There's an excellent, even important article on the Topeka Captiol-Journal website presently that points out the biggest problem in our states but in Washington, DC, too.
Conflict-of-interest questions swirl around Kansas GOP senator
Here's the situation taken from a Facebook friend's, Davis Hammet of Loud Light, page today.
After becoming Chair of the Kansas Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Julia Lynn got a job working at Allied Global Services (AGS). Sen. Lynn endorsed and confirmed Brownback’s Commerce Secretary Soave who later was found to be steering government contracts to his friends. AGS got over $13 million in government contracts the last few years. As that scandal came to light, Sen. Lynn used her Chair position to block an investigation into those deals. When questioned about all this she said that she’s exempt from conflicts of interest... This story just made her resign from the corporate job, but she hasn't resigned from the Senate.
Money.
Money is our problem here in Kansas. And Missouri. And all across every state in the nation and, as I said above, especially in Washington, DC.
It's money that has made our health care system tied to profit instead of being universally available as all other Western, industrialized nations have.
It's money that got us the outrageously priced higher education system we have now that also shuts people of modest or little means from being able to participate.
It's money that has our legislators writing that legislation and our laws for the already-wealthy and corporations, not for the people and nation.
For Kansas and across each state, here is what we need to do to fix this, taken from the same Facebook thread:
Lauren Smith-Sessions It's time to address paying a livable wage to legislators so that we can elect good people that care about Kansas more than personal gain.
It's just not that complicated.
Pay our representatives at the state level enough to be there and do the work. Then, along with it, make any funds taken from any other person or company illegal.
Then, in Washington, in our Federal Government, we need to, first, overturn Citizens United. Then we need to end campaign contributions entirely. We have to think the unthinkable.
Other nations have done and do this. The UK is an excellent example. By making campaign contributions not just possible but legal, we have effectively legalized bribery. It's insane. It's not true, representational government. It's not "for the people."
Ironic, isn't it? We, the US, the "world's wealthiest nation", being crushed by money.
Link: National Elections: What the UK Does Right and We Americans Do So Wrong