Occupy Solutions: How to Stop Legalized Bribery in Congress

We need a law severing money from political decisions; which can be adopted easily and quickly.

This is far more powerful than “Campaign Finance Reform” and “Public Election Financing” which were gutted by two recent Supreme Court decisions (Citizens United and McComish v. Bennett)

Severing money means that no elected official can vote on anything where –

1. They have received any gift or campaign contribution, and

2. The donor receives any benefit greater than the public gets.

3. This needs to prevent contributions and gifts after a vote as well as before one.

Toppling Lobbyists

This would prevent most votes by Congress – because most bills voted on are those funded by financial interests (such as Wall Street, Polluters, and Loggers).

Here’s an example of this law enacted at a small California town. They didn’t do anything radical, they just combined the strongest laws prohibiting “Legalized Bribery” used in other California towns into one simple yet comprehensive law.

“Campaign Finance Reform: The Battle to Eliminate ‘Legalized Bribery’”

It is notable that the two recent and awful Supreme Court rulings (Citizens United and McComish) have no effect on this law.

This law can be adopted as a Federal Law in a matter of days – if Congress and the President are persuaded that it needs to be done.

From the moment this law is signed by the President – no one from Wall Street who wants a corporate benefit can give or promise any election campaign money to any Congressman/Congresswoman.

And if the corporate donor already contributed to a Congressman – that Congressman can no longer vote on a bill that would enrich that contributor.

One side benefit is that because corporations would no longer benefit from donating campaign contributions, Senators and Congressmen and women will stop arm twisting corporations — for 90 percent of the time they hold office – and maybe have time left over to work on protecting our public interests.

More Reading:
Supreme Court Rips Up Campaign Finance Laws

Update Oct 22, 2011: Bank of America just quietly transfered more than a Trillion dollars in “Derivatives” to a BoA subsidiary so that when (not if) the Derivatives lose all value – the US taxpayers will have to pay for all the Bank Insurance for these fictional funds.

Second small law: Eliminate All US Insurance for Derivatives