Excellent piece –
How inequality makes our government corrupt and our democracy weak
by Matt Stoller
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/06/28/how-inequality-makes-our-government-corrupt-and-our-democracy-weak/
“There is no free lunch. If we want a functioning democracy, we need to pay for a functioning public sector. If public servants are treated poorly relative to corporate CEOs, then we will get bribed and subservient public servants and government via the board room. Public servants, and citizens themselves, will become dependent upon private concentrations of power. If we want to stabilize our society, we must strengthen the public institutions designed to protect our democracy. If we don’t, we may not have a democracy for much longer.”
“There is no free lunch. If we want a functioning democracy, we need to pay for a functioning public sector. If public servants are treated poorly relative to corporate CEOs, then we will get bribed and subservient public servants and government via the board room. Public servants, and citizens themselves, will become dependent upon private concentrations of power. If we want to stabilize our society, we must strengthen the public institutions designed to protect our democracy. If we don’t, we may not have a democracy for much longer.”