Free speech

Robert Reich
9.23.2017

The biggest threat to free speech in America isn’t coming from “leftist universities” that want to stop hate speech by the alt-Right – although that’s what the alt-Right wants America to believe. The biggest threat is coming from big money inundating American politics, drowning out the voices of the rest of America.

Last year, candidates running for federal office spent a record $6.4 billion on campaigns, while lobbyists spent $3.15 billion to influence the government. Both of these amounts are twice their levels in the election of 2000. And most of it came from big corporations, Wall Street, and wealthy individuals.

For every $1 spent by labor unions, environmental organizations, and all public-interest organizations combined, corporations and Wall Street spent $64. Meanwhile, the richest 0.01 percent of Americans accounted for 40 percent of all campaign donations.

Both parties are drinking from the same trough.

This must stop. “Citizens United” must be reversed. Even before it is, Congress must enact legislation that (1) reveals the names of all sources of all campaign funding, (2) matches small donations (under $100) with public funds accumulated through a “check-off” box on tax returns, and (3) strictly limits the “revolving door” between government and the private-sector.

The First Amendment is designed to guarantee equal political voice. The “alt-Right” wants to deflect attention from the biggest threat to that ideal – big money. Don't let them. We must keep our eyes on the real problem.

Source
https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/?hc_ref=ARTFwmi7vrnH98c-PoAUKs2E93en2ePwAWTTWMkWagl1yseMLqMFilLKB834fLlrjL0&fref=nf