Joyanna Adams

Nobody's Opinion

Nobody Gets Email: Tom Beebe’s Amendment…

Nobody Gets Email

Here’s an idea from one of my readers, who starts out the year with some much needed reforms: like getting the big corporations out of being able to control our Congress and Presidents by having the unfair advantage over the single citizen, who cannot afford to hire hundreds of lobbyists. Most of our big corporations spend millions each year lobbying Congress. (The ordinary citizen thinks this is okay, because we, frankly, we really don’t think about it much.)

The other problem: Chinese and Saudi money swamp our elections. Remember Bill and Hillary’s morning (Chinese) coffee trysts at the White House? Pay, and you can meet them. Obama, it was reported by many last year, received millions from the Saudi’s in the last election.
Having said all this: We have many laws on the books already that are completely ignored, including our Constitution. We are reminded of that every time we are strip searched in an airport…. and that’s the harder problem, isn’t it?

Anyway, here’s Tom’s suggestion…which is a good one!

(Thanks to Tom Beebe)

                                         

                                        TOM BEEBE’S AMENDMENT

                     (Commentary in {..}, not part of proposed Amendment}

No candidate for the Presidency or either house of Congress shall accept contributions in cash or in kind from any organization or group of persons for expenses incurred in a campaign for that office. All such contributions shall be made only by individual citizens who shall attest that the funds or other items of value are from their own resources and that they have not received, nor have they been promised, offsetting items of value from any other party in exchange for their contribution. The identity and extent of contributors to such campaigns shall be made public for a period of thirty days from receipt before being employed or used as collateral for a loan by such campaigns. Organizations of any type, {i.e. corporations, unions, gun rights advocates, environmental protection groups, even “Susie’s Flower Shop”, a theoretical small business cited in the Citizen’s United Case,} may, without restriction, expend money to advocate a position on any issue before or likely to come before the electorate insofar as no candidate’s name or description is included in their expressions of advocacy.

(The intent of the above is to bring “transparency” to campaign financing by removing any group from the process whereby that group may conceal the identity of an individual  contributor as well as limiting the influence of such groups or “special interests”. It further prevents an organization from making such contributions when an individual within that organization, such as a union member or corporation stockholder, may oppose the candidate. Considering the large equity position in certain corporations that the federal government has recently taken in response to the economic crises, this is particularly important in excluding such influence. The money from “special interest” groups will then go to promote that for which they exist, their “special interest”. The media will be directed to expositions on the issues facing the electorate, thus enhancing discussion and hopefully understanding of issues, bereft of personalities.)
 
NOBODY NOTES:
If anyone has an idea on how to solve some of our problems, and you’d like me to post it, just send your thoughts to joyanna5150@yahoo.com, and I will post them on my weekend emails. We KNOW the problems, what we need are solutions. Any subject is open.

January 1, 2012 Posted by | capitalism, Constitution, corruption | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment