CBSNews.com launches "United States of Influence" series

United States of Influence handshake lobbyist capitol congress economy GENERIC / CBS/iStockphoto

CBSNews.com's Political Hotsheet this week is launching a new series, "United States of Influence," which employs CBS News polling and in-depth stories to examine Americans' frustration with Washington.

A CBS News poll conducted for the series found that seven in ten feel people like they have little say in what their government does; eight in ten believe most members of Congress are primarily interested in serving special interests, not the people they ostensibly represent.

The series will shine a light on the aspect of Washington that so infuriates Americans: The influence of moneyed interests in the political process. It kicks off Tuesday with a story on the new CBS News poll, which includes Americans' views on whether the federal government serves the interests of the rich.

Alienated nation: Americans complain of government disconnect

On Wednesday, CBSNews.com Senior Political Reporter Brian Montopoli's in-depth profile will examine the paradox of New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, who has cultivated a reputation as a friend of the middle class while aligning himself strongly with Wall Street. And on Thursday, CBSNews.com Political Reporter Stephanie Condon will take a hard look at why members of Congress are so much wealthier than the average American.

The series will continue in regular installments throughout the year, with the focus remaining squarely on the aspects of Washington that have alienated many Americans. Stories can be found on a special page on CBSNews.com, http://www.cbsnews.com/unitedstatesofinfluence.

[davidlaing]

American citizens need not despair over their apparent powerlessness in the face of government corruption. Those who are committed to making change happen can become online activists who contribute daily to a powerful alternative counterforce to corporate influence on government officials. Such online activist groups as change.org, colorofchange.org, moveon.org, sierraclub.org, and care2.org provide action alerts that focus on pressing progressive issues and offer concerned citizens an opportunity to take immediate action by signing petitions, sending emails to politicians, making phone calls, contributing money, etc. They also provide feedback that clearly shows how effective online activism actually is. All considered, this is by far the best opportunity for concerned citizens to make a real difference in the way our corrupted government operates.

[lapperson]

Why is it that CBS is not presenting this series on television?

[lapperson]

Why is it that CBS won't present this series on television?

[sjc_1]

They removed my comment about America being by the corporations and for the corporations.

[vpcharan]

We all know the problem for long time and I am glad CBS is focusing on this issue now, at last. What we do about it? There are solutions, but how one can implement short of a bloody revolution. As long as our elections are financed by the private sector, nothing will change. Even our supreme court justices have become corrupt slaves of big money. United States should make public financing of the election the law of the land. How about putting this proposition on the 2012 ballot for all Americans to weigh in and if the majority vote would force the law makers to change/amend current practice. This applies to all elections, including county, state and federal.

[spike54321]

They could solve this in a heartbeat. No private money for elections. All campaign money must come from a separate budget item in each states budget on the state level and the national budget on the national level. Such legislation would have a bats chance in hell of passing. Both parties love the current power and influence too much, all at the expense of the honest tax paying American.

[CaroleLutness]

I don't THINK the wealthy have stolen our democracy. I KNOW it. Starting in 1976 when the Supreme Court ruled "Money equals Free Speech" they began to buy government. In 2010 with Citizens United they were told by the Right Wing Supreme Court that they can spend anything they want in elections. Yesterday the Supremes ruled that "Clean Money" Public Campaign financing which has leveled the playing field for years in AZ, CT, etc was unconstitutional. Why? Because it inhibited the "Free Speech" rights of the super wealthy backed corporate lackey candidates. With 37,000 corporate lobbyists roaming the Capital, writing bills and buying legislators what chance does the average citizen have? In 30 years they have manipulated politics so much that they are virtually free of taxes and regulation while the tax burden has been shifted onto the middle class. Now they are out to destroy the safety nets - Social Security and Medicare and want to privatize every government service they can make a buck off of and eliminate any they don't like - EPA,HHS, etc. Yeah - don't say I'm envious of the super rich. I'm livid that they have been so clever to be able to rig the Wall Street Casino tables so that they always win. The only way we can gain control of our government again is to abolish Corporate Personhood because that is the way they have managed to pull this heist off and institute good public campaign financing on all levels of government.

[justme2012]

Speaking of influence.

CBS, will you find out where Obama's $820,000 in foreign income came from last year so we can see who is influencing our POTUS.

Oh and CBS, don't just accept that the money is for 'book royalties" it's not. Actually do just a little research and number crunching on our own. Start with the Obama 2009 tax return and then compare to his 2010 return. Both are on the WH website.

[justme2012]

Democrats are confused.

Obama is a global econonomy socialist. He's proven that over and over and over again.

But then the common democrat on the street is screaming about "sending jobs overseas".

You can't have it both ways. You can't be a global ecocomy socialist because it sounds good to "save the world" and then scream about giving jobs to starving people.

[endrepubs]

Well, what are we going to do about this revolving door of special interests and the wealthy getting vastly wealthier? I do my part by voting and talking to friends and spreading the word on what is happening to America. While both parties are guilty of this 30 year trend....the Republicans are totally unapologetic about it...in fact they want to see an even more lopsided income inequality just based on the agenda they constantly reiterate. As if the backs of the average American isn't already broken, the Republicans call for less taxes and responsibility on the wealthy and less benefits and more responsibility for those without means. The 30 year trend of the rich getting far richer has been staggering. The wealthiest 1% of Americans now own an unheard of 34-38% of the nations total wealth/assets. The top 10% now own 70% of the total wealth/assets.
Somethings got to give. This is unhealthy and unsustainable. With tax levels for the wealthiest at historic lows (for most of the last 30 years)and tax loopholes available only to those wealthy, no wonder this trend has taken hold. Corporations also pay a far smaller share of the tax burden than they did 40 years ago even though the "stated" corporate tax rate in America is one of the worlds highest. (We actually have one of the lowest "effective" corporate tax rates when the "actual" taxes paid by corporations are tallied.) We can thank our elected Congress which creates these obscene tax loopholes for our wealthiest to dodge taxes. Wealthy individuals and corporations are now sitting on HUGE stockpiles of cash and that money has effectively been 'taken out of circulation'.

[justme2012]

You can thank Obama for the wealth they are sitting on. It's all the stimulus money he stole and gave to his $35,000 a plate contributors like GE.

And I haven't heard a single democrat apologize for it.

[Dmorris_Engage_America]

I understand the frustration but just making all these statements without basing them on facts only confuses an already confusing issue. Do you have sources for some of your claims about the corporate tax rate? I would like to read the source articles.

I agree with you that what corporations actually pay in taxes is not the same percentage that they are supposed to pay. Currently, the combined federal and state statutory corporate tax rate is at a very high 39% compared to the average corporate tax rate of other developed nations, which is around 26%. (http://******/mOpkXL) This number is what scares away foreign investment.

A big reason a lot of American companies never end up paying the full statutory amount of taxes is because of tax breaks and deductions in our tax code. Just look at GE who paid almost nothing in taxes in 2010. (http://******/m3nyeb) However, companies in the U.S. pay an average effective tax rate of around 27%. (http://scr.bi/ldGkg4) This rate is a lot more competitive with other markets, as opposed to the listed statutory rate of 39%, and would help to draw foreign companies to U.S. shores.

Lowering the statutory corporate tax rate, by cutting out the loopholes to a level more in line with the effective rate will increase the amount of businesses that want to invest their resources in America.