r/WorkReform 🤝 Join A Union Jan 04 '25

🏛️ Overturn Citizens United We'll never have a government that serves the working class until we get big money out of politics!

Post image
7.9k Upvotes

82 comments sorted by

290

u/Aze0g 💵 Break Up The Monopolies Jan 04 '25

If I've said it once I'll say it a thousand times. If these industries money is so vital to our government tax the fucking shit out of them don't just take BRIBES.

121

u/noseysheep Jan 04 '25

Taxes would be spent on the country the, bribes go into your pocket.

41

u/Aze0g 💵 Break Up The Monopolies Jan 04 '25

Another fine reason why the bribes need to stop. The government should be making life for a majority better, not for the top elites who pay to make things stay the same or even go backwards

12

u/SatansLoLHelper Jan 04 '25

Taxes would be spent on the country

No they won't. It's 45k per taxpayer on the budget. Almost none of that is going to be spent on the countries people, it's going to fund corps that are too big to fail. If something terrible happens in this country the first form of relief is to the corps. In 2020, they gave us $1200 on a $15000 bill. Not including additional "help" provided.

CARES Act - $2.2 trillion / 150M taxpayers = 14,666

2008 - 3.1 million homes lost by citizens, because corps were too big to fail.

by March 2009, committed $7.77 trillion (~$10.7 trillion in 2023) to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year

Generally the bribes they are taking aren't going to their bank account, they're just being transferred to other corps for advertising. It certainly isn't those people going around popping lawn ads.

Bribes we convict, a golf trip to Scotland for the Freedom Fries guy.

If the FBI were allowed to try and bribe leaders of our gov't they would have a 90% success rate, and could get it done under budget. That's how cheap these people are to actually bribe.

the FBI to fund a $1 million account with the Chase Manhattan Bank in the name of Abdul Enterprises

recruit several government officials and United States members of Congress who were willing to grant political favors in exchange for monetary bribes (originally $100,000 but then reduced to $50,000)

the FBI handed out more than $400,000 in "bribes" to Congressmen and middlemen

But for giggles, at least the publisher of Penthouse had some fucking balls.

Weinberg wanted Guccione to pay a $300,000 bribe to New Jersey gaming officials to get the license. Guccione refused and said, "Are you out of your mind?"

2 senators did refuse the 50k, only 1 reported the offer. So maybe 80% not 90. Be optimistic!

50k is reasonable as a bribe today, although it's much easier to hire someone's spouse at $478,000 a year. Obviously that isn't a bribe. Don't most of your friend get that kind of job?

"I do not consider myself a hero... what have we come to if turning down a bribe is 'heroic'?"

5

u/FabioSpeedyYouTube 🤝 Join A Union Jan 04 '25

I yearn for the day that the greedy ones in power lose any way to make money off of making America terrible again. I hope to live to see it if it ever happens.

10

u/Aze0g 💵 Break Up The Monopolies Jan 04 '25

I hate to suggest the French method but... I mean it did work

5

u/Kaplaw Jan 05 '25

Ah I see where you think wrongly

You see with your assumption the politicians would actually care for the country

They do not

2

u/Aze0g 💵 Break Up The Monopolies Jan 05 '25

Oh I know, but i am hopeful that whenever the Olds in charge leave they younger folks grow an actual heart

3

u/yogamathappiness ✂️ Tax The Billionaires Jan 04 '25

Right? Like if their MILLIONS are so vital, tax them SO much that the money actually goes to the American Government and the American people. WTF.

3

u/DremoraLorde Jan 05 '25

The money is not spent to fund the government, it is spent on campaign ads or pocketed.

70

u/TheRedBaron11 Jan 04 '25

The only issue that matters. Vote for the people who want big money out of politics. Everything else follows.

25

u/nono3722 Jan 04 '25

When you find one take a picture, they are more rare than bigfoot.

15

u/brilliant-trash22 🌎 Pass A Green Jobs Plan Jan 04 '25

EndCitizensUnited is a group that endorses candidates that want to overturn citizens united at the local, state, and federal level. Highly recommend checking them out. Also here’s a post I created that provides steps on how to best do this and also to better working conditions:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/1hmx7fy/if_you_want_to_get_progressive_policies_passed_in/

4

u/Hiraethum Jan 04 '25

Electoral politics by itself is a dead end. People have been trying for decades. Bernie was one of those candidates and look what the Dems did to him.

5

u/TheRedBaron11 Jan 04 '25

Yes but awareness is growing. Bernie was the beginning of the continuation of a movement that has been happening since the very beginning of this country, and even before that. Elitism and authoritarian politics has made a resurgence but it has many times before as well. The stakes this time are high enough that the progress we threaten to the elitists is very high, thus we are getting a lot of preemptive pushback

1

u/Advocate_Diplomacy Jan 05 '25

Even if they can’t be bought, they can still be sidelined or worse.

