Dollarocracy - Who Runs America?

President Obama has finally scraped his controversial healthcare bill through the US House of Representatives, the bill was passed by 219 votes to 212, with no Republican backing, after hours of fierce argument and debate. Why so much support for anti-healthcare reform? We in the UK don't understand the need for paying for what is a human right. Under the legislation, health insurance will be extended to nearly all Americans, new taxes will be imposed on the wealthy, and restrictive insurance practices such as refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions will be outlawed.

Cost: $940bn over 10 years; would reduce deficit by $143bn

Coverage: Expanded to 32m currently uninsured Americans

Medicare: Prescription drug coverage gap closed; affected over-65s receive rebate and discount on brand name drugs

Medicaid: Expanded to include families under 65 with gross income of up to 133% of federal poverty level and childless adults

Insurance reforms: Insurers can no longer deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions

Insurance exchanges: Uninsured and self-employed able to purchase insurance through state-based exchanges

Subsidies: Low-income individuals and families wanting to purchase own health insurance eligible for subsidies

Individual Mandate: Those not covered by Medicaid or Medicare must be insured or face fine

High-cost insurance: Employers offering workers pricier plans subject to tax on excess premium

So far so sensible, for an explanation we could look at another example, US foreign policy in the Middle East. The US has long been a supporter if Israel, despite their behaviour. The reason for this is the powerful Israeli lobby in the US. Among the best-known critical works about the lobby group AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) is "The Israel Lobby and Foreign Policy", by professor John Mearsheimer and professor Stephen Walt. In the working paper and resulting book they accuse AIPAC of being "the most powerful and best known" component of a larger pro-Israel lobbythat distorts American foreign policy. They write:

"AIPAC's success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge it. ... AIPAC makes sure that its friends get strong financial support from the myriad pro-Israel PACs. Those seen as hostile to Israel, on the other hand, can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to their political opponents. ... The bottom line is that AIPAC, which is a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on the U.S. Congress. Open debate about U.S. policy towards Israel does not occur there,even though that policy has important consequences for the entire world."

In other words, the US foreign policy is dictated by the powerful Israeli lobby. Could it be that those against healthcare reform are not representing their constituents, but in fact the Healthcare Insurance Companies themselves? Bearing in mind it costs millions to run for office in the US, where do the prospective senators get their donations from - anyone who wants an opinion in congress.

It seems the Dollar buys you a voice in America, not a vote.