What Would Jefferson Do? A Return to Democracy

America's Democracy Is Eroding The fortunes amassed through corporate organization are now so large, and vest such power in those that wield them, as to make it a matter of necessity to give to the sovereign--that is, to the Government, which represents the people as a whole--some effective power of supervision over their corporate use. In order to insure a healthy social and industrial life, every big corporation should be held responsible by, and be accountable to, some sovereign strong enough to control its conduct. --President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) For the past year, I've been on the air coast to coast for three hours a day, five days a week, going up against Rush Limbaugh in the 12-3 p.m. time slot (eastern time). Callers from California to North Carolina, Iowa to Texas, and even a few expatriate Web listeners who've phoned in from Australia, Germany, Taiwan, and Scotland repeatedly stress a consistent set of concerns. "I feel as though our country has lost its democracy," said one caller in New York. "Our politicians are for sale to the highest corporate bidder," said another in New Mexico. "I was arrested for standing a block away from a Bush fund-raiser with a 'No War for Oil' sign," said another in South Carolina. A caller in Dallas told the story of how his master's degree in engineering and service as an officer in the army didn't qualify him to compete with the engineer in India who took his job. "I've been unemployed for 42 months," he said, "although I'm still looking every day for a good job." A pervasive concern is sweeping across our nation, a fear that both the economic American dream is slipping away while the ideals of American democracy are under an organized and powerful attack. Both worker productivity and wages increased 108 and 101 percent, respectively, between 1947 and 1973, the golden years of the American middle class. Since then, though, many of the key indicators of a functioning democracy have been eroding in America. One of the most significant indicators is that from the time Ronald Reagan became president until today the income of the middle class in real dollars has declined 10 percent (adjusted for inflation) while the minimum wage has fallen 17 percent (also adjusted for inflation). Worker productivity went up 52 percent--Americans are working harder and working longer hours--but pay has fallen, causing middle-class debt to explode, doubling in just the past two decades.2 Today's middle class spends 21 percent less on clothes than 20 years ago (cheap imports), while an unprecedented 80 percent of homeowners in low- and moderate-income categories spend more than half their income on housing.3 Bankruptcies are at an all-time high, and half of all people filing are doing so because of devastating medical bills (another 40 percent file because they're wiped out by job loss or divorce).4 Democracy in America is eroding. And with it are going many of the essential rights that democracy is supposed to ensure. Instead of democracy--government for, by, and of the people--we increasingly have "corporatism"--a term that Benito Mussolini invented. He defined it as a merger of state and corporate power, and in the past few decades it's been adopted as a guiding tenet of conservative thought. The effect has been a steady shift of wealth away from the middle class and into corporate coffers and large investor portfolios, combined with a dramatic loss of the freedoms on which this country was founded: *The First Amendment to the Constitution clearly states: "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people to peaceably assemble to petition the government for redress of grievances." Nonetheless, George W. Bush has, with virtually no mention in the mainstream corHartmann, Thom is the author of 'What Would Jefferson Do? A Return to Democracy', published 2004 under ISBN 9781400052080 and ISBN 1400052084.