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!
- Justice Louis Brandeis
We can start by asking ourselves - "What kind of America do we want for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren?"
and be prepared with an answer like the following:
We want an America where everyone has EQUAL and FAIR access to our economic, political, educational, environmental, and justice systems. We want a country where everyone has the opportunity, security, and freedom to be all that they can be.
In the last 35 to 40 years, we have lost our vision of an American that works for everyone and enacted policies that benefits those at the top of the economic ladder at the expense of the common good for 'We The People'.
To change this 'neoliberalism' trend, we need a mass coalition working to 'Stand Up 4 Democracy' and elect officials at the state and national levels that will support an America that works for everyone.
This website looks at why extreme economic and political inequality has led to a corrupt and dysfunctional political system and suggests action-ideas to change things.
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Some definitions!
Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. (Merriam-Webster dictionary).
Republic is a form of democracy where laws are passed by democratically elected representatives as opposed to a direct democracy, where average citizens are empowered to pass laws. (many use the term representative democracy interchangeably with republic.
Corporatism (or Corporatocracy) has been used recently by many to mean the merger of wealthy and corporate power with elected and appointed government officials.
Social Democracy is a political ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy.
Other important definitions:
Plutocracy - government by the wealthy.
Oligarchy - government by a few.
Voter Fraud - when an individual votes twice, for a dead person, in the wrong precinct, etc.
Election Fraud - when the system is misused to change votes, deny votes, suppress registration or voting, etc.
Neoconservative - a foreign policy stance designed to preserve American dominance in the world through a strong military and willingness to use it.
Neoliberalism - a political-economic theory favoring free trade (market rule), privatization, minimal government intervention in business (deregulation), reduced public spending on social services, and emphasis on individual responsibility rather than common good.
Supply-side economics - economic theory the hold that reducing tax rates and regulations, especially for businesses and wealthy individuals, stimulates savings and investment for the benefit of everyone (trickle-down economics).
