• In 1993, in the midst of an economic recovery with an expanding economy, an additional one million Americans fell into poverty.
• The wealthiest 2% of Americans saw their incomes rise by 75% during the 1980's.
• 1% of the population provides 77% of all campaign contributions.
• 1% of the population owns 37% of all assets in America.
• In 1992, the average seat in the House of Representatives cost about $543,000 to win. While the average seat in the U.S. Senate cost $3.9 million. The recent Huffington / Feinstein Senate race raised the cost into the tens of millions.
• Money means electoral success. In 1992, 86% of U.S. Senate candidates who outspent their opponents in the primary went on to win the election. In the House, 89% of the biggest spenders in primaries won.
• Recent election results, the Contract with America, and the passage of Proposition 187, paint a dismal future for the average American.
  

These and other statistics demonstrate the expansion of power of corporations, the concentration of money and control to the richest in our society and the continuing erosion of any financial security for the rest of us. This expanded power and control is wrecking our environment, killing us and our children and making us sick; robbing us blind, not paying their fair share of taxes; sending our jobs overseas, where they create sweat shops and enrich local elites; buying our elections and laws; and controlling "reality" by limiting what we are told. In light of the recent elections and the political shift to the right, the issues we care most about: health, environment, education and jobs; are even more in jeopardy. In fact, true participatory democracy for the majority is rapidly slipping away to control by huge corporate entities. Our democracy is being sold to the highest bidder.

It is with this situation in mind, the the Center hosted a Money In Politics Conference March 10-12, 1995 with the Environmental Research Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics. 63 California activists examined the alarming information and shared some exciting strategies for change. We wanted to share some of that information with you and therefore, we devote this edition of "Synergy" to explore the ever-growing, and disturbing, influence of money and corporations on public policy. Inside you'll find a compilation of articles written by people who have investigated and studied various aspects of this situation. We're sure you will find them to be interesting and thought provoking, if not down right alarming. While painting a frightening picture, the authors offer some exciting solutions to the problem.

We hope you read this edition carefully and let us know your thoughts. It is designed to be a resource to be shared with others. Feel free to utilize it in your work.

Penny Newman, Executive Director
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice

Download this entire document (1870k) in Adobe Acrobat format here.

**note: to view this document you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The Acrobat Reader is free and can be downloaded for your platform here.

Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ)
PO Box 33124 * Riverside, CA 92519
Phone (951) 360-8451 * Fax (951) 360-5950
Website: http://www.ccaej.org
E-Mail: admin@ccaej.org