Biddable Politicians

It seems as if we've gone down a on-way street in our U.S. political process...

...in our "democracy"...

...and the end of the road isn't pretty.

You can't really blame today's politicians...

...they are just playing the political game by the rules that have been established...

...and like most games...

...not playing by the rules means that you're quickly out of the game.

The rules say that a politician can't get elected to a major office without an infusion of money from big business..

...the same big business that demands an equal or greater return on their campaign fund investments.

The goal of the game, of course, is profit...

...which might be okay if it weren't at the expense of the general welfare.

And so corporate welfare takes priority over the general welfare.

But there's a problem...

...or there would be if money couldn't "fix" that too.

In a democracy the people vote for their leaders.

So, before they vote, big business has to somehow convince voters...

...that they aren't really voting for things like short-term business profits...

...to line the pockets of the CEOs...*

...but they are voting for what's in the public's best interests.

So, with the help of hundreds of millions of dollars in glitzy, superficial, misleading — if not down-right dishonest — campaign ads...

...they divert attention from the real issues...

...to "hot button" issues...

...that will stir them to get out and vote for the candidates that...

...will support the goals of big business.

End of game...

...winners and losers declared!

*In doing a bit of math on the multi-million dollar salaries of major CEOs in the United States, you arrive at an average hourly wage of $7,500.00.

A study in 2006 used slightly different figures to show that the typical CEO today makes more money in a day that most U.S. workers make in a year.

For the most part, these are the same people that oppose increasing the hourly minimum wage of U.S. workers—a move that would help raise many families above the poverty level.

This column introduces Fog's ideas about a bloodless political revolution in the United States.