Big Bags of Money Syndrome

For decades there has been a growing problem with too much money in politics. Many of the problems we face today are the result of special interest groups (big business, banks, wall street, unions, etc.) contributing millions of dollars to elected officials for legislation favorable to the causes of these various special interests.

An example of this problem is the exorbatant fees and interest rates banks charge for credit cards. Not too long ago those exorbatant interest rates were a crime and would of been called loan sharking punishable by prosecution. What happened? Big bags of money from banking special interests went to elected officials to create enabiling legislation.

Another example would be the sub prime loan debacle. Although there are many facets to this fiasco, certainly a major part is the big bags of money that wall street special interests showered on our elected officials to not better regulate the then evolving sub prime mechanism.

Why do you think the Internal Revenue Code is so complicated that no one truly undestands it in it's entirety. Big bags of money have gone to Washington on behalf of special interests over the decades to gain favorable tax legislation.

Elected officials,especially at the higher levels, are under tremendous pressure to raise campaign funds. At the higher levels of office elected officials must raise thousands of dollars per day to stay competitive. This consumes too much of the time and energy of the people we elect to protect the public interest, time that shoud be spent working on the very difficult problems of the future of this nation, not to mention the unfair influence on legislation by powerful special interests.

So what can be done about excessive money in politics? I believe any contributions by special interest groups(business, labor unions, etc.) should be banned. Only individuals would be allowed to contribute money to candidates under limits closely approximating current rules. Federal and state funding of elections would play a greater role in this scenario.