I wrote a letter to the Chicago Tribune.
It’s behind a paywall so the text is also below:
Citizens United still plagues elections
The recent Democratic debate was a refreshing change from the blandness and crude insult comedy (I’m speaking mainly of Donald Trump here) that has passed for political dialogue in the current presidential campaign.
The historically low voter turnout last year in this country may indicate that the electorate understands that both of the main parties are essentially bought by the same people (called the top 1 percent).
The only way to ensure we can make necessary long-term improvements in education, health care and the environment that would actually benefit the majority is to reform campaign financing and repeal Citizens United.
Of all the presidential candidates in the two major parties, Bernie Sanders is the most likely to support these changes. The other Democrats and Republicans rely too heavily on corporate funding, which means they are all essentially for sale to the highest bidders.
It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that Joe Biden accepted large contributions from credit card companies before he helped spearhead legislation that made it harder for students with loan debts to gain bankruptcy protection.
Until Citizens United is gone and corporate bribery is no longer legal, voting for the president will continue to be the modern day equivalent of the old Pepsi Challenge.
— Vittorio Carli, Chicago Ridge
