Ending The Corporate Takeover of Politics: No Money For Taxes But Plenty For Donations?

We are going to continue with our series in examining the ongoing corruption of the American political system, which began with our March 28th article entitled  “Has the Season ofMAGA Finally Arrived? Democrats Struggle for Relevance”. I should point out that I’m hesitant to say “our” political system since, as most of our readers already know, it stopped being “our” political system many years ago. Certainly, since the 2010 Citizens United folly by the Supreme Court when it defaulted to Wall Street.

Any vestiges of a Republic “of, by, and for the people” as President Lincoln famously proclaimed, ceased at that point since it placed elections in the hands of the highest bidder and effectively removed any competition between Wall Street and unions, but between the wealthy elite  and ordinary citizens.

We’ve also taken a look at partisan gerrymandering and unlimited term limits which has virtually ensured that the two corporate owned parties---the Democrats and Republicans---maintain a lock of the system. Partisan gerrymandering as allowed them to redraw congressional districts to their advantage (and basically permitting them to “choose” their voters instead of the other way around).

Unlimited term limits gives them a virtual unhindered lock on their seat in Congress regardless of how low their approval rating is (the same can be said for federally appointed judges, including the Supreme Court). Approval ratings for Congress are often in the low 30% range (it’s been as low as 9%), and yet Congress still has a 97% reelection rate.

Can you imagine bombing every employee evaluation by your boss, consistently getting customer reviews, routinely going over budget, and keeping your job? How about even allowing you to decide on your own pay raises?  Well, in Congress you can.  

We also just covered allowing unequal ballot access. Both of the two corporate parties (which also happen to minority parties when it comes to voter registration) are free to write (and pass) legislation giving them the advantage at the ballot box and effectively restricting competition by making it inordinately harder to get on the ballot.

One tool used is requiring 10x more signatures on ballot application or limiting the timeframe to obtain the signatures, as well as indirectly collude with the media to keep them out of debates (especially at the federal level), limiting “equal time” public access, and the perpetual belittling of third party and Independent candidates.  

Finally, adding salt to the wound, is legislation mandating that all taxpayers pay for the primaries of the Democrats and Republicans, irrespective of their registration, but despite paying,  you aren’t permitted the opportunity to participate. Imagine going out to eat. But, before you can order, you’re required to buy two dinners for someone else, and you don’t have any say in it. Why? Because that’s the restaurant rules, which, by the way, were written by the people whose dinners you’re paying for.  Is that fair? Of course not! In politics, it’s called taxation without representation and that’s what you have in closed primary states.  

Now, let’s say you’re a registered member of the Libertarian or Green party (the third and fourth largest political parties respectively in the U.S.). Despite belonging to an official party,  you are still obligated to pay for the primary of the Democrat and Republican parties. However, nothing goes to your party. Not a dime.

In fact, to keep your party going, you have to pay out of pocket if you want to support it.  Finally, if you’re a registered Independent (the nation’s largest political bloc), you face the same problem.  Not only are you prohibited from participating, you are being forced to financially support  your political opponents!  

So, we’ve obviously covered quite a bit since the kickoff on our political system corruption series. So, let’s take a look at another topic near and dear to our hearts----taxes (sarcasm intended). Actually, we’re going to look at corporate taxes and how it impacts politics.

Everyone is familiar with Tesla, thanks to Elon Musk, the current head of DOGE—the Department of Government Efficiency---whose job is to snoop around and file government “bad actors” and financial malfeasance of taxpayer’s money. But did you know that Tesla, which is valued at $41 trillion dollars, reported earning $2.3 billion dollars in 2024, paid zero dollars in federal taxes? That’s right. Nada.   As an aside, the average American family pays roughly 14% of their income on taxes.

Over the past three years, the auto manufacturer earned  $10.8 billion dollars and yet managed to pay just $48 million in federal taxes. That works out to be a corporate tax rate of 0.4% (the statutory corporate tax rate is 21%). But it was more than just clever accounting involved. Congress actually passed legislation giving Tesla a tax break which saved them some $2.4 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, according to CBS, Elon Musk donated $277 million dollars to the Trump campaign in 2024 through his political action committee, “America PAC”.  He also donated $10 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, which backs Republican Senators. He also gave $3 million dollars to MAHA Alliance PAC, which is associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  I’d say that’s not a bad return on his investment.

In addition, 3M and Airbnb paid zero federal income taxes in 2024. Cisco, a high technology specializing in AI infrastructure, and networking company (reputedly also the second most valuable company in America) paid nothing in federal taxes either despite $2.7 billion dollars in profit in 2024. In fact, 10% of the S&P 500 companies paid nothing in federal taxes.

Top executives at Cisco contributed $2,301,092 to candidates, political action committees and other political organizations in 2024. The candidate who got the most was Kamala Harris. She received $588,525 while $63, 977 went to Donald Trump.  The DNC Services Corporation received the second largest amount at $244,261.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee got $62,543 while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee picked up $50,973 in donations. The National  Republican Senatorial Committee was given $42,947 (it should be noted that between this and Trump, all other leading donations went to Democratic candidates or causes)

Cisco lobbying ranks 197^th out of 9,200 company’s who employ lobbying firms. Their lobbyists spent $3,270,000 in 2024, which is up from 2023’s $2,790,000. 32 of their 43 lobbyists were previously government employees. That’s 74.42%. In 2023, they employed 34 lobbyists. 84.29% were former government employees (elected, appointed, or hired).  

When it comes to donations from 3M, the same hold true about top executives donating. 64.40% of all donations went to Democratic candidates, organizations, or causes. Republicans got 35.60%. Interestingly, 74.86% of incumbents were supported compared to just 25.14% of challengers. Kamala Harris was the top dollar among candidate, picking up 105,639 dollars.  Donald Trump received just over $21,000 while the conservative oriented “Never Back Down, Inc” received $150,000 in donations.

