Yesterday I wrote about how Big Tobacco
continues to use campaign and lobbying cash to delay, derail, and disrupt policies that could hurt their bottom line.
In a shock to no one, Big Tobacco
isn't alone. In fact, that's the way wealthy interests protect their position at the top of the food chain in this country. Campaign cash all around!
When stacked against the political power of the $3.8-billion-a-year
U.S. sugar industry, even the combined forces of Coca-Cola, Unilever
and the United States Chamber of Commerce look like pedestrians trying
to stop a tank.
...
Congress is negotiating the 2007 farm bill, which will set U.S.
agricultural support levels for the next five years. So far, the bill
is not shaping up to be much of an improvement over the 2002 version, a
$20-billion-a-year extravaganza of agribusiness welfare. Despite the
heavy damage that sugar policy has inflicted on consumers and the
environment, the odds of reform this year are slim.... Sugar is grown in 19 states, and
growers contribute heavily to congressional campaigns.
Yup, just another day in the life of a democracy that is too often dominated by big money, rather than wise public policy.
The flow of money from big business interests to campaign coffers is preventing lawmakers from acting on behalf of the general public. Should the sugar lobby, Big Tobacco, and the NRA have a louder voice than you, me, or a group of our friends?
The New York Times today
made the connection between this corrupting system and the Virginia Tech tragedy:
Virginia claims that it has closed a loophole that put guns in the
hands of a deranged student who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech. But
there's always the next loophole to worry about when it comes to the
lack of gun control in this country.
...
The gun lobby, with its generous campaign contributions, operates as a
powerful Loopholes "R" Us, and few politicians of either party have the
courage to stand up to it.... The country would be better off if politicians worried less about the gun lobby's cash and more about Americans' safety.
And I'll add: we'd be better off with
Fair Elections, now. It's time for public financing of campaigns.
