Back to Basics

Did the Senate forget they are supposed to be representing the American people and are not on the TV game show “Let’s Make a Deal”?  The health care bill has serious, life-threatening consequences and they are putting their votes up for auction – going to the highest bidder.  Are the rest of the Senators wishing they held out for what was behind door number 3?

It is one thing to hold out to negotiate for a change or addition to a bill that will equally impact all people.  It is quite another to hold out and gain an advantage for only your state.  This bill is loaded with special considerations for a number of states and people.  Nebraska and Louisiana received special funding for their votes.  The tax on Cadillac insurance policies no longer applies equally to all policies; if you are in a certain field of business you will be exempt.  These are only a few.  I’m just not quite understanding the new bill writing system of applying only parts of the bill to some states or some people, while others are exempt, and yet others get special advantages.  Special interests are blaring obvious in this bill.

This got me to thinking of days long ago around this time of year when salesmen used to give gifts to the businessmen who had supported their companies.  Simple gifts, such as fruit baskets, a bottle of alcohol, or tickets to a sporting event.  These were all considered thank you gifts.  But alas, the days quickly ended when these “gifts” became a controversial issue and were then viewed as bribes or kickbacks.  Could one be sure the contract given to company A wasn’t because they gave a fruit basket to some manager who could influence that decision?  The gift giving and acceptance quickly ended with reputable companies for fear of being fired or having criminal charges brought upon them for participating in bribes and kickbacks.  Many scandals resulted from these gift exchanges.

So what makes the deals currently being made in the Senate any less criminal?  Didn’t Senator Ben Nelson actually take a bribe or kickback in exchange for his vote?  He negotiated and accepted a deal that gave a monetary advantage to his state, at the expense of the American taxpayer.  Should we not start holding these people accountable and charging them with the criminal activity they are so blatantly participating in?  The persons offering the bribe/kickback, as well as the person accepting the bribe/kickback, should both be criminally charged for their actions.

If I stood outside a polling place and offered to pay for people to vote a certain way, I am sure I would be quickly stopped, arrested and charged with a crime.  Are the Senators not doing the same thing?  Like I said before, it is one thing to negotiate a provision that will equally affect all.  It is quite another to sell your vote.  It’s time to hold them personally responsible.

Corruption in government – it starts with the election process.  Special interest groups, labor unions, big pharma, all making campaign contributions supporting the candidate that is going to give them the back room deals they are after.  Why do you think this country is in this much trouble!  They have all basically bought and paid for the candidate of choice, the one who is looking out for their special interests instead of the interests of the American people.  The corruption needs to stop now, and reform needs to start with the funding of political campaigns.

The democrats seem to want to make everything equal – take from the rich and give to the poor.  So let’s start with campaign funding.  Let’s implement this equal for all system for the politicians, right from the start of the campaign process.  It’s time for a radical campaign funding change.

Instead of companies and individuals supporting one candidate over another, campaign contributions would be made to a government fund for each elected position.  There would be one fund for the president, one for each state senator race, one for each representative of the house race.  All campaign monies would go into this fund and NO OTHER funding for campaigns would be permitted.  The money from these funds would then be divided equally to all candidates running for that position, whether it be two or more.  Everyone would have an equal opportunity in campaigning for the desired position.

How the campaign spends this money would be up to them, but they would have to limit spending to only the money received from the fund.  It would be restricted, of course, to legal activities only.  At the end of the campaign a full disclosure of the money would be required within a specific timeframe and an audit would be completed on the final campaign funds.  Any money remaining from the election would be returned to the fund for the next elections.  There could be no “outstanding balance due” at the end of the campaign.

A radical move, but the problems we see in the government today are because every special interest group and every company has their own agenda and they have all made deals with the politicians to get what they want.  They donate and expect to receive benefits in return – and they don’t just mean a thank you letter.  The government is no longer run by the people, for the people.  It is being run by special interests and big business.  This has got to stop!  Start the reform where the corruption begins – the campaign funding.  Equal opportunity for everyone.