Airbnb’s top executive donors gave Kamala Harris the most. $224,995 went to her campaign with only Maryland’s Future, a conservative outfit, picking any money for the right of center crowd. They received $25,000. Of note, $43,050 went to the Libertarian Party’s National Committee . 93.92% of all donations went to candidates compared to just 6.08% that went to political action committees.

As an aside, Airbnb co-founder, Joe Gebbia, joined Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”), which is headed by Elon Musk.  Gebbia stepped down from his executive role at Airbnb in 2022 but remains active on the board of directors. 

In terms of lobbying, Airbnb spent $940,000 in 2024, which is down from $1,030,000 in 2023. They employed 22 lobbyists in 2024, of which 68.19% held government jobs previously (elected, appointed, or hired).

General Electric earned close to $7 billion dollars in 2023 and not only didn’t pay any federal taxes, they actually got a refund of $423 million dollars! T-Mobile paid 0.4% in federal taxes yet bought back $13 billion dollars of its own stock back in 2023, giving its shareholders a hefty profit on their investment.

Top executives at GE gave Kamala Harris $159, 351. Trump received $43,987. The DNC Services Corporation got $43,342 while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee picked up $32,369. The National Republican Senatorial Committee got $20,527. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took in $19,931 in donations from GE executives.

The overall total donated for the 2024 election cycle was $1,139,136. GE lobbyists “invested” $3.570,000 in 2024. 44 of their 68 lobbyists (64.71%) previously held a government job as note above.  In 2023, it was 71.23% of the 73 lobbyists they employed.

Meta (which owns Facebook) spent $20 billion dollars on stock buyback in 2023, which was four times more than they paid in federal taxes. General Motors spent $11 billion dollars on stock buybacks, which was 40 times more than they paid in federal taxes.

In 2024, Meta spent $24.4 million on lobbying efforts while key executives at Meta donated over $5.5 million to candidates, PACs, and other organizations. Kamala Harris received the most at $1,657,461.  It’s worth mentioning that 53 of their 65 lobbyists previously held government jobs. That’s 81.54%.

These are just a smattering of companies who pay little or no federal taxes. JP Morgan Chase for instance had an effective federal tax rate of 5.9% in 2021 despite earnings of $48 billion. Microsoft ‘s effective tax rate was 9.7 although its earning were $33.7 billion. Chevron’s was 1.8% but earned profits of $9.5 billion, and the list goes on.  

Of course, they take full advantage of whatever deductions are available based on existing federal laws, and who can blame them? However, it is noteworthy that many of key officers for these corporations have also made substantial political contributions. In addition, many of their top executives have received compensation greater than the amount of federal tax their corporation pays.

What can we do? Frankly nothing as long as Citizens United remains in place. However, Congress could mandate a minimum tax based on anticipated profits by independent auditors. They could also direct that no donations can be made to candidates who have a direct relationship with their industry or that all donations over $5000 per person must be directed to a blind trust, to be dispersed by the party along with a percentage to be donated to a fund available to third party and Independent candidates.

Additionally, the cap of $3,500 an individual can donate per campaign should be eliminated. Afterall, people should be entitled to the same “free speech” as corporations, who are nothing but legal fictions. Of course, partisan gerrymandering must end, and term limits must be imposed. Lobbyists should no longer write legislation and all interaction between election or appointed officials, their staff, and lobbyists should be transparent and made public. 

Rank choice voting would also be a good step for more fair elections as would equal ballot access. Lastly, parties should be responsible for funding their own primaries. Until then, the corporate takeover of  elections will continue.

 

Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

Elon Musk spent $277 million to back Trump and Republicancandidates

Telsa Reported Zero Federal Income Taxes on $2 Billion ofU.S. Income in 2024

Big Corporations Paid Shockingly Little Taxes Last Year

 

Nearly 10% Of S&P 500 Companies Paid No Tax----Including Telsa

FEC: Contribution Limits

These 19 Fortune 100 Companies Paid next To Nothing---or Nothing at All---in Taxes in 2021

Who Pays and Doesn’t Pay Federal Income Taxes in the U.S.?

 

 

 

How companies like Amazon, Nike, and FedEx avoid paying federaltaxes

 

Welcome to the New Reality: The Death of the Republic and Rise of the Corporatocracy

 

As most everyone knows, aside from their role as legislators, one of the key functions of Congress is to act as the keeper of the nation’s wallet. They are the ones who approve and allocate our tax dollars. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “It is the duty of the President to propose, and it is the privilege of Congress to dispose”, and indeed it is.

What happens when the government has a debit crisis or to use an accounting expression, when our “outflow exceeds our inflow”? In short, the government is spending more than we bringing in? No business can do that for long and stay afloat, and no ordinary household can survive for long before the bill collectors come calling. Government has no mandate like the rest of us to follow a strict budget. So what then? 

In the case of the United States Government, there is no one coming to bail us out.  The government's credit is based on nothing more than its "good faith", which is short for "trust us". Those who own our debt are mostly other countries like Japan ($1.1 trillion), the UK ($690 billion), and China ($749 billion); they're essentially stuck. They have no hard collateral like the Capital Building or Mt. Rushmore to foreclose on and sell off on the steps of the ICC to the highest bidder. The most they can do is ride out the financial storm or throw more money at the problem and hope “we” (that is, the President and Congress) can somehow work it out.

The usual answer is raising interest rates, which increases the cost of borrowing money from the Federal Reserve. This, in turn, typically means a hike in wholesale prices which means, as nearly always, ultimately gets passed on to you and me. As a result, we are the ones who ultimately take the hit for their bad policy decisions and mismanagement.    

Sometimes, war is used to artificially stimulate the economy and reduce high unemployment numbers. But as for Congress itself, there are no real consequences and yet, aren't they ultimately responsible for the problem itself? 

