Corporate Democrats pretend, ludicrously, that Republican obstructionism is the main problem.

[davidthegnome]

135. A good read as always, Woo.

While I haven't always agreed with you, on the issue of corporate democrats I'd say we are very much on the same side. For anyone, I mean, anyone at all, to pretend that GOP obstructionism is the primary issue with our political system is absolutely ridiculous. It is *A* problem, yes. However... anyone who hasn't been asleep for the last ten, twenty years and more must at least recognize the enormous (and ever-growing) corporate influence over our politics and over so many various aspects of our lives.

Citizens United. In other words, enormous bribes for politicians from corporate entities being made perfectly legal, simply not actually called bribery (corporate person-hood). Hard money... soft money, I remember when my Father explained the concept to me as a boy, I could not understand how we could maintain the pretense of democracy when we permit our elected representatives to sell their votes to the highest bidder. Even the pretense of it is no longer convincing even as a pretense. There are precious few people, I think, that honestly believe the game is anything other than rigged.

I truly sympathize with people like ProSense (who's views are very similar to my Father's) who believe that we can create change from within, that our politicians (some of them, at least...) are still on our side and at least trying to do the right thing. I sympathize with them and wish I could believe as they do. I cannot.

Campaign finance is the first issue we have to address if we are truly to create a system that is representative of the public. This one isn't. I can't honestly believe that these wealthy folks (so very reminiscent of the nobility and royalty of the historical monarchies) are truly concerned for the welfare of the average person. Another posted earlier mentioned Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren - they are - by far - the exceptions, politicians who dare to speak truth.

As someone who is still a young man trying to struggle through our difficult world within a difficult economic and social structure... I realize that, without the support of my parents and their mildly successful average middle class life... I would not be here to discuss this. I would be, instead, living on the streets or within a homeless shelter. Or, perhaps I might manage to do a little better with what little remains of our social safety net - then to be despised by both fellow democrats and republicans who would conclude that I was simply too lazy to work hard for a living.

Somehow, it's okay (and legal) that wealthy individuals and corporations give politicians millions of dollars to support or combat this policy or that... but it is not okay when someone proposes raising the minimum wage to ten dollars an hour - even though this is still not a living wage. Somehow it is okay (and somehow legal) that our politicians spent billions of dollars bailing out the financial institutions that created the global economic crisis in the first place... but it is not okay that there are Americans on food stamps, or who need heating assistance, social security, medicaid....

As I near thirty years old now, I have yet to find a convincing reason... yet to find any true hope that things are changing, or will change for the better. It is hard to become motivated enough to do something about it. Mostly I'm tired. Mostly I'm sad. I cannot return to University next year because I am already too deeply in debt and there simply isn't enough to go around for people like me... I am so sick and humiliated after having begged at the financial aid office again - to no avail.

In short... the corporations have won. Real education is now beyond most of us, it is too expensive and requires too much concentration, time - and devotion from your average person who has to work full time just to survive. I'll likely spend the rest of my life working for rich people, and be expected to be grateful for the opportunity.

It could always be worse. I have parents who let me live with them. I have a job I enjoy, working for a radio station. I don't have health insurance - but I'm not sick or injured yet either. It has come to a sorry state of things when someone like me is one of the lucky ones. Or perhaps it has always been so, and my sheltered upbringing hid from me the reality of our society.

Let's not fool ourselves. We are not so civilized, not so socially advanced or humanitarian in comparison to Nations and governments of the past. Our democracy/republic is nothing more than a clever play performed by the elite of our society, who are truly not so different from feudal lords.

How do we create change? We could start by limiting the pay of politicians more severely, we could start by expecting them to live under the same conditions most of us have to. We could start by holding them accountable, with legal penalties for what is in truth, accepting bribes. I'm in favor of a drafted government, rather than one we vote to elect. Let's force these wealthy elites instead to live as their constituents do - and I'm fairly certain that life for all would improve.

Not that my opinion counts for anything of course... and for the most part, I'm too tired to care.