Politicians shouldn't be sold to highest bidder

To the Editor:

I was impressed with a letter by Mary Calgaro published on March 7.

“Lately, it is very apparent that the individual feels quite helpless with our own government doing its own thing, ignoring the people and the Constitution. The citizenry always has to be watchful of big government in an effort to keep our freedoms. The local government is now our best option for sustaining any resemblance of a ‘free’ society,” Calgaro wrote.

I believe the only way to solve this dilemma is to stop corporations and other big money interests from buying our politicians. The current system, including lobbying, does not resemble the democracy I remember learning about in school. I am offended that corporations have the same rights as individuals.

Warren Buffett, with a million-plus income, pays 17 percent federal income tax and his secretary pays 30 percent. This is just not fair. I object on the grounds that I have less control over my representatives than he has.

I have joined an organization called Wolf PAC because we must remove the corrupting influence of money in politics to restore free and fair elections in this country and make politicians work for the people again. The corruption in Washington, D.C., is bipartisan, and so deep and widespread that we are calling on our state legislatures to use the tools provided in the Constitution to pass resolutions that call for a Constitutional amendment to fix this issue.

I am fighting to stop our politicians from being sold to the highest bidder at the state level because there we still have a chance to retrieve our democracy. Every state official has an email address which makes sharing one’s concerns about how they vote very easy. How they vote has a direct correlation to how I vote and I know they understand this by their responses.

This kind of resolution has been passed by the Vermont state Senate (JRS 27) which may make Vermont the first state to demand our democracy back. I was impressed that this was a bipartisan win. I am hoping that Michigan will get this done before Wisconsin.

Instead of supporting politicians monetarily this year, support Wolf PAC. Corporations have already bought the politicians. If your funds are low, being a Wolf PAC volunteer like I am is equally valuable.

Carl Lindstrom

Ironwood