As I approached the writing of this article, I wanted to consider all of the moral/ethical issues that, I feel, need to be addressed immediately in our society. I was confronted with one in particular that I believe not only underlies but encompasses almost every issue within our corrupted government. Money in politics. This issue can truly be found at the root of almost every problem we face today. The fossil fuel industry, health care industries, for-profit colleges, private prison corporations, military arms contractors, etc…all get tremendous amounts of government subsidies, thus stagnating advances in dealing with the pressing issue of climate change, lowering the quality and overall availability of healthcare while increasing the overall price, increasing college tuition and student loan debt, creating prisons that are unjustifiably producing more prisoners with longer sentences, and motivating numerous unnecessary foreign military interventions (just to name a few). Princeton University conducted a study that compared 1,779 policy outcomes to over 20 years’ worth of public opinion data. The results found that “economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy,” while average citizens “have basically no influence.” Big money is, of course, not the sole cause of this, but I believe it is playing the most notable role. Regardless, it is clear that the true meaning of democracy is not being demonstrated in our society, and the well-being of our society is plummeting greatly because of it.

It is proven that candidates who raise and spend the most money win more than 90 percent of federal elections, and because of this, an average member of Congress dedicates anywhere from 30 to 70 percent of their time in office fundraising. Most politicians are competing for the support of large donors, and they ultimately represent the interests of billionaires and corporations, the top one percent. The average donation from an elite group or individual is usually more than the median income of the average, middle-class American. Polls show that less than 10 percent of Americans have ever given money to a politician in their life, and less than a half of a percent of Americans have ever given a donation above 200 dollars. Over 75 percent of campaign funding comes from large individual donations and PACs (Political Action Committees). The rest comes from the respective political parties, small individual donations and self-funding by the candidates. Just 30 Super PACs typically raise more than the parties themselves and individual donations combined. For example, Koch industries, the second-largest privately owned company in the United States, budgeted 889 million dollars to donate in the 2016 elections. In the last elections, they donated 400 million dollars. Koch industries have also played an active role in opposing climate change legislation, among many other things. Clearly, the interests of a select few are disproportionately represented over the interests of the vast majority. To worsen this issue, is the secrecy of where exactly this money coming from. Over a quarter of the money received in the last election cycle is dark money, meaning we don’t know who is donating. 47 percent of politicians or groups receiving funds refuse to disclose who their donors are. This is all completely legal under the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling of 2008. Citizens United sued the Federal Elections Commission (which sets campaign finance laws), and in a five to four ruling, it was declared that government restriction on political spending by elite individuals, PACs, and top corporations was unconstitutional, claiming that it somehow inhibits freedom of speech. In short, the Citizens United ruling declared that corporations and PACs are individuals and should be allowed to contribute election-wise as such. This ruling not only allows donors to give money covertly, it allows donors to give money unlimitedly, with absolutely no regulations on how much funding a single organization can give to a single candidate or group.

There are a few major steps that need to be taken in order to stop this unfair and corrupt system. First and foremost, the Citizens United ruling needs to be brought back to the forefront of discussion and reversed as soon as possible. The “People’s Pledge," which would reduce spending by Super PACs and other secret outside groups, should be implemented in its place. Disclosure laws need to be toughened, and the American people need to be made aware of who is buying their elections. The power of big money needs to be broken with small donor contributions and public funds, which is something we can actually contribute to. We spend so much of our time debating specific issues, when in reality the state of our democracy hardly allows us to make any difference or contribution at all. It is most important that the power of corporate government is talked about more, and made known to all. This issue needs to be brought to greater attention in order to be fixed. We cannot go on accepting this injustice.