The Problem:
Our democracy is in trouble! There has been a takeover of our representative democracy, especially in the last 35 to 40 years, by the wealthy corporate elite. Their 'excessive' economic power, which is shown in this article with a chart and video, has been used to increase their political power. We now have government of the 1%, by the 1%, and for the 1%. A 2014 BBC study contends that we are an oligarchy not a democracy.
Has the United State always had such extreme economic inequality?
This chart shows that after WW II we had relative equality until the late 1970's. But things have changed since the late 1970's, as the previous video shows.
Why has this happened?
In the last 40 years the wealthy corporate elite have put billions into gaining control of the political system at the national level and in many states. Government regulations and laws that protect the public interest and common good have been weakened or removed by corporate-friendly elected officials and a corporate-friendly Supreme Court. Hedrick Smith explains how why this happened in his 2015 TED talk!
The Challenge:
Restoring fairness and justice to our economic and political systems so we have a government of the people, by the people, and for 'We the People'. As Justice Louis Brandeis said "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both!
Meeting The Challenge:
Increasing the number of informed, involved, voting, and take-action citizens who:
(a) understand the need to build a democracy with leaders who are beholden to all citizens,
(b) speak up in support of policies and resources that build and maintain such a democracy,
(c) commit to bringing more citizens
into the 'Stand Up 4 Democracy ' movement.
The Inspiration:
Listen to 'We Are The Many'. May you be further inspired to fight for a government of officials that
do the bidding of the many, not the few. Lawrence Lessig is also inspiring in this 2013 TED talk about the root of the problem and working for the solution.
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If you are reading this home page and agree our political and economic systems need to be repaired, please use this website to:
STAY INFORMED about where and why these systems are dysfunctional;
GET INVOLVED with groups that working to repair these systems; and
TAKE ACTION to make our representative democracy work for everyone.
To fix our many problems - like climate change, racial injustice, decaying infrastructure, gun violence, and economic inequality - we must fix our dysfunctional economic and political systems.
No one should give up working on their key issues, but everyone should also become activists dedicated to getting to the root of the problem and fix our dysfunctional political system.
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