Well, yes, but Congress goes happily on their merry way without having to take responsibility for their actions (or in some cases, inactions).  For decades now, their approval rating has been in preverbal toilet, typically ranging from a low of 9% in 2019 to a high of 29% as of February 2025, but do you think they care? Nope. Not really. Have you ever wondered why that is?

According to Open Secrets, in 2024 Democrats received $1,163,550,563. Of that, $1,187,730 came from political action committees (“PACs”). $1,802,512,049 was from individuals. Republicans raised $637,855,365. PACs were responsible for $1,018,830 while individual contributions made up $581,463,551. The majority of the money came from corporate donors and very wealthy families, and we can thank the 2010 Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court for that.

Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX and current satrap of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), for instance gave $291,482,587, all to the GOP.  Timothy Mellon gave $197,047,200 with the overwhelming majority going to the Republican Party as well. Miriam O. Adelson (owner of the Sands in Las Vegas and the Adelson Drug Clinic) donated $148,304,900, also to the Republicans.

Michael Bloomberg, the former Mayor of New York, gave $60,839,734 to the Democrats and a token $1 million to the Republicans. Dustin Moskovitz, owner of Asana, Inc, dropped $50,671,800 to the Democrats as well.

Steve Swartzman of Blackrock Group contributed $40,178,539 to the GOP while Bob Bigelow, owner of Bigelow Industries, gave them $34,990,500. Reid Garrett Hoffman, owner of LinkedIn, gave the Democrats $28,804,480 and a polite $400,000 to the Republicans.

When it came to corporate donors, SpaceX was again on top with $287,930,952 going to the Republicans. Another $767,131 went to the Democrats. The Fund for Policy Reform contributed $60,000,000 to the Democrats. Ripple, a software developer, gave $15,685,583 to the Democrats as well and $2,970,303 to the GOP.  Building America’s Future donated $33,470,000 to the Republican Party.

These are just a very small sample of the big dollars that went into the elections of 2024. In addition, most of these groups also donated money to smaller outside organizations. For instance, Citadel, Inc., a preeminent multinational hedge fund, amassed $108,669,316 in contributions (making it the fourth largest corporate donor) spent the bulk of its money on Republican groups which included Keystone Renewal PAC, American Patriots PAC, Fix Washington PAC, and the Senate Leadership Fund just to name a few.

Greylock Partners, one of the nation’s oldest venture capital firms, donated $35,900,577, ranking it the 26^th largest corporate donor, gave all of it to exclusively Democratic related groups that included WelcomePAC, American Bridge 21^st Century, Granite Committee, and Future Forward USA to name just four.

There were quite a number of PACs (some of which were self-funded by members such as the NRA and AARP) which made heavy political contributions as well. Many choose to hedge their bets by contributing to both parties. However, the lion’s share of their money went to incumbents irrespective of party.  The reason is because, thanks to partisan gerrymandering and the absence of term limits, 97% of Congressional incumbents were reelected in 2024. It was the same at the state level. 94% of state executives were reelected as were 92% of state judicial incumbents. Those are better percentage than even the old Soviet Politburo had!

Another reasons Congress couldn’t privately care less about voter opinion is that the majority are millionaires. They don’t need the job. This is basically about acquiring power and making connections, and if you can pick up a few extra million along the way, well so be it. Let’s take a look.

Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida has a net worth of around $549.91 million dollars. Everyone’s favorite Democrat, Former Speaker of House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California is believed to have a net worth of $267.6 million dollars!  In 2023, she listed the value of her household assets at $92 million. Not bad for having a combined salary of $250,000 a year ($174,000 base plus leadership and committee bonuses).

As of 2024, there were 13,043 lobbyists operating in Washington, mostly along “K” Street, which employs roughly 100,000 researchers, analysist, public relations and media specialists, data entry, and others needed to support the influence industry while many of the lobbyists themselves are former legislators or senior staffers.

Despite that number, much of the business is handled by just 300 firms. Most represent corporations, trade associations, and unions.  In that same year---2024---they invested just over $4.43 billion dollars to get their message (and candidate) across the finish line.

 Unfortunately, those that represent ordinary working class Americans are few and far between. Corporate donors, on average, give close to ten dollars for every two unions contribute and, in an election related crunch, they’re quite capable of  ponying up a lot more, further dwarfing anything unions can come up with. 

Lastly, and I want to be clear about this, you can bet your house, your children, or whatever else you hold dear, that money of this magnitude isn't given to be "patriotic" or be seen as being a "responsible citizen". It's an investment like any other. They intend on getting their money's worth and then some from this "investment" and when it (or they) cease to be useful, they'll quickly move on and find another that is.  I suppose you could think of primaries as political search engine of sorts; a way to find the next compatible cog for the machine.  

Another reason voters get a yawn, as noted above, is due to partisan gerrymandering. President John Adams originally said that redistricting should provide an “exact portrait, a miniature” of the nation as whole.  He would be deeply disappointed to see what redistricting has become. Every ten years states are supposed to redraw their legislative and Congressional districts following the results of the census so that voter demographics are properly represented, but that’s not what has happened.

Nowadays, redistricting tends to happen along the lines of majority political party in power, meaning that if the Republicans for instance control the State Legislator, the districts will be redrawn accordingly. Same if the Democrats are in charge while the nation’s largest political demographic, Independents, as well as third parties, are ignored. Thus, you end up with districts which are intended to virtually ensure the dominant political party retains control of those districts. Hardly fair or balanced.

Attempts to reform redistricting has typically run into stone wall erected by both parties in order to protect “their” political turf. A case in point was the 2019 Supreme Court’s Rucho v. Common Cause decision is a great example. Although the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibit racial discrimination, the court decided that while partisan gerrymandering was “incompatible with democratic principles”, it could not be addressed at the federal level! That meant returning to the state which was responsible for the situation to begin with and leaving the matter unresolved.

