PF Topic for December 2011:In the US, current income disparities threaten democratic ideals.

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com...http://www.opensecrets.org...http://www.oed.com...http://www.nytimes.com...http://www.networkeurope.org...http://query.nytimes.com...http://www.cbsnews.com...http://www.opensecrets.org...http://www.opensecrets.org...http://www.nytimes.com...http://thebluestates.wordpress.com...http://www.npr.org...https://www.cia.gov...http://money.cnn.com...http://www.opensecrets.org...http://www.opensecrets.org...We adopt the Center for Civic Education and the National Council for the Social Studies’ definition of democratic ideals, which consist of the “fundamental beliefs and constitutional principles of American society, which unite all Americans....expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the United States constitution and other significant documents, speeches, and writing of the nation.” “The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.” -Thomas Jefferson. This is the danger we are facing. There is no definition in either Merriam Websters dictionary or the Oxford English Dictionary. Therefore, because the topic is specific to the United States, we define democratic ideals according to those giants of democracy-John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. The common good of the people, domestic tranquility, from John Locke, the pursuit of Property. and equal representation in government are all values strongly held by our founding fathers and are therefore valid ideals to be considered in this debate. We would like to define democracy according to the OED: that form of government in which the sovereign power resides in the people as a whole, and is exercised by them (as in the small republics of antiquity) or by officers elected by them, used denoting a social state in which all have equal rights, without hereditary or arbitrary differences of rank or privilege. We must also define the income gap according to the CBO findings which is that: in terms of share of market income the lowest quintile has under 5% of the share, the second quintile- about 7% the middle quintile about 12% fourth quintile-about 19% and the highest quintile- about 60% (20% of which is the top 1%) as of 2007.Contention 1 The current income gap creates UNequal represenentation between the middle-income earners and the high earners. Here are a few reasons. The Citizens United decision about a year ago enables wealthy people like Karl Rove ( to set up Super PACs whose only purpose is to support their candidate for president. And lets face it, money is the currency of democracy. The more money a candidate has, as we know, has a bigger chance to win an office. Out of the 422 seats up for election in the 2010 midterm, all but 7 of those who won had a significant financial advantage over their opponent- even in places where their political opinion varied greatly with that of the population of their district/state. About 50% of that campaign money raised is from wealthy individuals-about 0.82% of the population. In fact, less than 10% of campaign money comes from ordinary citizens like you and me. This leaves a disproportionate amount of power in the hands of less-than one percent of the population and is directly destructive of the value of equal representationContention 2 Congressmen are loyal to those who give them money. According to a poll conducted by USA Today, 59% of Americans think that BP should pay ALL costs for the Gulf oil spill and BP has a 6% approval rating. BUT, 115 republican members of the House of Representatives agreed that BP’s refinancing of those Gulf families affected by the spill was “a shakedown.” And the funny thing is, in 2008 alone, over $13 million was given to the republican party by major oil and gas companies. This lack of incentive to be what they were meant to be-servants of their constituents- is degrading of the political system, and instead of serving the constituents, they serve the the 1%.Contention 3 Because of wealthy lobbyists in Congress essentially bribing politicians for their vote, the congress no longer serves the Common Good of the nation, but rather the interests of the wealthy corporations. Congressmen are loyal to those who finance them significantly, which happens to be 0.82% of the population. Can the interests of 800,000 people be the interests of a nation? Certainly not. Currently, house republicans are blocking any and all tax increases, even those on the super-rich despite the fact that 64% of Americans say that millionaires SHOULD be taxed more than they currently are.Thank you.