Occupied Media, by Noam Chomsky: on Government Reform

Concentrated wealth yields concentrated political power

Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power. And concentration of political power gives rise to legislation that increases and accelerates the cycle. The legislation, essentially bipartisan, drives new fiscal policies, tax changes, also rules of corporate governance, and deregulation. Alongside of this began the very sharp rise in the costs of elections, which drives the political parties even deeper than before into the pockets of the corporate sector.

Public policy has become divorced from public opinion

What happens in our society? The candidate comes to town with his public relations agents and the rest of them. He gives some talks, and says, "Look how great I am. This is what I am going to do for you." Nobody believes a word he or she says. And then maybe people vote for him, maybe they don't. That's very different from a democratic society.

Members of Congress literally buy power within Congress

A: Getting money out of politics is a very crucial matter; it has been for a long time. It's gotten much more extreme now. Things have reached a point in the US where, even within Congress, if someone wants a position with a degree of power and authority, they literally have to buy it. It used to be that committee chairs were granted by a political party on the basis of seniority, service and other factors. Now, you literally have to pay the party to be a candidate for a chair. Well, that has an effect, too; it drives members of Congress into the same pockets if they want to get anywhere.