I don't know what the solution is, but I know the system is broken because of the influence of money. Need proof? Consider this: In 2010 there were 14,000 lobbyists in Washington. Total lobbying spending that year was $3.51 billion.
But money spent lobbying isn't the only problem. Regulated and unregulated money in political campaigns is making a mockery of our political system – which completely ignores the middle-class but relies on it to pay all the bills.
"We the people" are just as self-serving as the career politicians we elect.
We've got a huge debt problem crippling our nation's economy, with no end in sight. Yet how many among us are willing to accept the personal sacrifices it will take in order to end our nation's crack-like addiction to spending money we don't have?
Democrats don't want to give up all their government freebies, and Republicans don't want to accept the fact that you don't get out of $14 trillion of debt without raising taxes. The question is, why do we keep electing these people? The answer: We're selfish.
I'm convinced a better understanding of these issues and how government and politics really works is a valuable public service and a far better use of this space than defending political consultants.
But what do I know? The lady at the credit union thinks I'm no better than a strip club operator.
In my career as a lowly political consultant I've conducted some of this research. In fact, I helped do some of the research that led spotling to the use of the term "opportunity scholarship" when referring to what is more commonly known as a school voucher. "Opportunity scholarship" sounds better, so conservatives who want to reform our broken education system are encouraged to use that term when what they really mean are vouchers. In politics, word choice is important.
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