The influence of money in politics has been the primary reason for the deteriorating state of our democracy and as corporate influence grows, it threatens to completely crush the democratic rights of anyone unable to pay off politicians with millions of dollars in donations. There is no presidential candidate more firmly entrenched in this legalized form of corruption than Hillary Clinton. In a presidential race with two strong, anti-establishment candidates, Clinton remains a bastion of corporations and the establishment. With her track record of prioritizing private interests over people, Clinton is an ill-suited candidate to solve the threats to our freedom of speech. She is the very embodiment of the perversion of our democracy and would only hasten its imminent demise.
In 2010, Haiti was poised to raise the minimum wage from a paltry $0.22 an hour to a slightly more respectable $0.62 an hour. Naturally, multi-million dollar companies such as Hanes and Fruit of the Loom balked at the idea of moving closer to a living wage for a country where a third of the population is considered food insecure by the World Food Program. It’s estimated that the rise would have cost $1.6 million; this number is pocket change compared to the $211 million in profits reaped from this slave labor. Who came to the defense of the companies in the face of greedy laborers? Hillary Clinton’s State department; which pressured Haiti into only raising the wage to $0.31. That decision ensured that the Haitian laborers continued to stagnate in poverty while the multi-million dollar companies could continue to take advantage of morally reprehensible wages. This decision to prioritize corporate profits over people’s rights is a constant in Hillary Clinton’s political career.
Looking closer to her home, her preference for corporate profits over people’s rights continues to be evident. Hillary Clinton’s support for trade treaties that allow companies to outsource American jobs overseas, one of the primary forces weakening the middle class, is further evidence that she values profits over people. Treaties such as NAFTA and TPP have allowed companies to utilize labor in countries with much lower living costs(and therefore much lower wages) at the cost of jobs for people in America. Despite denying that she ever supported these treaties, comments from strong supporters of the TPP show her stance will likely change once she achieves the nomination. These comments should be met with fear from the American people; those predictions fall in line with her previous support for corporations and tendency to alter opinion based on her donors.
One of the primary economic dangers we face today are the “too big to fail” banks. People such as Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, former Goldman Sachs executive Neel Kashkari, and Robert Reich are calling for these banks to be split up in order to prevent another financial crash. Among those against such reforms? Hillary Clinton. Why on Earth would she call for the breakup of these banks when they have paid her and Bill Clinton $153 million for speeches and she continues to rake in millions from them in campaign donations? This vested interest in super banks is an indicator that if elected President, she will pursue Wall Street interests that will endanger the fragile economic recovery we are currently managing. As long as she remains indentured to Wall Street, she will not pursue the required changes to our government to restore some sense of democracy and representation.
While on the subject of Wall Street, let’s talk about Hillary Clinton’s undisclosed speeches to Goldman Sachs. I realize many will think that I’m beating a dead horse but it matters to her eligibility as President. The fact that she refuses to release the transcripts should be evidence enough that there is something there that will damage her chances at the nomination. Judging from unofficial reports of the speeches, ‘she sounded more like a Goldman Sachs managing director’. Those transcripts could be concrete evidence to the people that she is willing to prioritize corporations over the vast majority of the American people.
The release of those transcripts could be the grand unveiling of Hillary Clinton: Corporate Bastion. She has continually shown throughout her political career that she holds no qualms at sacrificing people’s jobs and rights for corporate benefits. The immorality of repressing Haiti’s minimum wage hike paints a portrait of a steely politician indifferent to the suffering of people. Considering that these corporations she has aided in the past continue to virtually fund her entire campaign bid despite her seemingly liberal stance, the American people should be wary of trusting her to represent their economic and social interests over those of the 1% and the corporations they run. One does not need to thoroughly examine her history to find ample evidence of these corporate tendencies. The writing is there on the wall, you just have to be willing to read it.
Cleisthenes 