About: Suzanne Merkelson
Bio: Suzanne Merkelson is the former Associate Web Editor at United Republic. She previously worked at Foreign Policy magazine, where she was a web producer. She has also interned at The Atlantic and NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook. Suzanne has written for the Chicago Tribune, Foreign Policy and The Atlantic, among others.
LINKS: “This Is The End Of Accountability In Elections”
Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Campaign Fundraisers: You’re Cordially Excluded There are many aspects of our money-soaked political culture to worry about. One that we seem to be getting awfully comfortable with is the off-the-record fundraiser, which consumes an increasing amount of presidential candidates’ time and energy. Raising money under a cloak of silence suggests that candidates have one
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LINKS: Do We Need Dodd-Frank? That’s A Clown Question, Bro
Washington Post: Money gap may not matter so much in November Obama probably will be similarly outspent in the end, but given the near-parity in bank accounts on both sides, it won’t make much difference. “Nobody’s going to win or lose this election on the basis of not having enough money,” said Bob Biersack, a
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LINKS: Corruption Is Up In The United States
New York Times: The Spreading Scourge of Corporate Corruption The misconduct of the financial industry no longer surprises most Americans. Only about one in five has much trust in banks, according to Gallup polls, about half the level in 2007. And it’s not just banks that are frowned upon. Trust in big business overall is declining.
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Record Polluter Lobbying Contributes To Record Heat
It was so hot in D.C. this weekend that a plane trying to depart from Reagan National Airport actually sunk into melting tarmac. In Colorado, wildfires have destroyed over 600 homes in a matter of days. Meanwhile, the recent “derecho” storm, one so severe it needs a special name, killed at least 23 people and left
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Political Corruption Enhances the Influence of the One Percent
The Atlantic: Big Campaign Spending: Government by the 1% Here’s what we must come to see: America has lost the capacity to govern. On a wide range of critical issues — from global warming to tax reform, from effective financial regulation to real health-care change, from the deficit to defense spending — we have lost
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John Deere, CVS Caremark, HP, MillerCoors, And Best Buy Drop ALEC
Today, five new companies have pledged to stop funding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). They include John Deere, CVS Caremark, MillerCoors, HP, and Best Buy. According to the activist group ColorOfChange: “Over the last few weeks, we have closely followed the issues surrounding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and have heard from numerous
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Lunchtime Money in Politics Links: July 8, 2012
The Washington Post: Romney outraised Obama in June, $106 million to $71 million (Important to note that these totals don’t include funds raised and spent by outside groups like super PACs!) New York Times: Democrats to Ask for Curbs on Donor-Shielding Groups The Democratic Party’s Senate campaign arm will file a formal complaint on Monday with
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Still Sweating? Here’s Another Reason To Hate Pepco: It Spends Your Tax Dollars Lobbying To Increase Rates For Its Shoddy Services
The Washington, DC, area experienced incredibly severe storms on Friday night, the kind that, with an unprecedented number of downed trees, can only lead to extensive power disruptions — 1.5 million were without power for at least part of the weekend. Yet three days later, 25 percent of households and businesses in the area still don’t
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