be any lobbiest for the Wall street firms watering down regulations that are there to protect consumers. And to top it off there wouldn't be any corporations trying to eliminate the new OSHA standards that are also there to protect working people.
The Citizens United ruling by the Supreme court obviously had bad repercussions for democracy. There is the Chamber of Commerce who has taken in foreign donations to influence our elections. There is a huge amount of corporate money that was put out to influence the electorate through outright LIES, in order to get these people to vote their way.
I will never understand why people vote against their best interest all the time. But I am sure it is because of inflamatory language that call the healthcare bill "socialized medicine" when it is anything but. The healthcare industry will still be run by for profit companies to the detriment of working people. The new "CONSUMER DRIVEN HEALTH CARE" that corporations are getting people to buy into, only causes more people to go into medical bankruptcy because the insurance companies won't pay anything until you've reached several thousand dollars of out of pocket expenses, which most people can't afford. I am recommending Wendell Potter's book DEADLY SPIN which outlines how for profit insurance companies are getting the american people to not only buy their inferior product and and allow them to make huge profits on the backs of people who can't afford to pay the additional out of pocket costs, but also to get you to vote for republicans, even though they are looking out for the profits of big corporations and their own re-elction campaign donations (many democrats aren't any better) .
The only way to get corporations out of the political process is to have campaign finance reform that includes only public funding of campaigns. If there are no incentives for politicians to do the bidding of corporations and other special interest groups, then we may wind up having a true democracy for the people instead of for the corporations as it is now.
If such a thing can exist we may be able to have the majority of americans help to write the laws instead of the corporations (who currently influence lawmaking) who care only about profits and not people.
The United States has never, since the great depression, been at such a dire crossroads as it is now. We the people need to speak up against corporate and special interest influence in the lawmaking that goes on in this country.
Contact your senators and congressmen and tell them you are sick and tired of the corporate greed and influence being perpetrated on the average citizen. Also get informed on the laws that are being made. After all, the laws made will impact you for the rest of your life. Thomas.gov is a good place to start. It has all the bills that are currently and formerly winding their way through congress and the senate. Get informed of everything you can. Also don't believe pundits from FOX NEWS or MSNBC or any other source without checking facts. You can go to factcheck.org or politifact.com
One of my favorite sources is Democracy Now.org They seem to have the story behind the story more often than not. They can be seen on free speech tv (FSTV) Dish channel 9415 (and I think it is Direct tv channel 348?) Once again get involved and be active in the political process. But also get your facts straight before argueing against something.
I would love to hear from you on any thoughts you may have.
