With
the apparent polarization in American politics, a book about how the two major
political parties collude defies conventional wisdom. But, it is
happening, and the two parties are quite motivated to collude in a number of
ways while they bicker in other ways. This is not to say that the parties
love one another. They are rivals on the one hand. On the other
hand, they share some of the same threats – from third parties – and the two
major parties also benefit financially from many of the same special interests,
giving them common objectives. And, in
this respect they have become allies.
I
first started thinking about and collecting information to write this book a
number of years ago as I noticed a divergence between what I thought each of
the parties was telling me as a citizen and what the data appeared to be
telling me. As an individual who is trained in engineering and finance, I
am someone who is very data oriented, and examining data is a big part of what
I do for a living. I am sharing my opinions and my analysis because
conventional wisdom about the two political parties – or at least what they
would like you to believe - does not square up with the facts. Examining
the history of the two parties, neither has been especially true to their
advertised principles – adapting in an effort to increase their power rather
than adhering to principles that many Americans, share. Over the past
several decades a troubling trend has emerged where political spending,
government spending and political lobbying have grown enormously. In the
meantime, the revolving door of “public servants” moving between the government
and the industries impacted by the government spins at a disturbing pace – calling
into question who, in fact, our government officials are truly serving.
In this respect, government servants – and especially elected officials
and their staffs - are too often serving an apprenticeship for a future
employer. The media has also failed to perform its job adequately, as
much of the mainstream political reporting has largely deteriorated into a
means to entertain rather than inform the public. Finally, all of this
has occurred and has been facilitated by economic policies that have, over a period
of four decades, unhinged our currency, facilitated the mismanagement of our
government’s finances, made our financial system more unstable, increased
economic inequality, and permitted Wall Street bankers and large defense
contractors to become wealthy at everyone else’s expense.
Politics
in America has grown to be a very big business, with substantial media,
fundraising, lobbying and other components. Those who control our
government policies also wield great power over industries and citizens, and
therefore can realize outsized personal benefits. Although there are
certainly real disagreements between the two parties, there has also been a
great deal of collusion between them - especially over the past few decades -
to prevent other political alternatives from threatening the monopoly that the
two parties collectively hold. The result is that, by
preventing us from having political alternatives, our elected officials have
been able to enhance the wealth of a few at the expense of the many through
economic and foreign policies that enrich themselves and their financial
benefactors. The effect has been a corruption of our democratic processes
and American capitalism, producing disastrous results. This also assures
that serious problems that affect most of us don’t get addressed as Congress
kicks the can down the road and refuses to tackle these issues. By
examining the history of the parties, historical spending and taxation data,
economic data and trends, and voting data, I explore the how, the why, the
effects, and offer some ideas for solving this problem.
An
especially large problem is the evolution of our policymaking and the coopting
of the academic field of economics by political actors and those who want to
promote particular policies for their own gain. Economists have over the
past several decades had an outsized role in developing policies for nearly
every industry, and I examine in some detail where and how they have led
us. As the 2008 financial crisis might indicate, the picture is not a
pretty one. We have seen vital industries, such as energy and banking,
nearly implode thanks to self-serving policymakers of both parties that have
used or misused economic theory to promote policies that enrich their financial
benefactors. And, I’m afraid that the economics community has, for the
most part, been a willing and essential accomplice. They have also been
handsomely rewarded, as the portion of our national income that has gone to
financial services has nearly tripled in the period from 1950 to 2006.
Meanwhile, our financial system has become increasingly fragile and unstable,
income inequality has increased, our nation has become buried in debt, and our
government and its citizens have become increasingly reliant on debt rather
than income to sustain their spending levels.
Collusion between the parties did not start out as a great
conspiracy. Rather, it is something that has naturally evolved as each
party has endeavored to increase their power while also protecting against
threats from third parties. Political power requires being elected, and these
days it takes a great deal of money to get elected. To be competitive
both parties have come to rely upon many of the same wealthy and powerful
benefactors and both parties are therefore beholden to many of the same people
and industries. As a result, on many economic and foreign policy issues,
the differences between the parties are at most very subtle. In the
meantime, on social issues each party has become increasingly uniform in their
individual positions, with the Democrats more uniformly liberal and the
Republicans more uniformly conservative - not reflecting the wide and
increasing range of diversity that we have in this nation. It would seem
that with these social issues the two parties have forced us to choose between
the “blue” team or the “red” team, when in fact most of us are purple.
This has effectively disenfranchised the majority of Americans, and it is
reflected in voting turnouts that are the lowest of all advanced democracies.
Any nation we might want to compare ourselves to would be embarrassed to have
such low voter turnout. This, you might expect, would create
opportunities for political alternatives, and in 1992 Ross Perot’s Reform Party
gave the two major parties quite a scare by capturing 20% of the popular
vote. To protect their positions as the sole gatekeepers to government
policies, since 1992 the parties have in fact colluded in a number of ways to
place obstacles in the way of third-party alternatives. This has all but
eliminated the threat of a viable alternative to the two major parties.
By obstructing third parties, they retain their hold on power, dividing the
spoils and the power of governing between the two of them. The media,
lobbyists, and the rest of the economy that thrives on the contest between the
parties enjoy polarizing and heated debate, because that means more revenues
for them. Like an intense sports rivalry, politics has become an intense
rivalry that attracts media attention and motivates people to open their
wallets in support of their “team”. In this respect, the more intense the
political issue in play, the more money flows into the system through
fundraising, media coverage, lobbying, and “think tank” studies. Both political
parties and the media thrive on the conflict and all have a stake in keeping it
that way because it drives more money into the system. This is what I call the
Grand Collusion.
There is a possible solution, but it is not a clear and easy
path. There is a lot of money at stake for the people inside the
Washington DC beltway who benefit from the status quo. They will fiercely
defend the status quo. But, a solution is essential to setting our nation
back on the course that generations of Americans have fought for. The
solution lies in somehow making our politicians more accountable to all of the
citizens that they represent – not just the few with the resources to fund
their campaigns. After reading this book, you may not agree with me on
the solutions I offer. But, you will no doubt have a better understanding
of how serious the problem is that we face, and the role that our increasingly
dysfunctional two-party system has played in getting us to where we are.
But first: Is your cup empty or is it
full?
How many times have you watched a
heated political argument where one side actually persuaded the other of their
view? Very few, if any, I would suspect. This is because more often
than not both people had full cups, with no room for another perspective.
Emptiness the starting point. — In
order to taste my cup of water you must first empty your cup. My friend, drop
all your preconceived and fixed ideas and be neutral. Do you know why this cup
is useful? Because it is empty.
- Bruce Lee, martial
artist
The
message here is that you must first have an open mind if you are to
learn. If you have preconceived notions, they will prevent you from
seeing the truth. You can only learn if you have an empty cup and you are
looking to fill it. If your cup is already full, you cannot add to it.
If
you already have a strong identity with one of the two major political parties,
you may not want to read any further. Your beliefs and faith in your party may
be foundational to your personal identity, and it may be hard to accept
information that challenges your world-view. But, if you have an open
mind, you may find the thesis I present in this book interesting, even if you
don’t find it compelling.
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