A few states have taken the bold step of taking the power to gerrymander out of the hands of the state legislators and assigned them to non-partisan institutions such as universities and colleges on a rotating basis or independent commissions, but don’t expect to see this spread nationwide until voters stage a ballot box revolt and start automatically voting against the sitting party in that district.   

The absence of term limits is another main reason members of Congress (and the federal judiciary) doesn’t particularly care about voter opinions. Image having a job where no matter how crappy of a job you do, you won’t get fired. Well, that’s Congress and judiciary.  How’s that possible?

Well, thanks to a political system which has been corrupted to the point where vested interests financially underwrite the campaigns of those who are to regulate them, where they fill party coffers, write the legislation which affects them, where districts are redrawn to give one group a perpetual partisan majority over another, make decisions contrary to the interests of the people they’re supposed to represent, and then ensures that they can serve almost indefinitely.  

It bears mentioning that the majority of Americans want to see term limits. According to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 82% of Americans want term limits. Of this, 89% were Republicans,  83% were Independents, and 76% were Democrats. Obviously, there’s no ambiguity here.  

Americans want an end to a corrupt system which caps the President to two four year terms while giving Congress unlimited terms and the federal judiciary life appointments.  Even at the individual state level, voters want to see term limits. In Kentucky it’s 84%. In Maine it’s 75%. 84% in Montana. 75% in Utah. 80% in Georgia. 77% in Florida, and 78% in Alaska.

This is the political system we now have. It isn’t the Republic envisioned by the Founders of this country of a limited government or one run by and for “citizen legislators”.  This is the vision of  our new Founders, the ultra-wealthy Oligarchs, and the creation of a neo-fascist corporatocracy, leaving us with a “managed limited democracy” and a surveillance state. President Trump may try to restore the Republic, or what’s lefts of it, but the corruption has become institutionalized,  and both sides benefit from it. The only losers are those for whom the nation was created----its citizens. Welcome to our new reality.

 

Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

Lobbying in the United States

Citizens United v. FEC

Lobbying Data Summary

Rucho v. Common Cause 18-422 588 U.S. 684 (2019)

Election results,2024: Incumbents wins by state

Tomboulides Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee

Term Limits Polling Results

 

 

 

Let Me Tell You About The Very Rich...And Politics

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different. ”---F. Scott Fitzgerald ("The Rich Boy" 1926).

Indeed the rich are different. For one, they run the government. Over half of the members of Congress are millionaires (compared to just 4% of the entire U.S. population). Some are multimillionaires several times over. They are some of the "one percenters" at the top of the financial pyramid. Most, who aren't millionaires going in, usually are in fairly short order after being elected and nearly all are by the time they leave office, which isn't to shabby for a job that pays an average of just $174,000 annually.

 Some positions pay slightly more. The Speaker of the House pays $223,500 while the House Majority and Minority Leader positions make $193,400 a year. Over in the Senate, the Senate President Pro Tempore, and both the Majority and Minority leaders gets $193,400 each, but this doesn't account for their wealth.  One key reason for their wealth, however, is the huge sums of money they receive from their corporate "sponsors" (which sounds so much better than "owners", but it's essentially the same thing), and best of all, their party membership counts for nothing.

Members of Congress receive millions from corporations while their campaigns take in billions thanks to the flawed 2010 Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court. Some of it comes via lobbyists while the rest goes into so-called "Leadership Pacs" which are basically slush funds members of Congress create for themselves. Money also comes indirectly through a wide number of "perks" not to mention all the benefits they vote themselves including some lucrative pension and health benefit plans.

As an aside, for every one of the 535 members of Congress (Senate and House of Representatives), there are at least 23 lobbyists (with not a single one representing the average U.S. voter). It's also worth noting that the majority of members of Congress and/or their staff go on to become very well paid corporate lobbyists or "consultants". The average former Congress member gets a nearly 1500% pay raise as soon as they move onto K Street. These same lobbyists also help write the bills that go on to become laws.

To further drive home the point, I've included a very informative and entertaining video from Second Thought entitled "How Are They So Wealthy?" which will help explain some of the ways Congress milks the system (and taxpayers). The video is only 12:46 minutes long.

While the video focuses mainly on former Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi, it certainly could apply to just about anyone in Congress. It demonstrates just how different the rich are from you and me, and how they look after each other's interests. Not ours. I've also included to interesting links as well.  Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did!

Click Here:

Second Thought:  "How Are They So Wealthy?"

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NTUF: Congress Pay & Perks.

 

OpenSecrets: Summary: Leadership PACs

Open Secrets: Revolving Door Summary: Former Members

 

OpenSecrets: Money to Congress

STAT:More than two-thirds of Congress cashed a pharma campaign check in 2020, STATanalysis shows

POGO:Representatives are Too Invested in Defense Contractors

DefenseNews: Largest defense firms donate millions to election-denying lawmakers

 

 

Two Peas in a Pod: Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell

Two of the most disliked members of the dishonorable elite are Representative Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from San Francisco and Speaker of the House, and the Republican Senator from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader.

Nancy Pelosi has been a member of House since 1987, and for much of her time in office, she has held one of the most powerful positions in Congress, Speaker of House (2007 - 2011 and 2019 - Present). She is also one of the wealthiest members of Congress, which is saying something given that Congress is the bastion of millionaires to begin with.

According to Open Secrets, Pelosi is the sixth wealthiest member of Congress. She has an estimated net worth of $135 million dollars. She makes $210,000 from her position in Congress. However, her monthly income from investments brings in $1 million dollars. It's worth noting that her portfolio includes investments in IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobil, Pfizer, Bank of America, and General Electric; all part of the ruling Corporatocracy which pulls Congress's purse strings.  

