Re: Robert Reich: The Secret Big-Money Takeover of America

On Oct 11, 9:07�am, Tom Davos <tda...@gmail.com> wrote:

The Secret Big-Money Takeover of Americahttp://robertreich.org/
Thursday, October 7, 2010

Not only is income and wealth in America more concentrated in fewer
hands than itbs been in 80 years, but those hands are buying our
democracy as never before b and theybre doing it behind closed doors.

Hundreds of millions of secret dollars are pouring into congressional
and state races in this election cycle. The Koch brothers (whose
personal fortunes grew by $5 billion last year) appear to be behind
some of it, Karl Rove has rounded up other multi-millionaires to fund
right-wing candidates, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is funneling
corporate dollars from around the world into congressional races, and
Rupert Murdoch is evidently spending heavily.

No one knows for sure where this flood of money is coming from because
itbs all secret.

But you can safely assume its purpose is not to help Americabs
stranded middle class, working class, and poor. Itbs to pad the nests
of the rich, stop all reform, and deregulate big corporations and Wall
Street b already more powerful than since the late 19th century when
the lackeys of robber barons literally deposited sacks of cash on the
desks of friendly legislators.

Credit the Supreme Courtbs grotesque decision in Citizens United vs.
the Federal Election Commission, which opened the floodgates. (Even
though 8 of 9 members of the Court also held disclosure laws
constitutional, the decision invited the creation of shadowy
bnonprofitsb that donbt have to reveal anything.)

According to FEC data, only 32 percent of groups paying for election
ads are disclosing the names of their donors. By comparison, in the
2006 midterm, 97 percent disclosed; in 2008, almost half disclosed.

Last week, when the Senate considered a bill to force such disclosure,
every single Republican voted against it b thereby revealing the GOPbs
true colors, and presumed benefactors. (To understand how far the GOP
has come, nearly ten years ago campaign disclosure was supported by 48
of 54 Republican senators.)

Maybe the Disclose Bill can get passed in lame-duck session. Maybe the
IRS will make sure Karl Rovebs and other supposed nonprofits arenbt
sham political units. Maybe pigs will learn to fly.

In the meantime we face an election that marks an even sharper turn
toward plutocratic capitalism than before b a government by and for
the rich and big corporations b and away from democratic capitalism.

As income and wealth has moved to the top, so has political power.
Thatbs why, for example, itbs been impossible to close the absurd tax
loophole that allows hedge-fund and private-equity managers to treat
much of their income as capital gains, subject to a 15 percent tax
(even though theybre earning tens or hundreds of millions a year, and
the top 15 hedge-fund managers earned an average of $1 billion last
year). Why it proved impossible to fund expanded health care by
limiting the tax deductions of the very rich. Why itbs so difficult
even to extend George Bushbs tax cuts for the bottom 98 percent of
Americans without also extending them for the top 2 percent b even
though the top wonbt spend the money and create jobs, but will blow a
$36 billion hole in the federal budget next year.

The good news is average Americans are beginning to understand that
when the rich secretly flood our democracy with money, the rest of us
drown. Wall Street executives and top CEOs get bailed out while
under-water homeowners and jobless workers sink.

A Quinnipiac poll earlier this year found overwhelming support for a
millionaire tax.

But what the public wants means nothing if our democracy is secretly
corrupted by big money.

Right now webre headed for a perfect storm: An unprecedented
concentration of income and wealth at the top, a record amount of
secret money flooding our democracy, and a public in the aftershock of
the Great Recession becoming increasingly angry and cynical about
government. The three are obviously related.

We must act. We need a movement to take back our democracy. (If tea
partiers were true to their principles, theybd join it.) As Martin
Luther King once said, the greatest tragedy is bnot the strident
clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good
people.b

What can you do?

1. Read Justice Stevenbs dissent in the Citizens United case, so
youbre fully informed about the majoritybs pernicious illogic.

2. Use every opportunity to speak out against this decision, and
embarrass and condemn the right-wing Justices who supported it.

3. �In this and subsequent elections, back candidates for congress and
president who vow to put Justices on the Court who will reverse it.

4. Demand that the IRS enforce the law and pull the plug on Karl Rove
and other sham nonprofits.

5. If you have a Republican senator, insist that he or she support the
Disclose Act. If they wonbt, campaign against them.

6. Support public financing of elections.

7. �Join an organization like Common Cause, thatbs committed to doing
all this and getting big money out of politics. (Personal note: Ibm so
outraged at whatbs happening that I just became chairman of Common
Cause.)

8. Send this post to your friends (including any tea partiers you may know).