Since I’ve moved back to Wisconsin I’ve been reading headlines about alleged corruption from county, state, and federal elected officials almost on a daily basis.
Just tonight a Washington Post Investigation revealed that “across the nation, 33 members of Congress have helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to dozens of public projects for work in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members.”
In other words, Congress members have taken $300 million of your tax dollars to fund projects that personally benefit them and their families.
For example, a Congressman from Mississippi used $900,000 to resurface roads in Mississippi, including a quarter-mile residential loop where he and his daughter own two homes.
From inside the Capitol Beltway (D.C.) to America’s Dairyland (Wisconsin), the laundry list of political shenanigans that goes on mostly remains unreported by the mainstream media.
Stories get killed, stories get sanitized, and only a fraction of the real truth is ever told.
More than a decade ago — At my first journalism job out of college (in Wisconsin), I uncovered that a local car dealership might be doing some shady things. The publisher pulled me away from pursuing the story because the dealership was one of our biggest advertisers. I resigned (after finding another journalism job of course).
But in some cases, could the American people even handle the truth?
For example, let’s go back a few decades — take the supposed Roswell, N.M. UFO incident. If that were true — If at the time the U.S. Government acknowledged that earth was being invaded by aliens, wouldn’t that have created a state of chaos and panic? Could people really handle that if it was the truth?
Even when something is reported on, most just glance at the headline, and/or skim the story — if it seems interesting. Or, people just watch a quick blurb on the television news. But, this doesn’t really set in most of the time. Even if it does, most stories become a distant memory — yesterday’s news. Of course when you are actually on the front lines and witness it first hand as a journalist, the memories resonate a bit deeper. Let’s save this for another blog.
But now, sadly, more and more elected officials are crossing the line these days and accusing Wisconsin officials is not an exception. Wisconsin used to pride itself on being above Illinois, not only with respect to geography but also with respect to upholding political integrity. Wisconsinites used to scoff at their neighbors to the south in Illinois mocking their alleged and sometimes not so alleged corrupt ways of doing business. But, have the tides turned? Things have changed in Wisconsin. Now, a handful of Wisconsin politicians and/or their associates have already been found guilty and now more are being accused of breaching the public’s trust.
What/who is to blame? The poorly written laws or the system in which the laws were created?
Let’s face reality – many laws are created by the rich for the rich. The loudest voice on Capitol Hill is from the lobbyists and special interest groups with the deepest pockets.
In my opinion we live in the best country in the world. But, that doesn’t change the fact that our system is beyond broken. Whether you’re inside some of the city halls in Wisconsin, or 750 miles away in D.C. — laws are created to have loopholes that many times only benefit the rich and powerful.
President Obama even admitted secretaries are taxed at a higher rate than Warren Buffet one of the wealthiest men in the world.
Plus, by the time many elected officials get into office, they have so many favors to repay to those who got them elected in the first place. And in Washington, this sometimes means being in the pocket of oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, and several other powerful K street lobbyists.
Some Americans have taken to the streets to protest, but in reality is this productive? What does that really accomplish? It drains taxpayer dollars and resources. And, ultimately their voices are not being heard or are being outright ignored by the right people.
The problems are becoming more and more apparent every day, but, what’s the solution? One thing is for sure, blaming the Republicans or Democrats as a whole doesn’t seem to be working. It seems like elected officials from both sides of the line have their share of blame in all of this. Specifically pointing fingers and finding scapegoats solves nothing. We need to work together as Americans, kick partisanship to the curb and compromise.
I’ll never forget covering the Baltimore County Executive election in 2010. I met a woman who’s a registered Democrat but who works as an aide to a Republican County Councilman. That’s the type of leadership America needs. We get so obsessed with labels “oh, she’s a Republican” or “he’s a Democrat.” Why not step aside and look at what the particular candidate has to offer rather than the stigma attached to his/her party affiliation? We need to play nicely in the sandbox together. Work together, and embrace our differences to make a difference.