As an aside, Pelosi has been consistently one of the most disliked members of not just the House, but Congress of years. So how does she manage to keep getting reelected?  Pelosi's is from San Francisco's 12th District, which covers the entirely of the city itself, and thus is 100% urban; the fertile soil of the Democratic Party. The median income is just under $121,000.

Despite her strict Italian Catholic upbringing, Pelosi represents an extremely liberal district, reflecting its racial and cultural makeup. It is one of the so-called major "sanctuary" cities, offering support to illegal immigrants in violation of federal immigrations laws and still receiving federal dollars, thanks to people like Pelosi.  

Racially it's mainly white at 43.5%, followed by Asian with 31.9%, Hispanic 14.3%, black at 5.4%, and mixed race making up 3.9%. Males comprise 51.3% of population while females are 48.7%. With a population of 771,000, it has one of the highest LGBQT concentrations in the country.

 When it comes to voter registration, just under half of district's residents are either registered to vote (total voter registration is 425,290). With its well earned liberal tradition, it's not surprising the 12th District is overwhelmingly Democrat with 57.50% of the voters. Republicans make up just 6.61%, followed by Independents with 1.65%.  Pelosi won her last race in 2020 with a commanding 74% of the vote.

So, the only way Pelosi can lose is if a strong and very wealthy Democratic candidate runs against her, which is unlikely to happen (in addition, Pelosi is very good friends and neighbor with former San Francisco mayor and current senator, Diane Feinstein).

As for Mitch McConnell, he's been a member of what's been called "the most exclusive private club in the world" since 1985; representing Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, which includes upper incomes of eastern Jefferson County, and much of Northern Kentucky extending to the Ft. Thomas, Newport, and Covington (all of which are considered part of the Greater Cincinnati area).

Aside from the wealthy portions of Louisville/Jefferson County, the 4th Congressional District in general is well to do, especially the areas close to Cincinnati. It is also one of the first Congressional districts in Kentucky to become solidly Republican in what was once a hardcore Democrat state (albeit a fairly conservative one).

In terms of registration, the 4th Congressional District has 619,460 registered voters. Of that, 49.50%  are Republicans. Democrats make up 38.31%, while Independents and third parties (most notably the growing Libertarian Party) comprise a total of 12.19% of voters.  

It's worth nothing that Louisville/Jefferson County, which is Kentucky's largest city and the economic engine of the state, is one of the last Democratic bastions remaining in a de facto red state. While there are pockets of traditionally liberal Democrats (notably in the city's Highlands), most residents tend to lean conservative on the majority of issues.

Louisville also has the highest concentration of LGBQT individuals as well, who are known to be very politically active and predominately Democrat. Nevertheless, it appears that the 80 year old senator's base is pretty secure for the foreseeable future. As for his approval rating, that's something altogether different.

Like Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Senator Mitch McConnell is one of the most unpopular individuals in Congress. In a December 2021 Gallup Poll, McConnell came in first place (or should that be last place?) as the most disliked person in Congress with an approval rating of 34%. For what it's worth, Pelosi was second place with 40%. Chief Justice John Roberts was the most favorable with 60%, but that was, of course, before the Roe v. Wade decision.

Even at home, the Senator's disapproval rating hovers around a 53%, and yet despite the best efforts of Democrats, he keeps winning (when I say "best efforts", it's usually political retreads or inept newbies harping on the wrong message). Nationally, it gets worse. In a May 2022 survey, the Senior Senator's approval rating was a mere 28%.  To stay in office, despite poor approval ratings, takes a lot of money, and Senator McConnell easily makes bank. Who are his biggest donors?

The majority of McConnell's donations come from Wall Street, especially banks and other financial institutions, including healthcare and real estate investment firms. Other top donors include insurance, energy and technology companies which contributed $6.3 million dollars in 2020.

Some of the top donors include the financially powerful Blackstone Group, Humana, NorPac, and Kindred Health. One of the largest is Kent Companies, a third generation family owned construction company based in Midland Texas. It has donated $6.94 million dollars into McConnell's war chest.

Other donors include BlueCross/Blue Shield, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, UPS, Brown-Foreman, Citigroup, General Electric, Peabody Energy, FedEx, and  JP Morgan and Chase. With all those "political investors" in Mitch McConnell, just how much money does he have in his war chest?

When combined with the Senate Leadership Fund (a super PAC), One Nation (a political nonprofit fund), McConnell controls just under $90 million dollars (or $87.5 million to be precise) as of January 2022.  In 2021, he raised a total of $100 million dollars which he used, in part, to help fellow Republicans in Congress with their re-election efforts. Is it any wonder the Kentucky senator so strongly supported Citizens United?

As for the senator himself, he's done alright personally. According to an article by Forbes, Mitch McConnell earns $200,000 annually as senator. With investments, his monthly income is $900,000. His Wall Street investments exceed approximately $25 million dollars in stocks and bonds. Overall, his net worth is around $150 million dollars, making him the 19th richest member of Congress.

Irrespective of their popularity ratings, Pelosi and McConnell have done quite well in politics. The same can be said for Congress in general where more than half were millionaires going in and practically all are coming out. Compare that to just 8% of the total population who are millionaires, and you'll have to agree that Congress doesn't even begin to represent most Americans. They have little or no concept what the average American goes through on a daily basis just to make ends meet. That's mostly thanks to Citizens United.

That fact that these individuals who make up the House of Representatives and Senate can have a reelection percentage of over 90% despite sustained dismal approval ratings under 30%  is due to partisan gerrymandering and (again) Citizens United, not to mention unregulated term limits which allows them to hold office practically forever no matter how poor their performance. Isn't it time for a change?

If you want to know more, please take a look at the links below. If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing it along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on whatever platform you use to read A/O. It helps with the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Thank you!  

