Barack Obama and his 2008 presidential challenger John McCain both received more money from Wall Street donors than their combined lifetime government salaries. It was a billion-dollar-plus campaign. In fact, all of Congress makes more from Wall Street and corporate campaign contributions than their public salaries. It is the nature of the modern political system. And Timothy Geithner, despite cheating on his own taxes, was plucked from the New York Federal Reserve to serve as U.S. Treasury Secretary. So who can the People turn to for solutions?
Some very well-meaning people have suggested apparent solutions to alleviate some of these challenges. Some have called for a separation of money and politics. Some have called for ending the Federal Reserve System. Some have suggested a complete write-off of all fraudulent debt. Some want higher taxes imposed on the well-to-do. Some demand more free government services like healthcare and higher education. Some say ending the wars at home and abroad will be the cure-all. Each of these proposed solutions seem to have some attraction, but they also have flaws that need to be addressed.