Donations to political parties

[wan26]

Last week another controversial story hit the political headlines in the UK, due to the frequency of these stories the doping effect makes each one seem trivial. This one grabbed my attention though because it unearthed the mysterious relationship between government and businesses. It was revealed that doors were opened to those offering sums of and above 200,000.

Apparently, you can even sit around the table with the PM and influential ministers and engage in a spot of fine dining. The concern for me is when they start to discuss policy, that devalues our vote dramatically. Business engaging with government is not a new thing, it's necessary – there are even places for lobbyists from companies and this is well established, but they should be kept well away from policy making decisions and the heart of parliament.

We do not want to arrive at a situation where we have a capitalist oligarchy in the guise of a democracy rescuing a deficit. I'm tempted to rant here, but I’ll be more interested in what you think.

Here's a link to a recent article on the issue:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17504261

[Muskelmann098]

Personally, I don't believe any political party, senator or presidential candidate should be allowed to receive gifts above a certain value. In my opinion, this undermines the democracy aspect, as it shifts the loyalty of those leaders we put our faith in away from the greater good and towards a certain group of people.

In short: Any donation to a person/organization who holds political power is a bribe. And when it is illegal for me to "donate to" a police officer, it should be illegal for me or my business or labor union to "donate to" a political party.

Unfortunately, no sane person or organization in power will ever pass a law preventing them from taking bribes...