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As has been said before countless times, we have the best congress that money can buy. This is why rulings like Citizens United are turning this country into a
by Patrick_Devine 13y ago
As has been said before countless times, we have the best congress that money can buy.
This is why rulings like Citizens United are turning this country into a kleptocracy.
- humanrebar 13y agoThe car dealership system predates Citizens United by decades. The only way to stop lobbying is to regulate how people communicate with their elected officials, and that cure sounds worst than the disease.
- bcoates 13y agoCar dealer protectionism has nothing to do with the US Congress. Citizens United doesn't make it easier to bribe politicians, the entire point of PACs running ads is to lobby voters directly instead of the traditional method of bribing legislators.
- Florin_Andrei 13y agoAs long as anyone is allowed to give money to particular politicians and parties, as long as the entire political process is not funded exclusively from public money, then money will keep ruling the land.
- humanrebar 13y agoAs long as there's money in manipulating the government, then money will manipulate the government, whether it's through campaign donations, bribery, cronyism, or something else.
- nsxwolf 13y agoMaybe the real problem is that so many people are susceptible to cheesy attack ads from PACs. Maybe we should try to fix that instead.
- Florin_Andrei 13y agoI agree that would solve a lot of problems, but it amounts to somehow shifting the IQ gauss curve for the whole population to the right a few dozen points. How would you go about accomplishing it?
- baddox 13y agoWe don't have the best congress that money can buy, because that phrase implies the existence of a competitive price-based market, which obviously doesn't exist. If there was an automobile monopoly that defended its monopoly status with violence, and their only product was one crappy car, you probably wouldn't say "we have the best car that money can buy," because we all know that a competitive automobile market would produce better cars.
- mitochondrion 13y agoWe do have the best men of Congress that money can buy, because the best Money bought them.
- crazy1van 13y agoSo I'm guessing that means you are for free speech unless that speech is about political issues and involves spending money you have legally acquired. In a free society, shouldn't political speech be the absolutely most free form of speech? Please note, I'm using the dictionary definition of Freedom as reported by Google (https://www.google.com/search?q=freedom+definition https://www.google.com/search?q=freedom+definition) that says: "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint." Not the other definition of freedom that says: "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint up to a maximum value of $2600 per candidate in a single election"
- Patrick_Devine 13y agoThe problem comes from when you assign the rights of an individual to that of a corporation, whose sole purpose is to maximize profits. I don't think anyone would argue that individuals should have first amendment rights, however I'm not convinced that the bill of rights should be applicable to a company.
- crazy1van 13y agoSo individuals actually lose free speech rights when they unite with other individuals to form a corporation? If that is the case, it restricts the rights of the poor relative to the rich. A rich individual can afford a TV advertisement campaign on his own. A poor individual needs to pool his money with the money of other like-minded people to be able to afford that same TV ad campaign. The common way for many people to pool their resources to act for a unified purpose is to incorporate.