Getting Good Government
by This article explores the incestuous relationship between politics and big money and points out how that relationship has contributed to the current economic crisis. It concludes with a call for campaign finance reform.
Then speaking directly to his fellow Frenchmen, he goes on, “I do not think, on the whole, that there is more selfishness among us than in America; the only difference is that there it is enlightened, here it is not. Each American knows when to sacrifice some of his private interests to save the rest . . .”
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That was then. This is now.
Economists tell us the big-money bailout was needed to save all of us from ruin and I don’t argue with that, but the conditions which made that bailout necessary never should have developed to begin with. Lax regulation and failed oversight of those whose contributions were so beneficial to our elected “public servants” allowed this disaster to occur. Unbridled corporate greed, overpriced houses, misrepresented mortgages, usurious credit card charges, an ill-advised war of aggression? How could anyone believe this was sustainable?
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In my work as a psychotherapist, I often remind clients they need to take control of their own lives. Now, as a body politic, we need to take control of our own public life. This is not a partisan issue. It’s a societal, quality-of-life issue. Correcting it won’t be easy. To our discredit, we’ve allowed the system to become the province of big money and legislators to become pawns in a modern feudalism.
To ask those in office, those who represent us (“we, the people,” remember?) to create a system which will deny them millions in campaign coffers is to expect much. We must expect it, nonetheless.
Whether we should institute reform by creating a system of public financing—which, done right, would cost us less than government by cronyism—or through an airtight system of regulation involving both truth and consequences, I don’t know, but we must demand reform which . . .
- requires transparency
- limits the entities candidates can create for the purpose of receiving money and funding campaigns
- allows contributions only from individuals, with limits on the amount each can give
- forbids contributions or perks from lobbyists, businesses, professional associations, or other organizations
- regulates legislators’ employment by lobbies or businesses doing business with the government for a specified period of time after the legislator leaves office
- monitors compliance with all regulations, and
- provides for regular review and the creation of additional regulations if needed to ensure the independence of those elected to office.
Our responsibilities as voters have never been more crucial; our access to information, never greater; our excuses for not being informed and involved, never weaker. As we monitor what our legislators do on health care, the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, immigration, and the myriad other issues that affect us all, we need to monitor first and foremost what they’re doing to reform the broken system in which they came to power.
It won’t be easy, but only with our insistence—and our votes—can we break the stranglehold of money. Doing so will free elected and electorate alike.
Yes, we can! And yes, we must!
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