by Joost Steffensen

Created on: February 22, 2008

A congressman, a senator, a president, none of them start out that way, all of them start out as politicians. They start out having the ambition to one day be in public office. And they need to find support in order to get them there.

But support, especially financial, can be difficult to find. There is a limited amount of public funding you can get, but in the end that is never going to be enough to compete with the much fuller coffers of your competitor.

So what do you do? You do what your competitor did, you meet those in your constituency that have money and you try to squeeze the money out of them.

But as we all know money has a purpose. The purpose is buying things. Of course it is possible for money to change hands without it being a sale, but that is rare. And it's certainly not true for the politician.

So what happens when the phone rings in the senators office after the election. What happens when I want to raise my concerns with the man who received my vote.

You have reached the senators office. We will look into your concern. Please consider donating to the senators reelection fund"

Meanwhile the senator is working hard to secure farm subsidies, or drilling rights, or lower emission standards and I the citizen stand and wonder how I benefit from any of those?

Because am I not the consumer here. Shouldn't it be me and my fellow citizens who determine the right policies for the nation? Do corporations have the right to vote?

Companies are important in the US. They help generate the wealth. But they are not citizens.

We the citizens should determine the way this country is run. We should set the standards.

Those standards will no doubt be too tough for some. Those will drop out of the race. That's the spirit of the free market. New better more agile companies will take their place. That's progress.

But surely, dinner, a vacation, a small gift. That doesn't influence anybody. Well honestly I can't look into politicians heads. But the fact that they don't refuse these gifts speaks volumes to me.

And furthermore when is the politician going to meet his constituents when he is out dining or on holiday? Who does he include in his circle of friends? Surely those who pick up his tab!

But aren't those who run companies citizens to?

They are, but only when they go home. The benefits they get from society and the benefits the company gives them vary wildly. Where would your loyalty lie?

But what if I'm just a supporter? I want my candidate to win because I support his policies.

In the end your wallet shouldn't give you more right to the candidates ear. And after he's elected he represents both supporters and opponents. There can be no differences there.

Candidates are here for us. We are not here for them.

When will they start giving?

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