Bens+Go+Fix+It+Post



Corporations can be found as the cause of many of the sustainability problems that we are currently facing. One of the main goals of the Occupy Wall Street movement is to end the money train between Wall Street and congress. Corporations should not be able to use their money to influence policy decisions. Any individuals that have stood up against these practices has been hit with a SLAPP suit to make sure their voice is not heard and it has taken an entire movement for these individuals voices to finally be heard. It’s about time for all these voices to be heard, so we turn to our politicians to be our voice. At the very top is the president and I want to just quickly talk about the election process for becoming the next president. It begins with conventions where political parties formally nominate their candidates for president. This is done by elected and designated delegates of the party that choose these candidates based on the preferences of the party members of their state. These nominees go to either primaries or caucuses where in the end each political party chooses one final nominee that will receive the party’s backing. This means that when it comes times to vote, US citizens will essentially only have two choices for president. There is no way that the opinions of the whole country fall neatly into two choices. What this does is create a system where people vote along party lines and not on the issues they feel are most important. The solution to this is a movement called Americans Elect which is run through an online website. They stress that we should, “pick a president, not a party.” They are fed up with current politics and want leadership that will tackle the serious challenges that are facing this country. To do this they are trying to become the first nonpartisan nomination on the ballot. Using the internet as a medium to communicate with literally millions of people at once they have gained a lot of support in their movement. Their aim is to give every voter, regardless of their party affiliation, the chance to nominate a presidential ticket for the 2012 elections. They are not a third party in the traditional sense, but instead just a ticket directly nominated by the people. They stress that every voice matters, and that voters should decide on the issues they think are most important and then find a candidate that lines up with their values. In June, they will hold an online convention and put the Americans Elect ticket on the ballot. The candidate put forward by Americans Elect will be the sort of leadership that puts, “country before party, and America’s interests before special interests.” With no party backing, it is difficult to fund the campaign considering the amount of money other candidates are spending on their campaign. The Wall Street Journal estimated that just for the 2008 presidential primaries, Obama’s campaign spent $75 million on TV ads (Carnevale). It’s clear that Americas Elect needs some financial backing to really have a fighting chance in the elections. To do this they accept donations similar to the way other parties do except that Americas Elect will not accept money from candidates, special interests, or political parties, and they will not accept any individual contribution over $10,000. By doing this they eliminate the possibility for someone to buy the election because they only people that the candidate now has to answer to is the American voters. Once the candidate is selected and put on the ballot, Americas Elect will not campaign for them and it is instead up the delegates of Americas Elect to decide. So now hopefully I’ve enrolled at least some of you in this idea of a nonpartisan ticket so here is how you get involved. Any registered voter can become a delegate for Americas Elect just by signing up. Once you sign up you can define the issues that are most important to you and then see how different candidates line up with your views. You are still able to vote in your parties primary, and then in addition you can participate and vote in the Americas Elect convention. If Americans Elect get 3 million signatures, they will be granted ballot access in all fifty states and they are already currently over 2 million. So why is this important to environmental sustainability and how does this affect me? The catalyst to a huge shift towards sustainability needs to come from government regulation over companies. No company wants to invest in new production methods because it is time intensive and costs a lot of money. It doesn’t make sense for them to do when their competition is not. If the government stepped in and set strict regulations that protected the people, then all the companies would be equally affected and have to change their ways. This does not happen in the current government because the biggest influence on the government is corporations and their money. What the government should really be doing is listening to the voices of Americans and determining what is best for the country instead of what is best for certain individuals that may have contributed to their campaign. At the end of the individuals that are elected to the government should be forced to answer directly the people and listen to what they have to say.

To learn more about this topic check out:

[] Main website of Americans Elect where individuals can sign up and get involved, and also find out more about the movement.

[] Popular Science magazine article discussing Americas Elect and their strategy.

[] Colbert report interview with Elliot Ackerman who is the CEO of Americas Elect.

References

// Americas Elect 2012 //. Americans Elect, n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2011. .

Boyle, Rebecca. "The Future Now." // The Future of Elections: Startup "Americans Elect" Plans an Internet-Based Third-Party Convention in 2012 //. Popular Science, 25 July 2011. Web. 7 Dec 2011. .

Carnevale, Mary Lu. "2008 campaign price tag: $195 million in political ads." // Washington Wire //. Wall Street Journal, 02 June 2008. Web. 6 Dec 2011..

Gold, Matea. "Americans Elect seeks to upend primary system." . Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2011. Web. 7 Dec 2011. .

L. Friedman, Thomas. "Make Way for the Radical Center." // Sunday Review //. The New York Times, 23 July 2011. Web. 7 Dec 2011. .

Lucas, Greg. "Americans Elect: A new political party that isn’t." //Capital Weekly //. Capitol Weekly, 01 A. Web. 7 Dec 2011. 