Corruption Is Dangerous to Your Health

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:




Corruption Is Dangerous to Your Health
By Robert Borosage

May 6th, 2009 - 10:08am ET


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"And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created—are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place"


That was Sen Richard Durbin, the powerful Senate Democratic whip, irate as the banking lobby, with foreclosures soaring across the nation, blocked a core reform for beleaguered homeowners that would give judges the right to modify mortgages in bankruptcy court.

But it isn't just the banks. Agribusiness is protecting its obscene subsidies. The insurance companies are deploying legions of lobbyists to gut the public plan in health care reform, the heart of President Obama's plan. The utilities are carving out exceptions for coal plants. Multinationals are clearly on the way to disemboweling Obama tax proposals. The military industrial lobby is a good bet to frustrate Defense Secretary Bill Gates' modest procurement reforms.

This isn't about America being a "center-right country," the myth that pundits still peddle about the American people. This is about Congress being bought and sold, pure and simple. Each night, Washington slurps on political fund-raisers. Each day, the deals get cut; the favors get done. Now with Republicans lining up lemming-like to obstruct anything Obama, Congress can be bought on the cheap. The lobbies have only to enlist (suborn, bribe, seduce, finance) a few of what the press insists on describing as "moderate Democrats" in the Senate to stop any reform they don't like.

What's often forgotten in this squalid exchange is that the very Americans the legislators preen to represent are the victims of their various corruptions. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009051906/corruption-dangerous-your-health