Wall Street and Big Corporations Got What They Wanted—This Time
6/24/15
Fast track passes. Our Congress – the supposed representatives of We the People – voted to cut themselves and us out of the process of deciding what “the rules” for doing business “in the 21st Century” will be.
How do the plutocrats and oligarchs and their giant multinational corporations get what they want when a pesky democracy is in their way? They push that pesky democracy out of their way.
Because of fast track, when the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and any other secretly negotiated “trade” agreements are completed Congress must vote in a hurry with only limited debate, cannot make any amendments no matter what is in the agreement, and they can’t be filibustered.
Nothing else coming before our Congress gets that kind of skid-greasing, only corporate-written “trade” agreements – and it doesn’t matter how far the contents go beyond actual “trade.”
Fast track takes Congress out of the picture, just in case the checks arrive late and our Congress decides to act like it is supposed to. Fast track means that representatives of Wall Street and giant corporations and our plutocrats negotiate with the plutocrats and corporate interests of other countries to divide up the economic pie, and Congress agrees not to “meddle” with the result, only to rubber-stamp it.
Public Rising Up
In spite of a near-blackout of information in the major media, majorities of the public opposed fast track. Word got out anyway and “left” and “right” activists and grassroots and media were against it. Calls and letters to the offices of representatives and senators were running heavily, heavily against it. People were appealing to representatives and senators with petition after petition containing hundreds of thousands of names each. People were even showing up and protesting at the offices of representatives and senators all around the country....
....
This time it is The Money telling Congress to set aside our democratic deliberative process, to pass something that says they – the bodies that represent the people – can’t amend, can’t have extended debate. They are doing this for a secretly negotiated agreement, the result of a rigged corporate-dominated process. They are afraid of We the people so they are trying to find ways to get us out of their way.
Fast Track is The Money directing Congress to go utterly against what vast majorities of people actively say, going utterly against what movements of people are fighting for.
This goes beyond the Iraq War vote because there were blocks of the public on both sides of that fight – even if the “pro” block was largely manufactured by propaganda.
This goes beyond the public bailout of Wall Street (but not the rest of us) because there was no time for opposition to rally, and there was no crisis or panic to manipulate.
This time they just went ahead and did it and didn’t care how it looked....
http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/06/24/wall-street-and-big-corporations-got-what-they-wanted-this-time/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Then there was that Nation article about how we progressives just need to call our reps & petition the actual TPP in the House, and there's a glimmer of hope we can stop it...
Please.
I used to be optimistic. But now I believe We The People truly have no say much like communism, with govt surveillance & all...
Average U.S. Citizens Have “Little Or No” Influence On Government Policy
Is the U.S. the democracy it claims to be? A study finds that monied interests and big business call most of the shots in U.S. public policy and the average citizen has very little say.
http://www.mintpressnews.com/average-u-s-citizens-little-influence-government-policy/189520/
Personally, I think I just need to work only on Getting $$$ out of politics. Its the only thing that will help us. It's the bottom-line basis of most every problem we face.
And after Fast tracking away the Democratic Process, it was the tipping point for me, I'm no longer able to call myself a Democrat. I'm a progressive independent without representation.
Its sad for me. But there it is.
