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Mansur Gidfar

I post about money, politics, and corruption for the fine folks here at Upworthy. I also work for an anti-corruption nonprofit called Represent.Us to directly confront the corrosive influence of money in politics. Validate my meager online existence by Liking me on Facebook or following me on Twitter today!

For the last few years, I've had this sense that everything I learned as a kid about how America's government works is completely wrong. But I had no idea how bad things actually were until I saw one simple graph.

Worst graph ever.

Professors Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University looked at more than 20 years of data to answer a pretty simple question: Does the government represent the people?

This video gives a quick rundown of their findings and explains what's going on in the simple graph above:

Things start out bleak, but stick with it — it's not all depressing.

If you're the type who prefers reading to watching videos and/or doesn't want to get caught on YouTube at work and/or finds my nerdy narrator voice unbearable (it's been known to happen), read on for a written summary.

Your opinion literally does not matter...

Their study took data from nearly 2,000 public-opinion surveys and compared what the people wanted to what the government actually did. What they found was extremely unsettling: The opinions of the bottom 90% of income earners in America has essentially no impact at all.

Put another way, and I'll just quote the Princeton study directly here:

“The preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy."

Really think about that for a second.

If you've ever felt like your opinion doesn't matter and that the government doesn't really care what you think, well … you're right.

But, of course, there's a catch.

...unless you're an "economic elite."

If there's one thing that still reliably gets politicians' attention, it's money. While the opinions of the bottom 90% of income earners in America have a "statistically non-significant impact," Gilens and Page found that economic elites, business interests, and people who can afford lobbyists still carry major influence.

How could it be that our government, designed to function as a representative democracy, is only good at representing such a small fraction of the population? Just follow the money.

Why? Because purchasing political influence is 100% legal.

For example: Let's say a big bank wants a law that would force taxpayers to bail them out again if they repeat the exact same reckless behavior that crashed the global economy in 2008.

It's perfectly legal for our bank to hire a team of lobbyists whose entire job is to make sure the government gives the bank what it wants. Then, those lobbyists can track down members of Congress who regulate banks and help raise a ton of money for their re-election campaigns. Its also perfectly legal for those lobbyists to offer those same politicians million-dollar jobs at their lobbying firms.

Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas), shown speaking at an event in 2012, recently attached language originally drafted by lobbyists for CitiGroup to a financial services appropriations bill. Members of Congress who voted "yes" on the bill received, on average, 2.8 times more money from the PACs of CitiGroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase than members who voted "no." Image by Information Technology Innovation Foundation/Flickr.

They can also literally write the language of this new bailout law themselves, then hand it off to the politicians they just buttered up with campaign money and lucrative job offers. And it's perfectly legal for those politicians to sneak the lobbyist-written language through Congress at the last second.

If that example sounds oddly specific, that's because it happened in December 2014. And it happens all the time, on almost every single issue, with politicians of both parties.

So is our Republic doomed? No.

Here's the good news: Every single practice outlined in this article can be made illegal by a simple statute — no constitutional amendment or overturning of Citizens United required. And there are thousands of people across the country fighting to make it happen right now.

The rebel alliance in action. Tallahassee voters approved the first municipal anti-corruption act in the U.S. by a 2-1 margin on Nov. 4, 2014. Image by Represent.Us.

My day job, for instance, is working with an organization called Represent.Us to pass state and local anti-corruption acts. We're one of many organizations fighting for reform and are working from the marriage equality and marijuana legalization playbook by using local wins to build momentum for national reform (you can learn a little more about the plan right here). It's working, too: The first municipal anti-corruption act in the U.S. has already passed, and more cities and two states are on their way in 2015 and 2016.

Looking for other reform organizations to get involved with? There's also Lawrence Lessig's MayDay PAC, a crowdfunded Super PAC to take down other Super PACs. And there's Take Back Our Republic: a conservative-leaning organization devoted to fighting corruption and cronyism. You could also get involved with EveryVoice. Or Common Cause. Or People for the American Way. Or Stamp Stampede. Or WolfPAC. Or Move to Amend. You've got options.

You can do something about it.

Big money in politics is emerging as a major issue in the 2016 election, and there are now dozens of organizations fighting hard for reform every day. If you're appalled by corruption, there's never been a better time to join the fight to stop it.

From Your Site Articles

Meet the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a secretive trade agreement that would let 9,000 foreign corporations bypass the U.S. legal system and force taxpayers to pay them millions. Why would both Congressional Republicans and President Obama support such a naked corporate power grab? Just follow the money.

The TP-What now?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a massive proposed free-trade deal that would include roughly 40% of the world economy. It's also highly secretive — leaks to the press are the only reason the public has any idea what could be in it.

You down with TPP? (Source: Congressional Research Service)

The TPP lets corporations bypass the domestic legal system.

Imagine if a multinational corporation was accused of something truly reprehensible — like, say, poisoning hundreds of children with faulty mining equipment. What if when the government tried to make them pay for the cleanup, they responded by suing taxpayers for $800 million? And what if instead of filing in a normal court, they were allowed to take their case to a tribunal of three highly paid corporate lawyers whose rulings can never be appealed?

Well, you don't have to imagine — That's exactly what's happening in Peru right now (poisoned children and all):

This is all possible thanks to a process called Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), which is frequently included as a feature of modern free-trade agreements, including the TPP. ISDS cases allow foreign companies to bypass the legal systems of sovereign governments and go straight to an international trade tribunal to demand compensation directly from taxpayers.

It's as bad as it sounds. (Source: The Economist)

It's a policy designed perfectly to infuriate both the American right (ceding U.S. power to tribunals organized by the United Nations and World Trade Organization) and left (giving corporations massive new power to attack everything from environmental policy to public health measures on a global scale). It has drawn heavy criticism from all sides, from Tea Party groups to Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Why is this happening?

