The People’s Business
Controlling corporations and restoring democracy
By Lee Drutman and Charlie Cray
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One does not have to look far in Washington these days to find evidence that government policy is being crafted with America’s biggest corporations in mind.
For example, the Bush administration’s 2006 budget cuts the enforcement budgets of almost all the major regulatory agencies. If the gutting of the ergonomics rule, power plant emissions standards and drug safety programs was not already enough evidence that OSHA, EPA and FDA are deeply compromised, the slashing of their enforcement budgets presents the possibility—indeed, probability—that these public agencies will become captives of the private corporations they are supposed to regulate.
This should come as no surprise to anybody familiar with the streams of corporate money that flowed into Bush campaign coffers (as well as the Kerry campaign and all races for the House and Senate) in the 2004 election. The old “follow the money” adage leads us to a democracy in thrall to giant corporations—a democracy that is a far cry from the government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” that Lincoln hailed at Gettysburg.
At a time when our democracy appears to be so thoroughly under the sway of large corporations, it is tempting to give up on politics. We must resist this temptation. Democracy offers the best solution to challenging corporate power. We must engage as citizens, not just as consumers or investors angling for a share of President Bush’s “ownership society.”
To read the full article:http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1971/
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