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$250K is lunch money for Larry Ellison. The _truly_ sad thing about American democracy isn't that the government can be bought; it's that it can be bought so ch
by TheRealDunkirk 6y ago
$250K is lunch money for Larry Ellison. The _truly_ sad thing about American democracy isn't that the government can be bought; it's that it can be bought so cheaply, relatively speaking. If you want the government to hand over a whole new business line to one of the already-largest and most-successful businesses in the world, you'd think they'd have to drop an amount of money they might actually notice.
- atomi 6y agoWhen you lump all of government together in your judgment you lose the ability to hold individuals accountable in public discourse. It's akin to justification in my opinion.
- mola 6y agoIt's true, but there's also a systematic problem. Both probably should be solved: Graham should be deemed corrupt. And super pacs should be illegal.
- TheRealDunkirk 6y agoI disagree. I think the problem is entirely systemic. I don't think Graham is corrupt, any more than any other Congressman. This is the same problem that the Trump tax returns illustrated. It's all perfectly legal. If you could find a way to pay less tax, you would too. Similarly, if you can get someone to give you campaign dollars for voting a certain way, why _wouldn't_ you sell that vote? I believe we should fund national-level campaigns with Federal money, depending on the "level" of the race. (And state elections with State money.) Everyone gets the same amount, and all of this nonsense goes away. Will it prevent graft? Of course not, but it would kill the legal-and-public kind.
- yomly 6y agoYeah - even buying a spot at Harvard is over a million...