American politics and corporate madness
To the editor:
Unfortunately, many Republicans and Democrats have received millions of dollars from special interests to water down President Obama's reforms.
In 2009, President Obama's economic advisers -- Timothy Geithner, Larry Summers and Ben Bernanke, all Wall Street insiders -- devised an economic recovery plan that further enriched their cronies in the financial community, and the Federal Reserve provided almost tax-free easy money to the banks, who increased fees to customers and paid almost nothing to small investors and retirees for their CDs and savings accounts.
In the United States, inequality has increased now because corporations can provide billions of dollars to corrupt our political system and exercise enormous power over our lives after last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case that said corporations are like individual citizens.
GERARD A. SANCHEZ SR.
LAS VEGAS
To the editor:
Aside from providing America with possibly the most amusing reality TV in history, the Republican nominating process is also very predictive of what America stands to lose if any of the current candidates is elected president.
We keep hearing how the country is on the wrong track but we fail to distinguish between the train President Obama has been on and the one Republicans have been determined to derail since the 2010 elections. From their determination to make President Obama a one-term president, they have decided to prevent most of his policies from being implemented and then portray those policies as having failed.
The candidates harp on the state of the economy and the plight of big business while ignoring the fight on poverty in this country. They continue to accept millions if not billions from their poor, overtaxed corporate sponsors, who would much rather fund corporate-friendly candidates than fund employment opportunities through reinforcing our crumbling roads, bridges and electrical grids, let alone afford industry, manufacturing and small businesses opportunities that would benefit all of America rather than their "anointed" ones.
Perhaps I would find less hypocrisy among Republican candidates if they would suggest super-PACs be disbanded and start spending their own millions on their presidential aspirations. The thought of corporations "donating" millions of dollars to the campaign coffers of fellow millionaires while outsourcing jobs and firing workers is absolutely disgusting to me.
Thank you, Supreme Court for deciding corporations are "people." Let us continue the corporate madness that has taken over the government of the people, by the people and for the people.
DIANE KREMSER
LAS VEGAS
