As Will Rogers once observed, “This country has
come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets
hold of a hammer.”
This Congress is especially terrifying because the
Republican majority has decided that 2005 is payback time for their
big-business backers, and they’ve turned Washington into an assembly
line for the delivery of corporate America’s full wish list.
It’s business as usual, of course, for Washington to enact laws that
enrich corporations, but this time the political leaders are going much
further, rigging America’s basic rules of fairness.
CEOS have only dreamed about being handed these
structural changes in the past, but now their campaign contributions and
lobbying clout have altered the political dynamics, and their victories are
coming hard and fast, with most of us totally unaware that we’re
getting hammered.
The first blow came barely a month after Congress
convened. A new law, obliquely labeled “tort reform,” was
rammed through. Behind that arcane title that means nothing to the vast
majority of folks is a “reform” that can really whap you. If
you’re harmed or killed by corporate malfeasance, good luck getting
any justice, for this law moves class-action lawsuits against corporations
out of your state court and into corporate-friendly federal courts,
restacking the scales of justice against you.
Now comes a law for “bankruptcy relief,”
another misnomer. It provides relief not for economically strapped people
but for credit-card giants! If you’re poor or middle-income and find
yourself overwhelmed with debt, this bill forces you into a vindictive form
of bankruptcy that lets bankers seize your wages, car, and other essential
assets you need to get back on your feet.
Many more blows are coming. To track and fight this
corporate power grab, call Congress Watch: 202-588-7777.
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2005.
