5 ms·

I'm going to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I honestly believe my opinion is the truth. The corporations truly run America by financing the politicians a

by jneal 14y ago

I'm going to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I honestly believe my opinion is the truth. The corporations truly run America by financing the politicians and if they say pull this paper or lose funding, you are going to pull the paper. The big corporations (that run America) don't want patent reform. They buy up all the patents and force the little guys either out of business or to pay them large sums of money that shouldn't have to be paid. The patent system allows big corporations to keep a monopoly. When I see a company get a patent for page turns, I can't help but put my hand to my face and just worry about the future of innovation.

keithpeter 14y ago
Robert Caro: The times of Lyndon Johnson. Pick any of the four volumes currently printed. Plenty of examples. Similar kinds of things in UK I'm sure but it probably works differently... At the end of the day, some change must happen in US else the technology of the future is developed elsewhere...
DannyBee 14y ago
You need to define who you think the "big corporations that run america are": A large number of big corporations "running america" really do want patent reform. How do i know? I've been there, in meetings with congressmen and senators, listening to them push for it. I've watched them do everything they can to push the bills forward. I've watched them get beaten down by other big corporations, like pharmaceutical companies, or patent trolls (Intellectual Ventures). So please define who the big corporations you think are trying to stall it are. I know who has stalled it in the past, and at least the first few times, it was never the usual suspects in the tech industry. Also note that at least from where I sit, the senators and congressman I've seen really do want to do the right thing (most of the time). They just don't know what it is, and they are often being told, by people they trust on both sides, to do opposing things. Also, anybody who thinks this kind of politics is about money should be forced to be a legislative assistant for a few years.
- jbooth 14y ago
  Thanks for the voice of experience. To rephrase the original concern differently, I think a big part of the problem is that 90% of the opinions these legislators hear are from people who's full-time job is to get in front of them, and those people are generally for sale. Another thing, the senators and congressmen certainly say they want to do the right thing, and they probably even believe it, yet they'll often compromise between the right thing and the thing that keeps them in office. Most of them spend more time dialing for dollars than they do reading legislation. Keep that in mind when you see them interact with lobbyists.
- smokeyj 14y ago
  > You need to define who you think the "big corporations that run america are" The point is regulation is determined by the highest bidder. Does it matter who the highest bidder is? It doesn't change the fact that America is a whore.
  - DannyBee 14y ago
    But it's not determined by the highest bidder, because money is not the sole driver of politics, despite what many think. Do you think Chris Dodd made more money as a Congressman, or do you think he makes more as the head of the MPAA? A Congressman would make a lot more money being a lobbyist. Most of the money they get goes towards reelection campaigns, which are wildly expensive, and deplete a large percentage of their funds. They are not Congressman because it pays a lot of money personally. If that was the goal, they'd all do short stints and move to being lobbyists. Instead, they stay in Congress for a long time. Don't get me wrong, i'm not defending anything. I'm more trying to get folks to see that it is dangerous to equate money with power in America. Power is power. Money is money. Some of one may get you some of the other. But they are not the same, and until folks get around to realizing this, they'll never change anything.
    - smokeyj 14y ago
      You're right, money and power determines regulation. Let's just not fool ourselves into thinking it's something silly like "the consent of the governed".
jellicle 14y ago
It's not as simple as that. What's actually happening is that Congress is extracting campaign contributions from large donors by threatening to push legislation one way or the other. No legislator can get reelected without a multimillion dollar campaign fund. Threatening to tweak the laws one way or the other allows legislators to extract funds from both sides - "Hey, you want this tweak? Pay up! Hey, you don't want this tweak? Pay up!" Depending on who actually pays, the tweak may or may not get made, but the important thing is to revisit the issue often and to revisit the donors with outstretched hands. In some sense, the corporations are as much victims of this scheme as the public is.

by jneal 14y ago

keithpeter 14y ago

Robert Caro: The times of Lyndon Johnson. Pick any of the four volumes currently printed. Plenty of examples. Similar kinds of things in UK I'm sure but it probably works differently... At the end of the day, some change must happen in US else the technology of the future is developed elsewhere...

DannyBee 14y ago

You need to define who you think the "big corporations that run america are": A large number of big corporations "running america" really do want patent reform. How do i know? I've been there, in meetings with congressmen and senators, listening to them push for it. I've watched them do everything they can to push the bills forward. I've watched them get beaten down by other big corporations, like pharmaceutical companies, or patent trolls (Intellectual Ventures). So please define who the big corporations you think are trying to stall it are. I know who has stalled it in the past, and at least the first few times, it was never the usual suspects in the tech industry. Also note that at least from where I sit, the senators and congressman I've seen really do want to do the right thing (most of the time). They just don't know what it is, and they are often being told, by people they trust on both sides, to do opposing things. Also, anybody who thinks this kind of politics is about money should be forced to be a legislative assistant for a few years.

jbooth 14y ago
Thanks for the voice of experience. To rephrase the original concern differently, I think a big part of the problem is that 90% of the opinions these legislators hear are from people who's full-time job is to get in front of them, and those people are generally for sale. Another thing, the senators and congressmen certainly say they want to do the right thing, and they probably even believe it, yet they'll often compromise between the right thing and the thing that keeps them in office. Most of them spend more time dialing for dollars than they do reading legislation. Keep that in mind when you see them interact with lobbyists.
smokeyj 14y ago
> You need to define who you think the "big corporations that run america are" The point is regulation is determined by the highest bidder. Does it matter who the highest bidder is? It doesn't change the fact that America is a whore.
- DannyBee 14y ago
  But it's not determined by the highest bidder, because money is not the sole driver of politics, despite what many think. Do you think Chris Dodd made more money as a Congressman, or do you think he makes more as the head of the MPAA? A Congressman would make a lot more money being a lobbyist. Most of the money they get goes towards reelection campaigns, which are wildly expensive, and deplete a large percentage of their funds. They are not Congressman because it pays a lot of money personally. If that was the goal, they'd all do short stints and move to being lobbyists. Instead, they stay in Congress for a long time. Don't get me wrong, i'm not defending anything. I'm more trying to get folks to see that it is dangerous to equate money with power in America. Power is power. Money is money. Some of one may get you some of the other. But they are not the same, and until folks get around to realizing this, they'll never change anything.
  - smokeyj 14y ago
    You're right, money and power determines regulation. Let's just not fool ourselves into thinking it's something silly like "the consent of the governed".

jellicle 14y ago

It's not as simple as that. What's actually happening is that Congress is extracting campaign contributions from large donors by threatening to push legislation one way or the other. No legislator can get reelected without a multimillion dollar campaign fund. Threatening to tweak the laws one way or the other allows legislators to extract funds from both sides - "Hey, you want this tweak? Pay up! Hey, you don't want this tweak? Pay up!" Depending on who actually pays, the tweak may or may not get made, but the important thing is to revisit the issue often and to revisit the donors with outstretched hands. In some sense, the corporations are as much victims of this scheme as the public is.