It is the sad truth that seventy-two percent of the country’s wealth is owned by the top ten percent of its population. Even more shockingly, the top one percent of Americans own as much wealth as the bottom ninety-five percent combined.
That, in itself, should not necessarily be a problem. I am not here to advocate that we switch to another economic system. Such arguments and self-righteous rhetoric have already been beaten into the ground long ago. More importantly, they stand absolutely no chance of successfully transforming our current paradigm. It is only by working through our current system that we can hope to affect any sort of positive change.
The first step to ameliorating any situation is to identify the source of the problem. Why are we giving enormous tax breaks to those who are already wealthy? Why do we continue to pour money into Iraq, 154.7 billion dollars at the time of this writing, when our own country is in such disarray? Obviously the average American is not being represented. On closer reflection it becomes rather apparent that Washington is being controlled by a small fraction of economic elite--large corporations, to be specific. While it is far beyond the scope of this essay to delve into the rational for this statement, I would direct you towards the works of Noam Chomsky.
The question then becomes not who is in power, but why they are there. We live in a democratic republic. Theoretically, the populace should be dictating the direction our country takes. We vote for elected officials who, in turn, are supposed to advocate for our beliefs and positions. Where along the line is this sacred trust betrayed? And, even more importantly, why do so many Americans remain disaffected or naïve about the consequences of this duplicity?
The answer to this first question lies in campaign financing. Successfully running for office requires a vast amount of money and resources. Ideally, this financing would be obtained via grassroots organizing. But, all too often, candidates are forced to rely on other sources of contributions. Frequently, this alternative funding comes from large corporations. This sets up a blatant conflict of interest, leaving civilians short handed when public welfare vies against corporate interests.
The easiest way to avoid this would be to reform campaign financing. But such reforms are unlikely while the general populace remains uneducated regarding the current situation. This brings us to our second issue: the media’s role in propagating this cycle. A vibrant, healthy media is essential to any true democracy. It should act as the final check and balance, informing the public of what is being carried out in their name. It was to this end that the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) was originally erected. Unfortunately, as a quick review of the FCC’s actions in the past twenty years will show, the organization has been acting in a directly contrary fashion to the very principals it was founded to protect. Instead of regulating media ownership, the FCC has been opening the way for even more giant corporate mergers. In return for these lax statutes the media is more than happy to back the government, passing on misinformation and propaganda as fact.
So where does that leave us? Our country has a multitude of social problems. Most of our government is corrupt; and what should be a highly critical media is entirely complicit in their actions. We must, therefore, rely on the only resources that are at our disposal. In the past ten years independent media has become an entirely viable option. One of the best examples of this is Amy Goodman’s program ‘Democracy Now!’ (www.democracynow.org), which appears on over 300 TV and radio stations nationwide. We can also help support progressive candidates such as Cynthia McKinney and Dennis Kucinich.
It is important that the fight goes on. Every day more and more people become disenfranchised with the corporate world. We must form a coalition of true values voters, which transcends such superfluous things as race, age, or gender. And, in the end, we shall prevail.
By Paolo Unger Dvorchik