 

Justice Roberts Tops Federal Leaders in American Approval

Nancy Pelosi Net Worth 2022: Salary Stock Portfolio Wealth

Favorability of Mitch McConnell among U.S. adults, as of May2022

McConnell-aligned groups build $87.5m war chest to spend onwinning Senate majority

Congressional Stagnation in the United States

Ways to Manage the Political Deceit in America

It's no great secret that the two corporate owned political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are minority parties, with the Democrats only slightly larger than the Republicans. The largest political bloc in America are the Independents. As of the end of October 2021, Democrats and Republicans were tied at 26% each while Independents had 44% of registered voters. 

However, the media, which is owned by some of the same corporations which own the Democrat and Republican parties try their best to suppress that little nugget of information and act as if there are only two parties to choice from and everyone else is are either nut cases or don't count.

Both parties do their level best to keep Independent and third parties out of the political process by creating numerous barriers such as blocking them from participating in debates (especially televised), imposing unrealistic signatures requirements of petitions to get on the ballot, and preventing them from obtaining access to big money donors to name just a few.

Independents and third parties are often bypassed when it comes to political appointments to boards, commissions, and  offices. They aren't even represented on Boards of Elections. They are typically just lumped in with which party has the fewest registered voters in a particular county.  

But are we really surprised? After all, it's not about representation of us anymore. It's about power and control. Besides, our Founding Father's warned us against political parties. They felt they would devolve into special interest cliques run by a handful of powerful individuals or groups, depriving citizens of their influence over government.

Oddly, it's little wonder that many of the descendents of the Founding Fathers actually approved of the Confederate Republic (not that they agreed or disagreed over the slavery issue). The reason was that the Confederate Government operated with a generally weak central government and much of the power retained by the states.

In addition, under the Confederate Republic, there were no political parties (although there were small ad hoc cliques which would form and dissolve over various issues). If you want to know more about how the Confederate Government was structured and functioned, you might want to check out "The Confederate Republic: A Revolution Against Politics" by George C. Rable.

Without political parties  it also meant that regardless of who won, everyone was represented since there was no partisan loyalty to adhere to. No dogma to blindly follow. Under out current "winner-take-all" system, those whose party wins are represented while those on the losing end are not. Plus the more people involved in the political process the harder it is to corrupt, especially if they're non-partisan.

Perhaps that's why all the other democracies in the world are based on the English parliamentary system in which everyone is represented on a percentage basis so even if your party loses, you still have representation.

Those descendents of the Founding Fathers thought that the design of the Confederate Republic was more like what the Founders had in mind. Besides, after the Civil War ended in 1865, the Federal Government quickly begun to acquire more and more power and control while the states became increasingly more beholden to Washington.

Today's two main parties represent corporate interests, despite their well orchestrated propaganda to the contrary which is designed to give us the illusion of choice.  If we received any benefit, it's usually an accidental byproduct of some compromise between competing corporate interests. But it doesn't have to be that way. While it may not seem or feel like it, we do still have some power left (at least for the moment).

There are things we can do such as demand term limits of no more than 12 years. If refused, we can impose our own defacto "term limits" by voting against incumbents who've held office for more than 12 years. We can also start voting for Independents and third party candidates, especially at the state and local levels.

Additionally, we can demand that our federal and state election officials along with key legislators institute a fair and level election playing field. No more defacto rigged elections by requiring Democrat of Republican candidates three or six signatures to get on the ballot while making Independents and third party candidates get one hundred or thousands at the federal level, not to mention jumping through all sorts of legal hoops (designed jointly by lawyers of both parties) to qualify separately in each and every state.  

Along with term limits, we could implement Rank Choice Voting which lets voters rank candidates by preference (party membership can also be removed too), which eliminates the need for partisan primaries. The top candidate wins. In case of a tie, there can be a run off.

Also key to restoring fairness in our elections is putting an end to partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering basically allows the two parties to draw districts in a way in which they get most of the registered voters for their party instead of drawing around natural boundaries or keeping neighborhoods and communities intact. Essentially, the parties select their voters. Redrawing districts could be done by a local university. To avoid partiality, there could be a rotating series of colleges and universities used.

Citizens should also have the right to put issues directly on the ballot without going through partisan gatekeepers. Where I live, in Kentucky, we are only allow to submit a petition to the legislature for their approval, which, if granted, will be put on the ballot with any changes as they see fit. Basically, we have to seek their permission.

Along the same lines, voters should have the final say on any tax, rate, fee, or elected official salary increases. Politicians are nefarious when it comes to our money. Only the threat of a "no" vote will keep them honest enough to submit a increase proposal that's truly needed.

We need to remember too that corporations, through their lobbyists, write most legislation. They fund both the candidates and the parties while we have no input in the writing of laws or citizen based lobbyist organizations representing us. That's why the voters should have a right to introduce initiatives directly onto the ballot (after review by either the county attorney or state Attorney General to ensure the proper legal wording and that no laws are being violated). It's also why voters should have the last say on any increases.  All lobbyist involvement should be an open record without exception.

Finally, and without a doubt, the most important issue that must happen if we are to reclaim our power over government is to get corporate money out of politics. Perhaps the worst thing that has happened in politics was the approval of Citizens United by an uninformed Supreme Court. Citizens United affirmed that corporations are, in some magical way, "people" and thus not just "entitled" to the same rights as you and me, but when it comes to money (which was erroneously equated with "free speech").

The High Court said corporations could donate whatever they wanted. No more caps. meanwhile, you and I are still limited, not that we could compete with corporations anyway. Not even unions can match corporate donations (for every dollar a union donates, corporations donate a minimum of five).  At the same time, Independents and third parties are locked out.

That's because we are a Corporatocracy, which is a de facto merger or close partnership between Big Business and government. As an aside, a Corporatocracy does not, as you may have guessed, have anything to do with "socialism" unless you mean "corporate socialism". A Corporatocracy is managed by a small group of the very wealthy commonly called an Oligarchy though a Kleptocracy or other terms are sometimes used.

