Lindsay Mark Lewis aims at the wrong target in the op-ed, "A Better Way to Buy Politicians" (New York Times, February 17th., 2012: A23).
The question is not how to buy politicians, but who does the buying?
Right now, corporations and their surrogates (Trade Associations, the US
Chamber of Commerce) do the buying -- but they do it with our money!
It is the corporate cash flows that we contribute through our purchases
of the goods and services they provide that enable the corporations to
swamp the political field with money.
We should be able to eliminate the middleman (the Corporation).
Individuals should have the right to make contributions to politicians
and to political parties. But the favored few, corporate executives and
members of Boards of Directors, should not have the right to use a
second channel for unlimited contributions.
It is time to amend the constitution so that political contributions can
be limited by law.
Sent to New York Times
