Get the Money out of Politics

The shouting, the protesting, the emails, the petitions… Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street? It’s hard to tell. Because they’re complaining about the same thing:

Get the money out of politics.

They can argue about what part of politics has too much money be it corporate bailouts, military, roads to nowhere, overhead projectors, and on… But believe it or not, the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street crowd are fighting for the same thing.

Get the money out of politics.

I don’t write about politics because politics are so complicated. You’ve got your Federal, State, County, Metropolitan, and City governments. The money flows between these governments in byzantine ways that we can’t understand, so it’s useless to argue about bureaucratic maneuvering. But I decided there is one thing I can argue for.

Get the money out of politics.

It takes hundreds of millions of dollars to run for President. The average senate seat costs about 3 million. I don’t care that Obama and the Tea Party are tapping into grass roots money -- money is defining the issues, not the people.

Get the money out of politics.

You don’t charge money for a free democracy. You give your time and effort. Your personal time. If you run a corporation or have family money, go ahead, lobby like hell to make business easier for you -- but do it as an individual, not with corporate money by hiring people who may or may not believe in what they’re lobbying for. Government is by the people, not by how much money you can spend.

Get the money out of politics.

The farmer whose crops were destroyed by a multinational corporation’s mistake shouldn't lose in court because he couldn’t hire a lawyer. The legal system is supposed to even out the inequalities of those who can’t protect themselves, not give the guy with more money a bigger stick to hit the little guy.

Get the money out of politics

There are almost 300 million people in the US with 300 million voices and 300 million different points of view. The shouting, pontificating, campaigning, lobbying, handshaking, submitting, suggesting, petitioning, protesting and fighting is part of who we are. This one concept doesn't solve our differences, it won't make the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street join hands and sing together, but if we make this the test of any government action, then the government will be by the people, for the people.

So, pass it on. Put it on bumper stickers. Make it your screen saver. Tweet it. Reblog it. Email it to a friend. Chant it in the streets. Do what ever it is you do when you want your voice heard. Just don't pay anyone to repeat it.

Get the money out of politics.