By Ed Silverstein
The Bush administration handed Haliburton a no-bid Iraq reconstruction contract worth up to $7 billion, is deep-sixing FCC media ownership rules and is rushing to deploy a ridiculously expensive and highly questionable missile defense system. He has gutted environmental protections and is pushing a tax cut that has been lambasted by every respectable economist including Alan Greenspan.
The President peppered his administration with former Enron executives who in turn refused to intervene when Californians were being defrauded out of billions of dollars in a bogus energy crisis created by, among others, their former employer. And in a move akin to foxes providing security for the chicken coop, Bush directed Vice President Cheney to meet secretly with energy conglomerate executives to plot our national energy policy.
Gov. Gray Davis accepted more than $250,000 in contributions from the prison guard’s union, then gave them a $500 million salary increase just prior to announcing that California would face a record $35 billion deficit. And while in the midst of trying to trim back that deficit, he is again soliciting campaign contributions from lobbyists and big money supporters all anxious to insure that they retain their piece of the diminishing pie. Is it any wonder the governor is fighting for a tax hike?
Then there’s Mayor Hahn who awarded a $33 million airport construction contract to Tutor-Saliba — a major financial backer — despite the fact that they had been found by a Superior Court judge to have previously falsified claims on MTA work. Now, by threatening a veto, Hahn has delayed and possibly scuttled 60 Los Angeles ethics rule changes that would have eliminated or minimized just such influence buying contributions. The City Council, under pressure from the plumbing and pipe-fitters union, is dragging its feet on a revolutionary no flush urinal that saves up to 40,000 gallons of water per unit per year. The union cites “safety concerns,” rather than the lack of an (frequently repaired) flusher mechanism, as the reason for their objections.
Beverly Hills allowed oil companies to operate 18 well heads and a natural gas refining system beneath their high school, ignoring a report that admitted that the complex could cause health risks or even an explosion. In fact there was an explosion, but it was in the cancer rates of those who had attended the school.
The L.A. Unified School District is being investigated for allegedly overpaying for their headquarters site, which is owned, in part, by supporters of the current board. The building has a history of construction defects and will require tens of millions to refurbish and repair.
In Santa Monica, SMRR, the ruling political party, collects donations under the guise of keeping rents low then pursues agendas, such as the school parcel tax, that will result in increases for renters. The heavily union financed SMMR had party councilpersons push a living wage bill that exempted union businesses from living wage increases.
All of this proves one thing. America has the best government money can buy. Contributions from corporations and special interests have hijacked our electoral system and corrupted it at every level. We pay higher income taxes to support corporate welfare. Our tax dollars support research and development of prescription drugs yet we pay the highest prices. Corporate corruption is running rampant, leaving employees without pensions, retirees without savings and Americans victimized by deadly or defective products even while CEOs collect record salaries and perks. And is there anyone who believes that we would have gone to war against Iraq if there were no oil?
Our political system has degraded to the point that every legislative decision is weighed against the contributions it will gain or lose rather than the benefits for Americans. We are being sucked dry by corporate greed and the message it sends will debase the morality of a generation.
So what can we do? Campaign finance reform is crucial, but every bill faces nearly insurmountable hurdles. The McCain/Feingold bill is a prime example. In its original form it was ground-breaking and promising, but it had to pass through a gauntlet of, to paraphrase Arianna Huffington, “pigs at the corporate trough.”
Though savaged by the Republican leadership, the bill still proved too onerous for George Bush.
The President reneged on a promise to McCain and held up the appointment of a Democrat to the Federal Election Commission permitting the existing commissioners to approve numerous loopholes.
Finally passed into law, the bill was further victimized by constitutional court challenges. On Friday key provisions, including the ban on soft money, were struck down leaving McCain/Feingold barely clinging to life support. The only chance for meaningful reform is a campaign finance constitutional amendment that provides strict guidelines and broad regulatory powers over electoral financing, advertising and solicitation. But don’t hold your breath.
What’s left is for voters to … vote. Tell your local, state and national representatives that you are sick and tired of a government of big money, by big money and for big money. If they’re not willing to change (and that means more than lip service) vote against them and don’t be afraid to cross party lines. Recalling Gov. Gray Davis would be a perfect place to start.
If we don’t force our representatives off the corporate teat, then we will continue to relegate life-altering decisions on our health, education, environment, safety and war to those who make cigarettes, SUVs, asbestos and bombs. (Ed Silverstein is a freelance writer living in Santa Monica. No contributions were accepted in the writing of this column. Comments can be e-mailed to:).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 7, 2003. Read the original PDF.