The Republic

I came across this video where professor Larry Lessig of Harvard speaks about what he thinks is the core problem with the US republic; basically, money. It is an interesting talk if this sort of thing floats your boat. If you don't have the hour to spare, here is an article that discusses the same ideas:

“Congress has developed dependence no longer on the people alone, but increasingly a dependence on the funders,” he said. The Harvard Law School professor turned to the recent US presidential election, which cost around $6 billion, to demonstrate how the wealthy are able to influence politics. “0.3 per cent of Americans gave $200 or more to any federal candidate in the election that happened in 2012…0.000042 per cent – 132 Americans – gave 60 per cent of the super PAC [political action committee] money spent in the election in 2012,” he said.

“The people have the ultimate influence over elected officials, but they have that ultimate influence in their general election only after the funders have had their way with the candidates,” he said, adding: “This conflicting dependence between the funders and the people is a kind of corruption…Everything I’m talking about is perfectly legal.”        

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Politicians play into this game by creating temporary measures, supported by big financial backers who will then continue funding Congress to ensure the measures are passed again, he said. The professor cited a 2010 report by The Wall Street Journal on temporary tax codes to demonstrate how a cycle of ‘extender mania’ plays out, whereby interested parties push Congress to pass bills.

The video: