We seem to be able to afford to bail out the rich and conduct two questionable wars which are bankrupting our government, but we can’t afford human need in our own country. Deregulation and tax breaks for the very rich have produced the exact opposite of what was promised – “trickle down.” It didn’t happen. What happened is exactly what we see today. No, it’s been a torrential flood of money upwards with little or no positive affect for the rest of us.
Our government is clearly complicit in this process. It has proven itself ineffective and we seem unsure as to whether the problem is too much [bad] government as the right wing argues on the one hand, or too little [good] government on the other. Is it too much [bad] regulation or too little [good] regulation? Is it government waste and corruption or is it the ability of big money interests to corrupt our government and to allow waste and corruption in both government and the economy at large? If we quit arguing and pay attention, the answer is virtually always all of them! Perhaps the one thing we can agree on is that big money owns and corrupts our government on every level and that we are not likely to change anything until we take the power back for the people and hold our representatives accountable to us. That's the best of the American Way.
That’s it inn a nutshell. We are up against a great evil. Before we try to understand what that evil is, it’s important to what it is not: It’s not a particular political party; it’s not liberal or progressive or middle of the road or conservative; it’s not left wing or right wing; it’s not business interests per se; it’s not automatically those who manage to make inordinate amounts of money and it’s rarely genuinely creative and entrepreneurial people. It’s absolutely not the majority of people who work hard and honestly to earn their way in the world and to produce a quality and competitive product or service that is valuable to the society at large. In fact, what’s wrong is not people.
It’s what some people do that reaches the point that can only be called rampant greed and which is clearly detrimental to the rest of us or to the environment – i.e. not in the public interest. To them profit is the only measure of what is beneficial and the unlimited accumulation of wealth by the top 2% is considered an absolute right. It is the people who think nothing of lying, cheating, deceiving, misrepresenting, using fear or domination to gain economic advantage. This group is not defined by extreme wealth alone, but that is definitely a major factor. In a world of extreme poverty and starvation, … of global warming,…the incomes of the 400 top earners exceeding $87 million with an after tax net averaging of more than $67 million is to morally repugnant. That needs to be said. That needs to be understood. They have substantially achieved their wealth by controlling how things work to their own advantage. It's time to change this.
But what makes this greed truly obscene is the belief that it is their right, even duty to dominate others without regard for who is hurt in the process… It is the use of the power implicit in that wealth to manipulate and control others – including the ability to own and use the media to effectively control the information on which we form our opinions… The evidence is clear that allowing these people to dominate our economy and government has reached a point of abuse which can no longer be tolerated. They are entitled to their own opinion about this, but they are not entitled to have the power to subject us to these opinions.
These observations are not about judging or dwelling on what’s wrong. It’s about discovering what is necessary to return the power to the citizens of our great nation and to make our representatives responsive to the public needs and interest. It’s true that you can’t legislate morality. You cannot make or enforce enough rules to eliminate every possible misdeed. The question is: Are there simple ways of limiting actions that are harmful to others and society that are moral without being moralistic or legalistic – without trying take away free will or control every minute action? We believe this is possible and have the plan to accomplish it.
Many say this cannot be changed. Our first observation is that it can’t be changed if we continue to believe change of this magnitude is impossible. All change has to start with the right idea, and the right idea is that this change is not only possible, but it is entirely necessary!
It is important to know that in fact it can change. In our democracy, it only takes the right reform legislation and a majority of one vote which can’t be bought with money or fear. The problem is not that our government is too big or too small: It’s that it’s bought from top to bottom and that it only works for those who are able and willing to “pay to play.”
America is founded on the principles of a representative democracy of the people, by the people and for the people – not of the corporations, by the corporations and for the very rich. If our democracy doesn’t work, we have no one to blame but ourselves. If we do not fundamentally change the corporate control of our economy and government, we deserve what we get. Nothing short of ending the practices by which they exert this control will ever produce results – period!
On that assumption, we propose a package of reforms necessary remove the corrupting influences of wealth and power and their affect on our government, economy and society on every level. At the same time, we seek the simplest ways to accomplish this. We will start with the fundamental change which influences virtually everything needed to reverse the current course -- redefining “free speech” in order to change the election policies to level the playing field. This goal mitigates or eliminates the worst abuses in virtually every aspect of our culture, without a gagillion laws, rules, regulations, complex enforcement, systems of punishment, etc.
If you agree with these goals, please sign our Petition
Contact us WeDontHaveFreeSpeech@hotmail.com
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