A Corporatocracy is a neo-fascist entity which, like any form of fascism, borrows from the Left and Right based on a country's history, traditions, and values.  It's why the fascism of Nazi Germany was different from that of Spain, which differed from Argentina's which differed from Italy's, which differed again from Hungary or Romania.

It will play groups---race, gender, class, religion, ideology, and so on--- off of each other while trying to create as many divisions as possible in what's called "Identity Politics". In 1939 it was the Jews and Roma gypsies who were the designed scapegoats. Today it seems to be whites and Asians. The more divided society is the easier it is to control and manipulate. 

It may even promote violence from behind the scenes to create chaos and raise the level of civil frustration with the state of affairs, and as way to vent aggression until it's ready to exploit it. It will manufacture wars for its own economic gain behind a mask of freedom, liberty, and patriotism.

A Corporatocracy will act incrementally to avoid attracting undo attention by the public, but, like water pushing against a dam or wall, it will push everywhere simultaneously looking for a weak or soft spot. It may even retract now and again, only to advance somewhere else.  Meanwhile, this neo-fascist state will attempt to demonize whatever it fears, and what it fears the most is whatever can replace it or take its power and control away. Remember that. In today's world, it's important.

As an aside, the media is part and parcel of the Corporatocracy. It serves as the "propaganda wing". 96+% of all media outlets---TV, internet content, movies, video games, magazines, books, newspapers, the news in all its forms, etc.---are owned by just six corporations. They set the agenda and the slant. They decide what and how we see or hear what we do. They manipulate our perceptions.  When they do "endorsements", they are openly trying to influence your vote. 

Personally, I don't think the media should "endorse" anyone. It's not their job. That's being biased. The news is about facts, not opinions or innuendos. I was (and remain) blacklisted by a one trick pony newspaper for exposing the endorsement process.  What we want is the unvarnished facts. Tell us where they stand on various issues. We can make our own decisions from there.

If any of this looks or sounds familiar, it's because it is and it's by no coincidence. It's been repeated and refined down through history. There are things we can do as I've outlined above. But it will only happen if we put aside all the petty divisions which we've been manipulated into believing. It will also only happen if we come together and focus solely on the "man behind the curtain" to borrow from Dorothy in Oz.

Alternatively, we can pretend all these divisions are real and continue to be divided further and further apart until only a fuehrer like individual can put us back together again...in his or its image. It's happened before, often starting out with the best of intentions but it never ends well. Never.  So, what do you want to do? Which path do you want to go down?   

If you want to know more, please take a look at the links below. If you enjoyed the article, please consider subscribing. It's free!

 

FairVote: How RCV Works

Initiatives and referendums in the United States

How Congress can stop gerrymandering: Deny seats to statesthat still do it

Ending Gerrymandering

 

Gallup: Party Affiliation

 

 

A Lesson in Fractured Politics (and 10 Common Sense Solutions)

We've often discussed how America is no longer a Constitutional or democratic Republic over the years. America, as you know, is an Corporatocracy , run by an Oligarchy comprised small clique of very rich individuals who are pulling the political strings of this country.  As various academic studies have shown, the average taxpayer in this country has a statistically probably of zero percent of having any real influence on Congress. 

Compare this with corporations, who spend millions on lobbyists and millions more on financing campaigns and underwriting politicians, who have a near 100% likelihood of success in getting what they want from Congress (not to mention the fact that the same corporate lobbyists actually write the legislation they want passed). 

In 2020, 55 corporations alone spent $450 million dollars over three campaign cycles and sent 526 lobbyists to Washington to make sure they got what they wanted..and paid for..  So, is it any wonder that the majority of these same companies not only pay nothing in taxes, but often get back millions of taxpayer dollars?

Just so you don't think that only one party is to blame, remember that these lobbyists cater to both sides of aisle. The top two House and Senate Democrat committees received $1.45 million dollars while the same committees on the Republican side were given $1.3 million. In exchange for enabling them to avoid federal taxes, these same 55 corporations got back $3.5 billion dollars in paid taxes and avoided another $8.5 billion in potential taxes.

Who are these companies?  While you could just go down the list of major Wall Street companies, a few stand out. One is Archer Daniels Midland, the giant food conglomerate. They made $438 million dollars in pre-tax profit. Not only did they avoid paying any federal taxes, they actually got a tax rebate of $164  million dollars. Athletic apparel maker, Nike, made $2.9 billion dollars and paid nothing in federal taxes. Instead, they got a rebate of $109 million dollars.

FedEx earned a profit of $1.2 billion dollars and received a rebate of $230 million dollars. Of course, there are many more, and these don't even include companies like Exxon, Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Chevron, General Motors  and others like them who either paid no federal taxes, or next to nothing.

Of course, each one will tell you that they paid what taxes they were obligated to paid. But what they won't tell you is how their lobbyists, either directly or through trade and professional associations, were able to lobby members of Congress into sponsoring bills they (the lobbyists) wrote or helped write and shepherded through the various committees and onto the House and/or Senate floor for a final vote.

I'll Take Two Congressmen and Hold the Mayo

According to OpenSecrets, in 2020, lobbyists paid out $14,869,908 to Democrats and $14,175,224 to Republicans (the average "donation" was about $30,000). Another $129,095 went to other individuals such as senior staffers. Of the money given, almost all of it went to incumbents. Now, do you want to know who was the beneficiaries in 2020? Well, I'll tell you.

In 2020, the top beneficiary of Corporate America's largess was none other than Joe Biden who received $776,590.  David Purdue (R-GA) got $712,710. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) took in $593,330. Next was Thom Tillis (R-NC) who was gifted $558,702. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) saw $537,229 in donations from lobbyists. Among other notables, Donald Trump (R) received only $269,112. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) got $153,936. Dick Durbin (D-IL) picked up $145,600 while Liz Cheney (R-WY) saw $123,170.  Chuck Schumer (D-NY) got $116,463.