How could it be that the TPP, which would open the U.S. to ISDS actions from 9,000 foreign companies, has the support of both congressional Republicans and President Obama?

Here's a hint: The answer rhymes with "$."

Some of the most powerful special interests in Washington — from Hollywood to pharmaceutical companies — are huge fans of the TPP. ISDS is just one of many, many corporate-friendly provisions being pushed by the Obama administration's trade negotiators. Other leaked draft texts have revealed provisions that critics say could sharply increase the cost of prescription drugs, threaten Internet freedom and privacy, and hit American workers with outsourced jobs and lower wages.

The pro-TPP lobby is composed of industries that help raise big money for both Republicans and Democrats, which could explain why major political donors have been given full access to TPP documents even though the Obama administration has made every effort to conceal the details from the public. (Even members of Congress had to jump through hoops to view draft texts.) It also helps that many of the administration's trade negotiators used to work for companies that are now lobbying for the TPP.

They know what's in it. (Source: Maplight)

What happens now?

Congressional leaders recently struck a deal that would give President Obama authority to "fast-track" TPP negotiations, which would help rush the TPP through with extremely limited debate. However, the deal isn't final quite yet.

The TPP's supporters know they have a small window before the public catches on and they lose their chance, which is why they're trying to rush fast-track language through Congress as quickly as possible. Without fast track, the TPP will have to work its way through Congress in the full view of the American public — which means a massive wave of opposition that could derail the entire agreement.

You're telling us. (Source: The New York Times)

It has already cleared two key committees and is headed to the House floor for a likely vote in early May.

If you think the TPP sounds awful, call your member of Congress right this second and demand they make a public statement against fast track. If email is more your speed, you can also send a short message using this form.

And lest you get all cynical on me, remember that the fast-track agreement is very much up in the air and is facing growing opposition from both liberal Democrats and Tea Party Republicans in the House. With enough public attention and pressure, fast track will fall apart, which could derail the entire TPP agreement.

TL;DR

If want to see the TPP stopped, now's your chance. Get calling.

It passed the House with bipartisan support. It passed the Senate with bipartisan support. The president just signed it into law. Let's take a look at a few things none of them will be bragging about.

Last week, congressional leaders struck a deal to avert another government shutdown and put off our next completely avoidable, 100% self-imposed budget crisis until next September. The deal gained the backing of the White House, survived populist revolts in the House and Senate, and was signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday night.

There's just one problem: The bill is absolutely packed with riders that have nothing to do with the budget and everything to do with paying back special interests and opening more channels for political money to flow directly to the two major political parties.

Since this bill is over 1,600 pages long and I'm not a sorcerer, I can't list every single one of those things just yet. But I can highlight the five most awful ones I've come across so far.

It's all mapped out in this video, and again in the transcript below in case you prefer your budget analysis in article form and/or don't want to get busted watching YouTube videos at work. (Just click "show transcript.")

We've got a bit of a situation on our hands. Money has so much influence over American politics that a recent study by researchers at Princeton and Northwestern universities found that "the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy." It's an outright corruption of our political system, and it's blocking progress on nearly every issue out there. The good news is that most people refuse to accept this is the way things should be. Enter Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig. Two months ago, Lessig launched America's first crowdfunded Super PAC. Their mission is simple: Find politicians who oppose reform, and take them down.

If you'd like to help Mayday PAC reach their final goal, you can click right here to pitch in. Their fundraising deadline is July 4, 2014, so don't procrastinate!

How bad has the money-in-politics situation gotten? A new study by researchers at Princeton and Northwestern universities found that, and I'm quoting directly here: "When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”In other words, if you can't afford to hire a lobbyist or raise money for politicians, your opinion literally does not matter. But don't go into a hopeless despair spiral just yet. On May 1, Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig launched Mayday PAC: a crowdfunded Super PAC with the sole mission of forcing Congress to get money out of politics. The response so far has been overwhelming: They've raised over a half-million dollars in the first week alone.

As of this post, Mayday PAC is already more than 65% of the way to its first goal:

You can support the Super PAC to end all Super PACs by going to MayOne.us and chipping in.

Mansur Gidfar

20 years of data reveals that Congress doesn't care what you think.

For the last few years, I've had this sense that everything I learned as a kid about how America's government works is completely wrong. But I had no idea how bad things actually were until I saw one simple graph.

Worst graph ever.

This video gives a quick rundown of their findings and explains what's going on in the simple graph above:

Your opinion literally does not matter...

...unless you're an "economic elite."

Why? Because purchasing political influence is 100% legal.

So is our Republic doomed? No.

You can do something about it.

Congress is trying to pass a massive corporate power grab. You need to know what's in it.

The TP-What now?

The TPP lets corporations bypass the domestic legal system.

Why is this happening?

What happens now?

TL;DR

The President Just Signed A 1,603-Page Bill. Here Are Some Of The Awful Things Congress Hid In It.

It passed the House with bipartisan support. It passed the Senate with bipartisan support. The president just signed it into law. Let's take a look at a few things none of them will be bragging about.

Did You Know This Animal Went Extinct? Because I Didn't.

Priorities: We're doing them wrong.

This Is Larry. He Has A Brilliant Plan To Take Down Politicians Who Are Screwing You Over.

A News Anchor Completely Lost It. I'm Really Glad He Did.

As the amount of money in U.S. politics continues to hit new heights (our full-time fundraisers intrepid members of Congress hauled in over $400 million in 2013 alone), this "mad as hell" moment from 2011 is more relevant than ever.

A Brilliant Plan To Give Billionaires Who Try To Buy U.S. Elections A Taste Of Their Own Medicine

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