The problem is not only Corporate, Government Workers are Unionized, and that in itself lies a very big influence. Disallow Government Workers from Unionizing.
Absolutely not. Strange as this may seem to you, given the misconceptions the right seems to have about the left being in love with government, I don't trust government agencies, and those who work for them shouldn't have to trust them, either. Collective bargaining is an essential right for everyone who works for someone else. That's no less true when the someone else is the government.
Take away the public unions' right to contribute to political campaigns and any concern about corruption should disappear.
End Tenure. Open genuine competition in all fields. You want Fair Labor Laws, write them and support them. Think Impartiality. End the Monopolies, compensate Companies fairly for what they provide and maintain.
All right, but how are you going to get any of that through Congress -- setting aside whether or not I agree with you, which really is sort of beside the point here -- when Congress has its strings pulled by corporate donors who in many cases are the very ones consolidating the monopolies?
By the way, in case anyone is wondering, this is NOT a partisan problem. The Democrats are just as corrupt as the Republicans.
When Any Group has something Critical to reveal, who are you or I to deny Voice. I truly don't understand why you would want to do that. It is effectively a Gag. Why? What end is served? How is Justice Served?
This isn't just speech. It's bribery. In fact, more than that, it's extortion. The cost of campaigns nowadays means that anyone who hopes to get elected MUST take contributions from the big donors, and that means they MUST adhere to rules (mostly unwritten and underhanded) about what can and cannot be proposed.
Why do you think the big Wall Street banks and financial institutions gave so much to Barack Obama, both in 2008 and now? Because they like him better than the Republican alternative? No, it's because realistically they know he might win, and they want to have a handle on him, have him be beholden to them and dance to their tunes. It works, too. He does. By giving to both him and the Republican nominee (whoever that turns out to be), they can determine what both candidates are allowed to advocate and, in office, to do.
We have laws against bribery of the old-fashioned kind (where the politician pockets the cash and spends it on himself, to improve his lifestyle) precisely because it corrupts public officials to the service of private, selfish interests instead of the public good. Bribery in the form of campaign contributions and third-party campaign spending, although not illegal because the politician doesn't pocket the money and spend it on his own lifestyle, is just as corrupting and just as bad. And it's going on wholesale.
The Parties seem more corrupted than Private interest to me.
They are, but they're corrupted BY private interests. If we get the big money out of politics, the parties will cease to be corrupt. They'll respond to the voters instead of the donors, because the voters will BE the donors.
How do Corporations have Veto Power exactly?
Suppose you are a Congresscritter and your reelection is coming up next year, as it is for all of the House and 1/3 of the Senate. Suppose that you know the voters in your district want, oh, let's say an end to ethanol subsidies. But agribusiness funds a lot of your campaign expenses and their lobbyists insist you keep the ethanol subsidies flowing. You cannot offer to end the subsidies because if you did, you would lose that money and not be able to campaign effectively. Neither can your opponent, for the same reason (the interests that want the subsidies make sure of that). So ending the subsidies is vetoed. It's off the table and off the ballot. The voters can't vote for it, because neither candidate dares advocate it.
That's how it works.
The Plutocracy or Oligarchy, come from Government Partnership with Private Interest, it comes with the Court claiming Extra Constitutional Powers to act Arbitrarily without Appeal on Imagined Reason and Power, not supported by Original Intent.
Not sure what you're talking about here. Are you questioning
Marbury v. Madison? Judicial review? That's what it sounds like. But the court does have that power. It isn't explicitly stated in the Constitution, but it follows logically from what is explicitly stated, namely that the Supreme Court has "the judicial power," which means the power to try cases under the law as to both facts and law. As such, the court can say, "This law violates the Constitution. Therefore, we rule that this case, which was tried by the lower court on the basis of this law, is overturned (or upheld, as appropriate). Moreover, we declare that we will rule similarly on any more cases under this law that come before us." "We declare the law unconstitutional" is just shorthand for that. Since the court obviously does have the power to try cases, it has the power of judicial review automatically.
True, Hamilton was a Schemer from the start, and misled, Still, Madison Style Federalism, should we ever try it, keep the Federal Government so much more accountable and in check. The Conglomerates could never have achieved their current state, without the cooperation of the Federal Government.
Two answer to this. One, removing the corrupt influence by removing the government's power to serve it won't work, for the simple reason that the influence will demand that the government resume that power immediately. Two, a modern industrial economy has to include a lot of government involvement or it breaks down. Madison governed a country that was still largely pre-industrial. Even so, after the War of 1812 he moderated a lot of his earlier opinions and accepted the re-authorization of the Bank of the United States, recognizing that turning our backs on modernity could result in an ass-kicking. (Having received one under his presidency.)
Progressive Government by It's Nature, created, supported, Partner shipped, and ran cover for the Conglomerates, and discouraged Small Enterprise. Progressivism is in part about Centralized National reach. Progressivism is about Control.
No. You are attributing to progressivism, or modern liberalism, characteristics that actually belong to modern capital-friendly conservatism. Encouragement of conglomerates and discouragement of small enterprise are aspects of government involvement in the economy pushed by politicians that would today call conservative, not liberal. Progressives push instead aspects of government control that would fight against monopoly and protect the rights of workers and (more recently) the environment. Both accept the necessity of government involvement in the economy, but for different ends.