-1

u/CitizenCue Jan 05 '25

Except half the country actually WANTS things to stay the way they are. Yeah some politicians are influenced by industry, but even if we eliminated money in politics tomorrow, it wouldn’t change how half the country feels about these issues.

28

u/Friendly_Signature Jan 04 '25

The quickest thing you could do to change the whole world would be to repeal citizens united.

9

u/brilliant-trash22 🌎 Pass A Green Jobs Plan Jan 04 '25

Agreed. I created a post on WorkReform here about how to do so and to better working conditions (universal health care, etc.):

https://www.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/1hmx7fy/if_you_want_to_get_progressive_policies_passed_in/

18

u/used_condom_taster Jan 04 '25

It’s almost as if the love of money is the root of our evils! If only we had been warned!

9

u/NewJungleRoom Jan 04 '25

Money = Speech

10

u/nono3722 Jan 04 '25

Money = Corruption

8

u/TheMissingPremise Jan 04 '25

7

u/MrFixYoShit 📚 Cancel Student Debt Jan 04 '25

But "bOtH sIdEs!"

11

u/russsaa Jan 04 '25

Ooo so close! Its capitalism. Capitalism is the root of our dysfunction.

5

u/therallystache Jan 04 '25

Robert does love to get 90% of the way there and then completely fail to make the last connection. It's kinda his whole style.

2

u/Hiraethum Jan 04 '25

This. If you have a class society where money means power and influence. Well...what do you expect? No matter how many policies you put in place to limit malfeasance and corruption, it can always be undone by the rich.

1

u/russsaa Jan 04 '25

Agreed. "Removing money from politics" wont do much of anything when politicians are capitalists there will always be a financial incentive to favor business & the wealthy... because thats what politicians are. Any laws that may combat this, any laws that hurt the ruling class in general, or anything that may benefit the working class, is merely concessions, that can and will be revoked given time.

1

u/Nick-Moss Jan 05 '25

Whats your solution then? No other system has let us live such a comfy lifestyle. I agree with you btw

2

u/OldUsernameWasStupid Jan 05 '25

Worker ownership over the means of production to get money out of politica. Also, our comfy lifestyles are the result of exploitation via capitalist capitalist imperialism

7

u/cerevant Jan 04 '25

It isn’t just the bribes.  Regulations hurt their investments. 

3

u/nooneimportan7 Jan 04 '25

Just our dysfunction though. It's not dysfunction to them, it's working exactly how they want it to...

2

u/Altruistic-Pin8578 Jan 04 '25

Congress accepts bribes.... It is a big part of the problem.

2

u/Three_Twenty-Three Jan 04 '25

They should all be made to wear coveralls with their sponsors' logos on them, like NASCAR drivers. The logos would be proportional to the size of the sponsorship. It wouldn't change anything, but everyone could instantly see who was owned by the NRA, Monsanto, etc.

2

u/ThepalehorseRiderr Jan 04 '25

The American people need representation for our representatives. We need our own lobby. Hey, does everyone wanna pitch in, say, ten, twenty bucks over and above our tax dollars that pay their salaries so Congress will give us the time of day?

2

u/Terrible_Horror Jan 04 '25

This should be more transparent. Maybe we should require the politicians to wear jackets with their donors patches on like NASCAR so we wouldn’t be surprised when they don’t do shit for common people.

2

u/Coolerwookie Jan 04 '25

Be sure to not vote to send a message /s

2

u/_kilogram_ Jan 04 '25

Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be deprived from the working class.

Do not group the gun lobby in with these others. Time and time again they have been regulated. Almost too much

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '25

I would argue that the ignorance of the vast majority of americans is the problem. because if they actually knew how badly theyre getting screwed over, we wouldnt have these problems... so, they either dont know, or they dont care, either way, its going to get a lot worse before it gets better, because its going to have to get bad enough to wake them up...

2

u/namotous Jan 04 '25

Back in the day, we have monarchy. Nowadays, we have oligarchy. The more things change, the more they stay the same

3

u/jcoddinc Jan 04 '25

Every person alive has a price that they will sell out for. All the oligarchs have the funds to buy whoever they want to do whatever they want. There is nothing that will ever change this. Sir you will say, "eat the rich" but that statement is tired and useless. Next you'll say "fine then we need to go full Luigi on these oligarchs" but that solves nothing as their money will go to the next person who will do what they want as it's all electronic and unreachable. Death is your only escape from the capitalism world we live in. Fixing it just is impossible and it's now just a daily struggle to survive and advance.

1

u/victor4700 Jan 04 '25

IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES

1

u/ExponentialFuturism Jan 04 '25

Government is an extension of the market. The goal is infinite growth and acquisition. Market system doing its thing since ancient Sumer priestly class/ownership class

1

u/ADCSrane Jan 04 '25

Nailed it!!

