LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Making the case for getting money out of politics
Taxing the wealthy and addressing the massively unequal distribution of wealth in the Country have emerged as hot topics for political discussion today.
The problem is obvious. The negative effect of money on democratic process is a fact. What is not obvious is how to address the problem. The mega-wealthy have no intention of allowing us to put our hands into their pockets. They are adept at sheltering their accounts in foreign banks and trusts set up to their advantage. They have the means of doing so by the judicious distribution of largess to lawmakers in return for legislation favorable to their interests. “Those who have the gold make the rule”. The affluent associate money with power- the ultimate goal of the game they play. And rarely in the history of the world has power been ceded willingly. And that leaves us, where?
Will the remaining 90% have the stomach for economic revolution? Like the socialist organizations that fought for a fair slice of the pie during the tumultuous era of the 1930s, history may be poised to repeat itself. The wealthy (generically rather than individually) have been sowing the wind, and a day will come when they will inherit the whirlwind of young progressives who will refuse to be marginalized.
Democracy will be tested as never before. I’m not sure John Q. public will be up to the task ahead. When asked what kind of government was formed at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 Ben Franklin is reported to have said, “A republic, madam. If you can keep it.”
I’m not sure the republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers will survive in perpetuity. There is always a reckoning. Quo Vadis, America? Time will tell.
John Klumpp
Sparta