Ellen Wedum
In politics, the Golden Rule is not found in Matthew Chapter 7, verse 12, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them…”
Instead it is starkly expressed as, “The Golden Rule is ‘Follow the Gold.’” Candidates’ chances of getting elected are predicted based only on how much money their campaign has to spend. When corporations and PACs can contribute megabucks, the two mites donated by the widow – more like $20 now – is not enough to convince a politician to protect the widow’s health and her Social Security pension.
Although Republicans say they support business, the small businesses have little say in Republican politics. The big contributions come from the big corporations, and they get their payback in the form of laws that hurt small businesses.
The Wall Street meltdown and the bailout that followed demonstrate this. My example is the small bank in Montana that my grandfather helped to found, whose assets are measured in millions, not billions. They never got involved in buying and selling subprime mortgages. As the bank officer I talked to said, if it seemed to be too good to be true, it probably was. And, he added, if I can’t understand it, I’m not going to invest in it.
This little bank is paying the penalty for not failing. In 2007, before the crash, their FDIC insurance was about $25,000 a year. By 2009 it had increased to $25,000 each month, and in December 2009 the bank was required to pay insurance for three years in advance — a sum of around $1 million. Now on paper they can spread that cost over the three-year period, but in reality this means they have less money to lend to their customers. Meanwhile the officers at the bailed-out ‘too big to fail’ financial institutions get millions in bonuses, and the U.S. Senate passes a bill to regulate only the little banks.
It’s been tough for me personally, because the dividends from that bank stock I inherited from my father are now 30 percent of what they were in 2007. Thank goodness for my constant (if not increasing) Social Security check. Yes, that scary “socialist” program that conservative Republicans opposed in the 1930s and President Bush and the Republicans wanted to replace with a Wall Street gambling system has been the salvation of this widow’s “mite!”
As Robert Creamer wrote, “Frankly, I’m getting pretty sick of hearing guys who make ten million dollar bonuses on Wall Street tell Social Security recipients who make $13,000 a year that they have to ‘tighten their belts’ because we ‘can’t afford them.’”
What’s a voter to do?
So what’s a voter to do? Since the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United (a PAC) vs. FEC, things are only going to get worse, and our democratic process is in serious danger of being smothered by special interest money. Brace yourselves for a non-stop torrent of negative robo-calls, ads, etc., featuring endless messages from “the lady with the scary voice, with ominous music in the background.” (Dave Berry).
That money will buy the politicians, and the politicians will vote for whatever benefits the special interests want. We, the people, will be left with no influence.
And another thing. How are we ever going to limit the size of government unless we first limit the spending on political campaigns?
So here’s a thought for you: Next time you’re solicited for a campaign contribution or your volunteer work or your vote, ask the candidate to first pledge to support a constitutional amendment that states that donations to campaigns and PACs can only come from U.S. citizens who are registered to vote. It could be worded something like this:
“Political Action Committee and political campaign donors shall be United States citizens who are registered to vote. Congress shall have the authority to place limits on the amount of the donations and the time periods during which donations can be solicited and collected.”
(I put the time period limitation in because I am sick of these non-stop campaigns – and the non-stop requests for donations.)
We need more elected officials who are ordinary Americans, and I think this is the only way we are going to get them. CBS News reports that there are 237 millionaires in Congress. That’s 44 percent of our Federal lawmakers. Millionaires represent only 1 percent of the general population.
We need more candidates who can campaign effectively on a limited budget. We can hope that candidates who have practiced thrift on the campaign trail will also support a financially responsible federal budget.
Wedum is a retired physical chemist and lives outside of Cloudcroft. She is a Democratic candidate for the District 59 seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives.