Has there been any real progress made towards eliminating big money in politics?

[Hardkill]

Campaign finance reform has been a mainstream issue for decades, with various efforts and proposals aimed at addressing the influence of money in politics. 

Yet, I don't see any real progress having been made on this issue at all, even after Bernie Sanders and the progressive movement began to rise to prominence in 2016.

Also, what happened to Wolf-PAC? 

 

Edited September 5 by Hardkill

[BlueOak]

Money is politics. The two are inseparable. All that can happen is people value different things which gives different people power. That doesn't happen much because the people with money ensure they remain in control.

Let's say all large donations were removed from politics, and by determined effort, we could eliminate all financial incentives given to politicians. The people with money are still significantly shaping society and those same politicians and voters in the first place. They are some of the pillars which hold up society too, and keep it stable and functioning in the form it's in, they employ the best and they stay on top because they excel at competition.

I guess that is part of the reason why conscious people were encouraging many of us to start businesses 10 years ago, in the hopes that a few people out of the many trying (or collectively) would earn enough money to have more significant influence, but when you weigh that against an oil company, weapons manufacturer, or banking firm who are the bedrock of how society functions, I see the futility of the gambit.

Not to say things don't change around the edges, within the populace, or external stimuli, but I don't foresee a time even if we had stage yellow leaders where money wouldn't be the primary catalyst, inhibitor, or foundation of anything significant happening at all in politics or anywhere else.

[zazen]

I’m sure this guy is wrong on some aspects, but interesting listen nonetheless.

 

[Leo Gura]

Not gonna happen.

[Keryo Koffa]

The only way to eliminate big money is to eliminate all money

[Staples]

If you eliminate money from politics the only other tool we have for securing power is force. 

So take your pick.

We need force, money and new technologies as potential options for solving conflict and getting human needs met.

The problem is in the minds of those who wield power, not the tools they use.

Edited September 10 by Staples

[Ulax]

From what I understand, it seems progress has been going in the opposite direction.

A big recent case seems to be Citizen United (2010). Where it was ruled that corporations and unions had no limits on the amount they could donate in support of political campaigns. Before corporations and unions weren't allowed to do this, outside of donating to political action committees, which had limits on contributions. The key rationale seemed to be that the court saw political spending as coming under the protection of free speech, so previous restrictions were viewed as contrary to the first amendment. 

McCutcheon case (2014) got rid of restrictions on individuals ability to donate to multiple political campaigns within a given time frame. So, further expanding the influence that wealthy donors could have on politics. 

[Hardkill]

9 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Not gonna happen.

So, then what has been the point of Wolf-Pac and all of this big talk about how we need to get money out politics?

[Hardkill]

Well, this is very depressing. 

One of my greatest fears is that the people and the government may not be able to stop the rich and big corporations from taking over our entire country before it's too late.

I mean I don't think that's going to happen, but the possibility of that happening just went up a lot in my mind now. 

Edited September 10 by Hardkill