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| Yes | 22% | 42 votes | Total: 190 votes | |
| No | 78% | 148 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesYes, but only if there is complete transparency about what they are tabling as policy changes in return for their money. If the laws were made more stringent about exactly what kind of benefits, namely government contracts, that a company received; exactly which politicians were advisers on which boards of which contributing companies then people might feel more comfortable about the whole thing.
If democracy truly exists then should we not be given full access to all those who have an influence upon it? Every single back-room meeting and every single dime should be accounted for, and if that money flows back to the companies or lobbyists in the form of notional kickbacks, such as leniency regarding certain industrial standards to be met and laws that suddenly become flexible, we should see it.
Would they be so keen to donate? Perhaps not. Would the way that the country is run be closer to the way it is supposed to be? Perhaps. We don't vote this shadowy figures in who have a word in the President's ear when their shares in USA Inc aren't being protected.
So don't discourage these people. Let them give their money; make it less hard for the tax payer when it comes to putting on these three-ring circuses - but hit them where it hurts almost as much as loss of money - in their privacy.
Learn more about this author, Paul Grimsley.
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No
My favorite question and answer; "Money's the answer. What's the question?"
Why did your US congressman vote for or against that bill? Take a look at who footed the bill for his pool, sauna, and whirlpool, or, who paid for him, his wife and his kids to take a two week ski vacation in the Swiss Alps at that chalet. That chalet was, by the way, complete with a hot tub, Champagne, caviar and live in servants? The list of lobby paid benefits is enormously long. It runs from gambling junkets in the islands with 'no limits,' to pampered golf vacations in the north of Scotland, where wives are treated to luxury spa treatments while the men play the world famous links. The amount of money that is thrown at the politicians is very tempting and tantamount to, if not outright, bribes.
The fact is that the voting public has little power over what those in DC do after they have been elected. The only power that they have is to choose not to reelect. That is why it is not wise to send "seasoned politicians" back. They will only collect more $easoning. That is, more bought and paid for influence, spend more of our money on more mismanaged government debacles and more boondoggles all at the expense of the taxpayer. That taxpayer is you and me if you live in the USA.
By the way, those funds that "belong to the government". Those are our funds, it is our government belonging to us the tax payers, the hard working citizens who paid those taxes. They are supposed to be spent wisely, on things that are needed, not on frivolous projects to line a cousins pockets or the pockets of their cronies. We do not need highways to nowhere and airports in no mans land. Norr to buy votes in districts that are looking for government jobs and fat pensions.
Politics as usual, needs to come to a shrieking halt here. We need to send a message to our representatives in D.C. that the the money that they are playing with is our money and their game is at our pleasure. They should not be allowed to do what is not our bidding. They need to be held accountable for the waste and mis-management that has run rampant for far too long. If they waste our hard earned money just do as Donald Trump does, say, "Your fired."
We need to send a fresh crop of honest men into our offices nation wide, preferably ones that are not affiliated with either of the two major parties. We have watched them party for too long now at our expense.
Learn more about this author, A. C. O'Brien.
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