Death of a democracy
Commentary: Good news for corporations, bad news for voters
By Brett Arends
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Will anyone even bother voting in future elections? Will they get involved in political causes? Will they spend one dime of their savings supporting a political candidate or a campaign?
When you look at what is happening with money and politics in 2010, these are not idle questions.
Thanks to changes in the law, company honchos can now buy an election as easily as they order office furniture. The president has tried to make an issue of this in the past 10 days, but I suspect his commentary will have little effect.
In case you missed it, recent Supreme Court rulings mean that corporations can now effectively spend freely on political campaigns, including during elections. Loopholes in the tax code, particularly pertaining to 501(c)4 nonprofits, mean they can do so secretly through anonymous front groups.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, whether you hate the president or like him.
Under this system, the game is over. Our democracy is dead. We just don’t know it yet.
Don’t believe me? Look at the numbers.
