AS ICE CREAM entrepreneurs, Jerry and I have been on a journey that has led us squarely to the conclusion that, while there are many ways that a business can use its power to improve people’s quality of life, the most effective lever for economic and social justice is the government.
Business can use its voice to influence government for good. But too often big corporations use the system of unlimited political “donations”—a system that John McCain calls “legalized bribery”—to skew the government in favor of their own narrow self-interest. That’s why I’m devoting my time and treasure to hacking at a root cause of injustice: big money in politics and crony capitalism.
A nationwide poll of small-business owners commissioned by Small Business Majority found more than three-fourths (77 percent) of small employers say big businesses have a significant impact on government decisions and the political process, whereas a mere 24 percent say small businesses have a significant impact on the process.
The same poll shows 85 percent of small-business owners (the real “job creators”) support efforts to get big money out of politics. This is consistent with other polls that say 80 percent of Americans—Republicans, Democrats, and independents—agree there is too much money being spent to influence elections and lawmakers.
People are right to view their representatives askance. A recent study affirmed that having money does, in fact, lead to increased access and influence in Washington. Researchers found that representatives were more likely to meet with people donating money than with a regular constituent, and laws were more likely to reflect wealthy special interests rather than the public interest.
Take for example the 2015 budget bill (H.R. 83), which included a provision written by Citigroup lobbyists to roll back part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and deregulate derivative trading. These are the same complicated financial devices that helped precipitate the economic meltdown in 2008.
These big-money groups, with their entourage of lobbyists, have suppressed the voices of regular citizens in Washington. They have knocked out our country’s constitutional promise to “promote the general welfare” by politically privileging wealthy interests.
I decided to fight back. Last year I started a campaign, called the Stamp Stampede, to rally grassroots “we the people” to get big money out of politics. More than 30,000 people across the country—and the numbers are growing—are stamping paper currency with messages such as “Not to be Used for Buying Elections.” We’re turning actual paper money into millions of miniature billboards to create a mass visual demonstration of support to get money out of politics. We’ve even recruited hundreds of small businesses to set up point-of-purchase stamping stations in their stores so that customers can stamp their money and get involved.
Every stamped dollar is seen 875 times. That means one person stamping three bills a day for a year will create a million impressions. We’re literally turning money into media. It’s monetary jujitsu—using money to get money out of politics.
The movement is rapidly growing. More than 550 towns and cities have passed anti-corruption measures to address big money in politics. President Obama and more than 150 members of Congress support an amendment to overturn Citizens United. There is a lot more work to be done, but nothing worth doing comes without its challenges.
Our government “of the people, by the people, for the people” is in serious jeopardy. Together we can use something as simple as a rubber stamp to create a roar so loud that even Congress will be forced to act.
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