Democracy for sale

Democracy dies with the influx of money. Speech is not equivalent to money, no matter what the US supreme courts say. Billionaires and the wealthy have always tried to buy off elections and guide governments to their desired whims. Imagine if you or I gave a thousand dollars to someone in exchange for something. We obviously would hold them to it and hound them if they didn't deliver.

Now make that figure astronomically big. Tens of millions. Enough to buy coverage in the papers, buy influencer marketing, digital campaigns and what have you. They'd be able to host events, town halls and put other parties to shame. Soon enough, political parties lineup hat in hand to big donors, wining and dining them, at the cost of ordinary voters.

Ordinary voters are priced out and their views and preferences increasingly redundant to the voting process. The highest bidder wins and country is run by oligarchs.

The reform party of the UK received the largest donation in British history today by a single donor. Imagine how corrupt and corrosive that practice is to the election process. We need a fundamental safeguard of elections and the democratic principles before we find ourselves irrelevant besides the man or woman with the biggest cheque book.