The Government acts as a referee ensuring a level playing field
Show me where any of our founders thought that's what our federal government should be for--leveling the playing field.
So, you're okay with one small group of people taking over the country and doing as they see fit with it, disregarding what the people thing and want?
Like who? Who are these people "taking over" the country? And what does that have to do with our federal governments responsibilities?
Who?
Koch Brothers’ Budget of $889 Million for 2016 Is on Par With Both Parties’ Spending
"The political network overseen by the conservative billionaires Charles G. and
David H. Koch plans to spend close to $900 million on the 2016 campaign,"
Political Parties Overview | OpenSecrets
In 2016 the Democrats spent about $2 billion, the Republicans spent about $1.6 billion.
So, for that $3.6 billion being spent, you have two people spending nearly 1/3rd of this money. There might be more money that this going around, it's not always easy to find out.
But certainly, if these two individuals are spending 1/3rd of all money being spent by the two political parties, how much do you think they want in return.
Who Are the Koch Brothers and What Do They Want? | HuffPost
"he Koch brothers are the second wealthiest family in America, making most of their money in the fossil fuel industry. "
"Given the reality that the Koch brothers are now the most important and powerful players in American politics,"
"It is not widely known that David Koch was the Libertarian Party vice-presidential candidate in 1980. He believed that Ronald Reagan was much too liberal. '
"Fast-forward 34 years and the most significant reality of modern politics is how successful David Koch and like-minded billionaires have been in moving the Republican Party to the extreme right. Amazingly, much of what was considered “extremist” and “kooky” in 1980 has become part of today’s mainstream Republican thinking."
"“It’s no wonder the candidates show up when the Koch brothers call,” said David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Mr. Obama. “That’s exponentially more money than any party organization will spend. In many ways, they have superseded the party.”"
On the other side you have Soros
Koch Bros. and George Soros: How America's High-Profile Political Donors Compare - IVN.us
Here estimates of how much they both spend are $118 million to $77 million. It would appear that are spending more money than this now. When one spends more, the other has to spend more to keep up.
Top Individual Contributors: All Federal Contributions | OpenSecrets
Here's a list of top individual donors. The Koch Brothers are at number 53 with $4 million. Which we know just isn't true. This is the problem, and why the page is called "open secrets", because people can funnel money into the system without caring.
So why do they control everything? Well because they managed to spend lots of money (surprise surprise) on making sure the Supreme Court agreed with them.
In Citizens United vs the Federal Election Commission 558 U.S. 310 (2010) the Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, meaning Kennedy, Roberts, Alito, Scalia and Thomas (that's Dubya's 3, plus Reagan's 2, what a surprise) who decided to open up politics to the highest bidder. Yes, the Republicans aren't working for YOU, they're working for the RICH.
The Political One Percent of the One Percent
"If you think wealth is concentrated in the United States, just wait till you look at the data on campaign spending."
"In the 2010 election cycle, 26,783 individuals (or slightly less than one in ten thousand Americans) each contributed more than $10,000 to federal political campaigns. Combined, these donors spent $774 million. That’s 24.3% of the total from individuals to politicians, parties, PACs, and independent expenditure groups. Together, they would fill only two-thirds of the 41,222 seats at Nationals Park the baseball field two miles from the U.S. Capitol. When it comes to politics, they are
The One Percent of the One Percent."
Now, this report is from 2011.
How much do the 1% of the 1% control politics?
Here's a chart showing how much the 0.01% of donors who are very rich and flash their cash in politics.
They're close to 50% of the spending now. 40% in 2012.
These people control politics because they say "If you want our money, you need to do what we want you to do", so the politicians know they need the money. It's no longer a case of having a message that people will like. There are TOO MANY PEOPLE. A message doesn't win you an election, it's all about advertising yourself to death so people support you.
Cost to win congressional election skyrockets - CNNPolitics.com
The cost of winning an election, on average (depends where you are), shows that from 1986 to 2012 there's a 344% increase in how much people need to spend to win a seat, and the Senate costs much more, and has increased 62% in this time, and now, it's probably going through the roof in some places.
This is more or less before the court case I spoke about before.
So, who controls the govt? It certain is not the voters.