Corporate influence over the political process in the USA

This is a big one...

As a son of the revolutionary war (my ancestors were in the war to gain independence from the British), I feel a deep appreciation for those who have created this country, and the fine and wonderful aspects therein.

Our forefathers designed a elegant, if not flawed plan of governance that instills some of the most humanitarian rights in the world.

The enactment of their vision, of course, has fell far short of its potential... as of yet.

At the University of California at Santa Cruz, i studied Environmental studies, and Economics. It was preparation for a doctorate in Developmental Econ... a dream of mine that may come to pass one day. That being said, im sure i will get many a person saying i dont know what im talking about... thats all good, i will post your comments only if they provide a contribution to the subject matter. Feel free to disagree, or post your support of any idea expressed here.

In school, i was very interested in the weakness of the capitalistic model, as practiced by a large number of countries around the world.

The collapse of the Soviet Union had me thinking... most likely our model of governance is in its infancy as well, and the world is blindly groping for a solution to this challenging issue.

The Chinese have decided to give the socialism/communism/capitalism thing a go... we will see.

There is a paper called 'the tragedy of the commons' that lays out the general weaknesses of the capitalistic model we have here in the states.

Basically the gist is... one cannot maximize social good, and personal gain at the same time. Personal gain has to be fettered by the group in order to obtain a higher level of gain for the group as a whole. Simple as that, not hard to understand, and really needs to be accepted, so we can move on to a solution.

You rugged individualists who dont think government has a place in your life. Dont complain about the deteriating society, just make some blinders out of your stock certificates, as this is what you are creating. Try to think what life will be like for your children if the trends continue.

The problem of the conflict between personal gain and social welfare will be a larger and larger issue, as the separation of rich and poor increases. The rich will be isolated from this problem, until it becomes severe, and they must address it. Global warming is one of millions of examples of this.. I call it the 'shit hits the fan' principal. Change is not easy, and usually comes when the pain of situation is greater than the pain of the change.

Will people give up thier extra humvee so they dont have to watch thier backs when they go to the store, or keep thier kids locked up in the back yard? Some may. Some wont. Most wont see the connection between the two.. if thats you.. keep reading this blog.

With the inertia of given events, like Global Warming for example, and this hesitation to change, there usually is a tardy reaction, and many associated problems. The idea behind this blog, is to see if smart people can gain enough power and influence to make necessary changes before the growing pain become unbearable, or even deadly.

The rich need the working class to run the machinery of the country. If the personal gain of the rich causes the poor to be unwilling, or unable to serve the rich, the personal gain of the rich is of little use to them. Economies are built on the work production and consumption of the common man, not on investments by speculators or influence by big business.

In future posts, i will outline some solutions to problems such as these.

I will start with a practical idea of how to wrestle our government from the hands of the rich.

having fun yet?!!

Tony