Americans Beginning To Understand Corporate Influence Over Government

The chart above was made with information from a recent Rasmussen Poll. The poll was conducted on August 13th and 14th of a nationwide sample of 1,000 likely voters -- and has a margin of error of about 3 points.

Progressives have been trying to tell Americans that not all Americans are treated equally, with the rich being much more equal in the eyes of government than other Americans. And the same is true of businesses. Corporations have a lot of influence over our government, while small businesses are left out in the cold (just like ordinary citizens).

It looks like the general public is starting to realize this truth. About 71% now believe that businesses with a political connection are treated much better than businesses that don't -- while only 13% think all businesses are treated equally (and 16% don't have an opinion).

Of course, those businesses with the political connections are the giant corporations. These corporations donate millions of dollars to political candidates (mainly to Republicans, but also to a few Blue Dogs), and have an army of paid lobbyists on Capitol Hill to wine and dine the politicians and make sure corporations get a nice pay-off for those contributions.

Small businesses can't afford the large campaign donations or lobbyists to represent them. And even when they band together, they sometimes get betrayed by organizations claiming to represent them (like the national Chamber of Commerce, which is just a shill for corporate power). The result is an attitude in Washington that whatever is good for the corporations is good for all businesses (and citizens). This is not even remotely true, but it is the prevailing attitude in Congress (especially among Republicans).

We are supposed to have a government of, by, and for the people. But the reality is that we have a government controlled by the moguls of Wall Street and the giant corporations. That must change, or we will lose what few freedoms we have left.