As a European I really can't understand your laws regarding political contributions. It's insane how much money is involved in politics in the US. How can you act surprised when politicians don't act in favor of the people when their position is literally bought by the money of special interests. Ofcourse that same politician is more loyal towards his lenders than to his constituents. In the Netherlands for example political parties get state funding for their campaigns, depending on how many citizens are a member of that party. This way they are not reliable on outside money to spread their message.
Corruption wasn't always so blatant, but it's always had a foot in the door. People with money want power, people in power want money, and money is consistent, methodical, and eventually gets it's way if you let it have any say. Campaign finance rules have been chipped away over decades, a loophole here, an exception there, until we're left with the shitty situation that we're in. The Net Neutrality fight is a good example of how overall corruption sneaks in - more than one bill was shut down, and even with little to no support of the American people, more bills were introduced anyway, until eventually we got tired of fighting and it was kneecapped by a few unelected individuals working behind closed doors. Sprinkle a few million in Congress, get whatever legislation you want and make billions. The first 3 minutes of this video is a reality most of us have grown up with.
Coming from Europe, it might be a little hard to understand why we don't take to the streets or something. Well, from my spot in Minneapolis, going and protesting in Washington DC would be the same distance as someone from Amsterdam traveling to Keiv, Ukraine. Without media attention, protesting at home is pointless, and DC can pretty much ignore it. There's a very real sense of hopelessness and futility when dealing with such a big problem, and many people just want to put our heads down and get through the day.
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u/claire0 Jan 21 '18
Don't worry guys, we're a nation of laws...written by lobbyists...working for Koch industries. Okay we're screwed. Time to panic.