Our Corporate Government Essay Research Paper Our

Our Corporate Government Essay, Research Paper

Our Corporate Government

America is known world wide as the greatest free country on the planet, yet in America there is a crisis of corruption in the democratic system. The American people are no longer the strongest force in the political process, nor are they the most important force for candidates and causes to win. American democracy is threatened by corporate political contributions, and those trying to fix this problem face a long, hard road to reform.

Corporate political financing is not a new problem whose dangers are only now clearly apparent. In a November 21, 1864 letter, President Abraham Lincoln wrote, As a result of war, corporations have become enthroned and an era of corruption will follow. The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its rule by preying upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is concentrated in a few hands and the republic is destroyed. (Albert). Lincoln s prophesies are all too true today. Corporations create an addiction to American consumerism then feed off it . Big money then turns around and donates billions of dollars to Political parties, nullifying the strongest countervailing force the proletariat have. An uncorrupted Government would be the most effective force to fight corporate influence ( Dreber 23).

However, America has never had an uncorrupted government. Money in politics dates back to George Washington, who financed much of his campaign with corporate money (Hakim). In 1907, federal law prohibited companies from donating directly to candidates. In 1946, a similar law banned direct donations from unions. Individual donations to candidates were also limited to $1,000 per election year. Donations to national party committees, or so-called soft money donations, are and always have been unregulated and unlimited. The 1974 Federal Elections Act upheld donations to the parties but put certain checks on them, such as the formation of the Federal Election Commission (Florida).

Soft money, though originally intended for grassroots organizing for the parties , can be used for any expense the party deems necessary, short of giving it directly to campaign funds. This has been upheld in the Supreme Court, on a basis that banning the use of soft money for advertising would violate the First Amendment. The 1974 law also allowed for the formation of Political Action Committees (P.A.C.s.). P.A.C.s, often named in honor of congressmen, can only give $5,000 to candidate campaigns, but can give to parties or pay directly for issue based advertisements. These are ads that say where candidates stand on issues, an easy way to directly promote specific candidates. P.A.C.s can receive any amount of money from any source. P.A.C.s are often started by corporations or candidates themselves, and through fancy accounting are virtually untraceable. A 1991 court decision ruled that parties that received corporate, individual or P.A.C. soft money had to disclose the source and amount of money. But this did not slow corporate contributions. It instead revealed a corporate tyranny that runs the American government behind the scenes (Florida).

The corporations are funding the two party system with a vengeance. During the 1999- 2000 election cycle, the Republican party spent $252 million of $294.9 million of soft money raised and the Democrats $153.5 million of $172.7 million raised (figures as of October, 2000). These numbers are all up from the 1996 election cycle, when parties took in record amounts of soft money. In fact, 1996 was the election that has really spurred the soft money controversy, because both major parties more than doubled their 1992 fundraising returns. The Democratic party raised $107.2 million, more than three times its 1992 total and the Republican National Committee raised $123.9 million, over two and a half times its 1992 total. (Federal )

The record amounts of money are most discouraging when a link between party policy and corporate donations becomes obvious. A clear example is that of Philip Morris, the nation s leading producer of tobacco products, and also the nation s leading source of soft money. Phillip Morris donated $1,456,659 in soft money to the Republican party as of October, 2000. This offers a convincing explanation of why the Republican Party strongly opposes tobacco regulation. Why then did the Democrats not say anything about the link between Philip Morris and the Republicans during this year s campaigns. There are two main reasons. First of all, the Democrats themselves, have received $256,641 from Philip Morris. This is apparently enough to keep them quiet. The overriding factor, however, is that the Philip Morris is not alone in its donating efforts. AOL Time Warner, the largest media conglomerate in the world, donated $1,538,442, or 70% of its total contributions, to the Democrats. ( Federal) This way the Democrats will not condemn a media monopoly, and of course AOL Time Warner will not air negative features about the Democrats. (Center)

Multi-national corporations buying one party or another has contributed greatly to American voter apathy, but an even larger factor is that many companies or groups donate equally to both parties, assuring that no matter who wins, a corporate agenda will be represented. This has essentially disenfranchised the American voter and undermined our democracy