Bought and paid for by billionaires?
A representative democracy is supposed to represent the interests of its citizens. Each elected official is expected to advocate for the wellbeing of their constituents. So, where are they when it is made abundantly clear that an industry is systematically ripping off the very voters who put their faith in them?
I am, of course, talking about the health insurance industry and the murder of the United Health Care CEO. That act of violence has ripped the scab off an American atrocity – a system that regularly raises premiums and actively conspires to deny as many claims as possible – the essence of a capitalist model.
One would have thought that elected representatives would have quickly moved beyond the triggering act and taken advantage of an opportunity to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans by restructuring a system that is damaging their constituents’ lives. But the silence is deafening. Except, of course, on the subject of the murder. That outrage is constantly expressed.
I think there are several reasons for the selective responses. The first rises out of the passage of Citizens United. Corporations and wealthy donors became the lifeblood of politics because of that 5 to 4 decision in 2010. These uber-citizens are simply more important to professional politicians. The second is because they see themselves as celebrities and realize their exposure if other celebrities are attacked with impunity. Finally, elected officials are afraid that their careers will be harmed by taking a stand in favor of the average citizen against large corporate interests. The word primaried sends shocks of terror through their cartilage free bodies.
In the end, the lack of response to the plight of American families is due to the irrefutable fact that their elected representatives don’t represent them but a more limited constituency that provides them the financial means to stay in office. Can you imagine what George Washington, John Adams, or Thomas Jefferson would have said about that?
In a representative republic the voters are ultimately responsible for the government they get. If they elect people who are more interested in supporting special interests, voters will get what they deserve – ignored. And that is what is happening today.
The money valves have been opened wider, donations have increased, health insurance executives are publishing pastel opinion pieces designed to give their government employees cover. And the interests of the voters is being round-filed yet again.
It’s not rocket science. The health industry in the United States is an embarrassment. In the richest nation on the planet, life expectancies are getting lower, Americans pay up to fifteen times what the residents of other nations pay for pharmaceuticals, and the US is the only nation that drives it citizens into bankruptcy with medical bills. Infant mortality is ridiculously high for an advanced nation, Food insecurity is driven by the fact that over 60% of American families are living paycheck-to-paycheck. (stop and think about that one for a minute as you call the US the greatest country on earth. Over half of its families have no shot at the so-called American Dream.)
In that situation, how would you expect the representatives of the people – the party of the working class, for instance – to respond? Would they focus on an event that the courts will surely deal with, or do they focus on the institutionalized injustice being done to citizens?
This tragedy has opened the possibility of reforming a system that is a joke to the rest of the world. The opportunity is there for elected officials to do their job and improve the lives of their constituents. Their responses will tell Americans just what kind of government they have. It will be left to them to decide if this is the kind of government they deserve – the kind they want for themselves and their children.
I have little faith that representatives will do their job. They almost never do. On dozens of issues that are overwhelmingly popular with Americans, they follow the instructions of their sources of financial support. Addiction to campaign contributions from major donors and the feeling of power that comes with raking in mountains of money rivals, in controlling intensity, any other addiction. And so, it is left to the voters to vote ther interests over the interests of their representatives or their special interests.
Nothing could be clearer. Because of a lawless act, the opportunity has arisen to reform a system which parasitically feeds off Americans. An opportunity not taken is an opportunity wasted. People over profits or profits over people? That is the question.
What is your answer?
© Earl Smith