Now, while this might not seem like a lot, remember this was just one election cycle and doesn't include any in-kind contributions, nor does it include any monies donated by corporate lobbyists to various partisan committees (such as the National Republican Senatorial Committee which received $2,771,454  or Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee which took in $1,111,816).

Often these committees redirect money to certain campaigns, "Leadership Committees", or political action committees (aka PACs) which are set up to avoid donation caps and, in many cases, are designed to give the false impression of widespread popular support for some issue or candidate.

I would be remiss not to point out that most members of Congress put in an average 10 -12 hour day, of which over half is typically used not on "the People's business" as Nancy Pelosi likes to say, but on fundraising either for themselves, the party, a committee or PAC. As for writing bills, that's all subbed out to corporate lobbyists.

There should be no question in your minds that are Republic is gone. We have no one in Washington, or our state capitols, or even City Hall writing legislation for us. We the People can't even remotely hope to raise the kind of money that Corporate America does. Even unions can't compete. The best they can do is raising one dollar for every five dollars Wall Street gives. Such was the folly of Citizens United and unbelievable ignorance and political naiveté of the Chief Justices.

With gerrymandering practically guaranteeing a particular candidate's reelection and unlimited terms for most seats, who in their right mind can call this a democracy; a government of, by, and for the People?  To make matters worse, the same corporations which own government also own the media.

 That means they control and dictate content, and unless you have access to other sources of media outside the mainstream, you're not going to know what's really going on (as an aside, even your entertainment, be it music, movies, television, video game, or sports is controlled by the same folks. How does that make you feel---warm and fuzzy?). 

The House Always Wins

We're living in a dystopian society better constructed than the best SciFi author. Not even the great Ray Bradbury, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, or George Orwell could have come up with this, although they came close! The question (indeed, the only real question which matters) is what, if anything, we can do about it?

I think that at some deep level, we already have a sense of what needs to be done. We know the system is broke beyond repair. "Reform" at this point would be like trying to duck tape the Titanic. I don't think even Flex Seal will work! First, we need to stop thinking like partisans. We're Americans first, last, and foremost. Second, we have to accept the fact that the Founding Fathers were right when it came to political parties---they're wrong for society. They serve an interest which isn't the American People.

Third, we need to register to vote and encourage others to vote. In fact, voter registration should be automatic when you turn 18. As an aside, yes, we need photo IDs to vote. It doesn't discriminate against anyone except those trying to rig elections. A picture ID is the only way to ensure the right people shows up to vote. We need to go back to paper ballots. They weren't always perfect, and they took a bit longer, but they were harder to manipulate.

Elections need to be held either on the weekend or it should be a federal holiday. Fourth, we need voter initiatives and referendums. It's our right as citizens to place issues on the ballot, which is why career politicians fear them. Fifth, we need term limits to end career politicians and the accompanying cronyism.

Next, we need to end gerrymandering. Politicians shouldn't be allowed to pick their voters. Seventh, we need Rank Choice Voting to ensure we get the best choices available. Eighth, we must have a level political field. That means that the same rules apply for Independent and third party candidates as it does for partisan ones.

If a Democrat or Republican need just three signatures to get on the ballot, then why should a Independent or third party candidate need a hundred or a thousand (or more, depending on the office)? It's discrimination and it's illegal. Additionally, the public deserves to hear all points of view. Therefore, all candidates on the ballot should be included in all debates.

 Ninth, no political office should be partisan. When you're elected, you are elected to serve everyone, not just those of your party. As it is now, if someone outside your party is elected for your district, you aren't represented for the length of that term.  You also get the privilege of still having to pay taxes despite not being represented. Let that sink in!  All incoming office holders should resign from their political party in order to represent everyone in their district and community or state as a whole.

Finally, we absolutely must get corporate money out of politics. Citizens United was wrong. It effectively removed the ordinary citizen from having any influence in politics. It made Congress a de facto Millionaire's Club. We need to create other ways of financing elections, including public financing, free (but limited) TV and air time for candidates, and restricting the length of "campaign season" as a number of other countries do (many limit it to 60 or 90 days).

As an aside, speaking of campaign finance reform and the "Millionaire's Club" Congress, I thought you'd find this interesting. Remember those financial beneficiaries of lobbyists I mentioned above? Did you know that Kelly Loeffler's net worth is $500 million? David Perdue's is $15.9 million. Dick Durbin's $3 million. Mitch McConnell's is over $22.5 million. Nancy Pelosi's net worth is $120 million, while Thom Tillis' is about $10.5 million. Finally, Joe Biden's net worth is over $9 million. Don't sound like "common folk" to me. Do they to you? Oh, and there some whose net worth is far greater.

None of this isn't about scare mongering. This is reality. You can research it yourself just as I've done over many years. It's a lot of work, but there's a lot of us too. Pick one or two from the list above and get busy, or maybe come up with one of your own. But know that we can do it. We've overcome greater obstacles in our nation's past. We have to do this if we want our country and our Republic back. The alternative is to prepare for the long dark night that is surely to come. if you want to know more, check out the links below. They're a great way to start.

 

Corporations That Paid Zero Federal Income Tax Spent $400million in Lobbying

55 Corporations Paid $0 in Federal Taxes on 2020 Profits

60 Top Corporations Paid $0 Federal Tax Dollars Under TrumpTax Law

OpenSecrets: Lobbyists

OpenSecrets: Top Recipients of Contributions from Lobbyists2020

Not A Single Person in Congress Actually Writes Legislation or Laws. It's All Subbed Out to K Street

When Lobbyists Literally Write the Bill