How government is sold to corporations
Do you wonder why your middle class lifestyle isn’t improving while corporations are making billions and their executives are making obscene salaries? Do you worry about your or your children’s futures? Why are so many working long hours or two jobs, just to make ends meet? Do you wonder why there is no accountability for crimes and frauds committed by corporations against us or the environment?
Do you wonder what you can do about it?
The Aug, 9 edition of the Daily Herald ran a story on ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council). ALEC was in Chicago to celebrate its 40th year of existence. ALEC is a group of corporations that write model state legislation affecting school privatization, voters rights, health care, stand-your-ground laws, prison privatization, women’s health laws, to name a few.
These bills always benefit the corporation that writes them and usually costs the middle class. ALEC presents the legislation to your elected representatives who choose to join the group. They wine and dine (bribe) your reps to pass their bills into law. ALEC is successful. ALEC is a large part of how your government is sold to the corporations, and why it is not responsive to you.
What can you do? Three easy things:
Educate yourself. To start, take less than one hour and watch “The United States of ALEC” or its follow-up, at billmoyers.com. Mr. Moyers is the highly respected journalist who has a Sunday morning program on PBS, Channel 11, WTTW.
While on billmoyers.com, see if your rep is an ALEC member. If so, vote them out. Tell them you are aware of their activities and are watching.
The Herald article mentioned a demonstration at this meeting. We were there. Next time, hopefully, there will be 100,000 people.
Wally and Terri Naaf
Pingree Grove