The political system of the contemporary United States is a de facto oligarchy (a ‘plutocracy,’ to be precise). And the organization that shapes much of its legislation these days, especially at the state-level, is ALEC (the ‘American Legislative Exchange Council’). The ‘model bills’ that ALEC drafts – and which subsequently often are passed with only minor tweaks by Republican-controlled state legislatures – aim at serving the interests and increasing the power of the wealthy (by weakening or destroying environmental protections, regulations on corporations, taxes on the wealthy, regulations on campaign contributions, and so forth), and at disempowering the less advantaged (by weakening or destroying collective bargaining rights, voting rights, local self-government, public education, workplace protections, and so forth).
This excellent cartoon – a spoof of the old ‘Schoolhouse Rock!’ cartoon “I’m Just a Bill” – nicely summarizes what ALEC is about and its thoroughly negative impact on contemporary American politics.
My familiarity with ALEC is based on experience: the governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, is a member and champion of the organization. The consequences for Wisconsin have been horrific.
ReplyDeleteFor an excellent discussion of Walker (including his relationship with ALEC) see: http://www.thenation.com/article/get-ready-for-scott-walkerand-the-ruthless-politics-of-walkerism/
On how today's plutocrats (amazingly) see themselves as champions of justice ("We all justify our actions and rationalize our decisions, and no one thinks they're the villain of their own story"):
ReplyDeletehttp://prospect.org/article/why-koch-brothers-are-heroes-their-own-minds
More on Gov. Walker as ALEC's tool:
ReplyDeletehttp://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/meet-alec-s-hoped-for-man-in-washington-scott-walker