The New Aristocracy®

As more money flowed through Washington and as Washington's power to regulate our lives grew, opportunities and temptations for graft, influence peddling and cutting corners grew exponentially. Power breeds corruption. - Steve Forbes

We the People. These three words open the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, a document regarded by most as the cornerstone of the American democratic experience. When Gouverneur Morris wrote the preamble, he was of course referring to the common man. The words were to represent the individuals that made up the American union. The Preamble itself was a statement documenting the purpose of the Constitution, and whom it's laws applied to and protected.

I propose changing the terminology. I propose rewording these three words to read: We the Corportation. After all, let's get realistic here... who is running our country and who reaps the benefits thereof?

The recent Abrhamoff scandals rocking Congress and K Street may only represent a small example of the rampant pandering and selling out to corporate influence that regularly occurs in our elected government. Rep. Louise Slaughter recently released a scathing report documenting the culture of corruption that has grown exproportionately since the change in Congressional power during the mid-90's. President Bush's term in the Oval Office has not only heightened the level of corruption, but has allowed our hard-earned tax dollars to be fleeced back into the pockets of corporate America.

What we have here is a democracy crumbling into an unfettered aristocracy. One that robs from the middle class and gives to the stockholders. Here are a few juicy cuts from Slaughter's report.

A Confusing and Expensive Medicare Program
Millions of American seniors have been forced into a confusing and expensive new Medicare drug program that was not created for them, but for the insurance and drug industries who were given special access to shape this legislation. Not only was this program designed for the insurance and pharma industries, but the true costs were masked by those in the Bush Administration to ensure fast passage of the bill. What was originally earmarked to cost $400B actually would cost 134B more than stated. Bush's top Medicare official, James Sculley, actually threatened to fire a subordinate staffer if the true costs of the program were revealed to Congress. Meanwhile, we the people pay for an expensive grift that is nothing more than corportate welfare, senior citizens pay more at the pharmacy once they get past the confusing enrollment and qualification paperwork, and the health care industry reaps a healthy $139B bonus over the next 10 years.

An Energy "Strategy" That Saves No Energy
While American consumers must live with an energy policy that the Energy Department itself has found will not reduce our high oil and gas prices, the Republican Congress and the Bush Administration have rewarded the oil companies with billions of dollars in new tax breaks and subsidies. If Exxon Mobil's Q4 profit sheet isn't proof positive that the Bush Strategy of rewarding Big Oil isn't working, then I don't know what is. But the sad part is, we the people have simply accepted it. When the heads of five major oil companies gave testemony to Congress last fall, the Republicans treated the proceedings as nothing more than a photo op. Republican leadership refused to place the executives under oath, and in the end, simply agreed that big oil had every right to stick it to "the man"...in this case, you and I being "the man".

Polluters Re-Writing Environmental Laws
The quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink has been degraded because energy lobbyists temporarily working in the Bush Administration have undermined some of our country's most important environmental standards. Again, we see the Republicans choose profit over responsibility. After all, the juggernaut that is heavy industry might be negatively impacted by such trivial bills as The Clean Water Act. In similar fashion, Bush has gutted the EPA, making the agency little more than a good idea forgotten.

Fat Cats Get Their Defense Contracts, but Soldiers Don't Get Their Body Armor American soldiers and their families don't know if they are going to have the body armor and other supplies they need to fight in Iraq, because Members of Congress are instead steering hundreds of millions of dollars to defense contracts for products and services the military often says it does not need and, at the same time, unscrupulous contractors like Halliburton are defrauding the government of millions of dollars.

Drug Companies Get Off the Hook if Their Products Injure Americans
While American citizens, public health officials, and first responders worry about how our country would handle the outbreak of a flu pandemic, the Republican Congress recently relieved the pharmaceutical industry of any responsibility for the harm their vaccines or other products might cause during such a crisis.

Student Loan Debt, Student Loan Industry Profits Both at Record Highs
Thanks to the efforts of newly-elected Majority Leader John Boehner, private student loan companies are some of the most profitable companies in America and American students are graduating with record student loan debt.

Corporate Profits Up, American Family Income Down
While record numbers of American workers are losing their good-paying jobs as well as their health and pension benefits, large corporations are enjoying new tax breaks and record profits, and are still free to move their corporate organizations overseas to avoid taxes.

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What can be done? What is the action plan?

1. Hold public officials accountable for their actions. Call, write, or email your local Representative or Senator and urge him/her to support lobbying and soft money reform. If We the People do not hold our elected and tax funded official's feet to the proverbial fire, money will always remain the larger incentive to retain the status quo in Washington.

2. Shop locally, act globally. Support your corner grocer or independent coffee shop. Keeping the money flowing within your community helps your city and it's businesses thrive. Shopping at the local box store sends your money to some remote corporate headquarters, overseas sweat shops, and into the hands of profit driven investors who care little about the socio-environmental footprint the corporation could be leaving.

3. Invest wisely. Support companies that have strong ethical worker and environmental relations.

4. Vote, and vote often. Preferably on non-Diebold machines.

Here are a few action items to ponder. Feel free to add to the idea pool.