I don’t know if it would be good policy to, as the Treasury Department recommends, merge the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). But I find it depressing that such a move is impossible because of this:
[Chairman Barney] Frank has made significantly more headway with his Agriculture Committee chairman, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), than [Sen. Chris] Dodd has.
Frank and the folksy former accountant and farm state champion have been working out details since at least early June, when the pair told [Treasury Secretary Tim] Geithner over dinner that he needed to back off a proposal to merge the Securities and Exchange Commission with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Peterson’s panel oversees the CFTC and the futures contracts it regulates. The administration plan would have stripped the Agriculture Committee of its influence over the global economy — and its members’ ability to collect campaign contributions from the financial industry.
Peterson made clear first to Frank, then to Treasury, that the plan would spark a massive turf battle that would bog down the overall bill.
Those campaign contributions from the financial industry to the House Agriculture committee also explain why most of the members of the committee will vote against progressive policies on health and climate. Anyone want to count how many members of the committee are Blue Dogs?
When are we going to realize that the ONLY way to take back our government from the monied interests is public financing of campaigns and forbidding ANY OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS.
I don’t know how you’d set the goal to a minimum threshhold for receiving public money – that’s going to be the bear. But we have to do this, or those with money will continue to own our politicians, and policy will be crafted with job security in mind first.
That or make all government jobs part-time or volunteer positions so that they have to live and work in the real world. But that leaves the playground to the rich, also a bad idea…
“… members’ ability to collect campaign contributions…”
6 words that encompass all that is wrong with the way the political system as it’s now structured functions…or more correctly, dysfunction’s.
health care √
climate change √
EFCA √
…
…
the list is endless. until we can get the financing of elections out from under the control of the corporate oligarchy…yeah, when pigs fly… we can anticipate a lot more of the same. it’s not about right or wrong anymore, it’s about power and prestige…somewhat lacking in many regards, especially the political arena…until then the concept of government of, by and for the people is, for all intents and purposes, a moot point.
money doesn’t talk, it swears
At least Baucus is willing to play ball.
At least whoring for the insurance industry isn’t painless.
Public financing would only work if we could at the same time forbid private contributions, which runs into “free speech” issues every time. I think the goal should run more to making advertising too much of a burden to continue. Like providing many hours of free candidate tv/radio time only if candidates refrained from advertising. I don’t know how you get rid of campaign ads disguised as “issue messages”, though.