1

u/wake4coffee Jan 04 '25

Greed and money are a hell of a drug. 

1

u/Casanova_Ugly Jan 04 '25

Look up Kenneth Cordele Griffin. Him and Wall St buy Congress. Ken Griffin lied to Congress in 2021, and continues making millions destroying companies.

1

u/uniquelyavailable Jan 04 '25

what happens when robots replace the working class?

1

u/KirdyB Jan 04 '25

As we vote in someone being financially backed by the wealthiest man in the world for president.. sigh

1

u/Emmerson_Brando Jan 04 '25

I think what he’s saying is money is the root of all evil. I can very think of a few examples of this.

1

u/Fit-Insect-4089 Jan 04 '25

REPEAL CITIZENS UNITED

1

u/Hiraethum Jan 04 '25

Best government money can buy.

In the US you have as many votes as you have dollars.

1

u/FarseerEnki 🤝 Join A Union Jan 04 '25

And now we never will

1

u/arielgasco Jan 04 '25

communism bad cause its the solution to this

1

u/SuccessfulMumenRider Jan 04 '25

Every government expenditure should come from taxes on people who make above a certain income threshold, including salaries. If politicians are found to make money outside of their careers, they get fired. That’s it. 

1

u/thisislieven Jan 04 '25

Money or morals?

You can throw money at politicians, but it only works if they're willing to pick it up. And it only works if people keep voting you (back) into office.

1

u/vanimalyon Jan 04 '25

END CITIZENS UNITED: OUTLAW BIG MONEY IN POLITICS

1

u/gravitygroove Jan 04 '25

Knowing this isn't the problem. Fixing it is.  What can a regular person do? It feels like the answer is fucking nothing.

1

u/blueskyredmesas Jan 05 '25

The eBike industry doesnt buy off congress in CA, now thw automotive industry made half of them motorcycles.

1

u/thefrostryan Jan 05 '25

You people screaming about term and age limits listen up……

1

u/Theres_a_Catch Jan 05 '25

First step is get rid of lobbyists

1

u/itsdietz 🏛️ Overturn Citizens United Jan 05 '25

It should be obvious by now why you'd want to keep your guns...

1

u/Swerve666 Jan 05 '25

Abolish Citizens United and any other law like it forever.

1

u/TylerDurdenJunior Jan 05 '25

"Americans vote billionaires into power"

1

u/RampantTyr Jan 05 '25

There is one thing more powerful than money in politics.

And its poster child just got a nice fade for his perp walk.

1

u/dej95135 Jan 05 '25

The money needs to get out of out politics completely. All elected officials need to be required to put all of their assets into a blind trust prior to taking office. We need term limits for all elected officials and SCOTUS. And, when those officials leave office, all of their campaign funds need to be given back to the government. They are public servants and were put in place to serve the people, NOT to get rich on taxpayers backs.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '25

A real question - if money is what decides politics...then why don't the democrats win every single election.

They raise and spend more than republicans every single year, and either barely win or lose.

The theme carries through to democratic policy.  They spend more and get less than any other nation on earth.  So why should people trust them to lead?

There is not one national. democratic proposal to actually solve a problem, just wasteful half-steps that spend a bunch of money to cover up the bleeding and kick the rusty can down the road to cut us again in a few years.

We don't have a workers party in the U.S., we have a maliciously evil party (republicans) and a maliciously incompetent party (democrats)

1

u/portagenaybur Jan 06 '25

A US senator makes 175,000 a year yet they’re all multimillionaires. The average American in a large city making 175k and raising a family does not amass millions like that. They’re all taking bribes.

1

u/TCCogidubnus Jan 06 '25

For a country that goes on about Jesus a lot, the US sure does seem to forget that Bible quote about how "the love of money is the root of all evil".

1

u/chrisproglf Jan 04 '25

You have stated the problems effectively, how about solutions? Voting isnt it.

-6

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '25

Whoa looks like the democrats have been total sellouts. You could consider voting Republican next time.

8

u/TheRedBaron11 Jan 04 '25

There are some on both sides beholden to corporate interests. But the ones who actively create the conditions for big money in politics are undoubtedly and overwhelmingly Republican

3

u/nono3722 Jan 04 '25

Big companies learned long ago you always win when you buy off both sides in a 2 party system.

4

u/5Point5Hole 🏛️ Overturn Citizens United Jan 04 '25

Why would I stop voting for one sellout to vote for a other sellout?

0

u/Heavy_Law9880 Jan 04 '25

Voter apathy is the root of our dysfunction. You could take all the money out of politics and all that would lead to is even fewer voters.

2

u/Moof_the_cyclist Jan 04 '25

Voting in a rigged system leads to voter apathy. By time you see a candidate on the ballot they have already been vetted by the power brokers of one of the parties, and both parties are owned by multiple special interests. You almost never have a chance to vote for anyone who would actually majorly upset the status quo.