It is clear that some investments really pay off but not yours and mine, currently. The banks have been investing in politicians, and they are getting their money’s worth. Banks get bailed out, and we don’t.
What if we invested our money in politicians and what if banks, corporations, and lobbyists were prevented from doing so? What if we had public financing for all elections, and our elected officials belonged to us? What if politicians didn’t have to spend their lives raising millions for the next election and spent it instead working on issues that are vital to our lives? Our country won’t change until we make our leaders directly responsible to us. Public financing of all elections is the most direct way to do that. You get what you pay for!
This article appears in May 21-28, 2009.