As of mid-August 2009, there were six (6) lobbyists per single (1) member of House and Senate (Bloomberg News). That's 6:1, folks. Just for healthcare reform. For financial industry reform, there are 2,400 lobbyists in play. The Chamber of Commerce spent $26.2 million--in the first 2 quarters (6 months) of 2009. Clearly, private industries and their foot soldiers on K Street/Capitol Hill influence/dictate American policymaking. No matter who's 'voted in,' it's the influence machine that rules Washington. Worse, there's a good chance that the Supreme Court will grant corporations (as 'fictive persons') to spend unlimited dollars in funding electoral campaigns. Is there hope that this country will be a democracy one day? Or is it doomed to become increasingly, irrevocably plutocratic?
"You don't have to wait to use plain language in your dealings with consumers. You don't have to wait to put the 2009 bonuses of your senior executives up for a shareholder vote," Obama said. "You don't have to wait for a law to overhaul your pay system so that folks are rewarded for long-term performance instead of short-term gains."
If the banks can create trillions of dollars in credit out of thin air for lending, why can't the government create it for the people? Read about introducing $2.5 trillion of debt-free money into the economy (via the Cook Plan). Pretty radical suggestions here. But they make sense to me.
"Pollin, Robert | Garrett-Peltier, Heidi
Building a Green Economy: Employment Effects of Green Energy Investments for Ontario
Publication Date: 4/1/2009"
"Ash, Michael | Boyce, James | Chang, Grace | Scoggins, Justin | Pastor, Manuel
Justice in the Air: Tracking Toxic Pollution from America's Industries and Companies to Our States, Cities, and Neighborhoods
Publication Date: 5/5/2009"
"Pollin, Robert | Wicks-Lim, Jeannette | Garrett-Peltier, Heidi
Green Prosperity: How Clean-Energy Policies Can Fight Poverty and Raise Living Standards in the United States
Publication Date: 6/18/2009"
"Stockhammer, Engelbert | Stehrer, Robert
Goodwin or Kalecki in Demand? Functional Income Distribution and Aggregate Demand in the Short Run
Publication Date: 6/23/2009"