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Political Science

United States Political System

2. Is the political system of the United States in a crisis right now? If so, why and how,

and if not, why and how?

It is not a new thing nowadays hearing about the government of the United States getting hit and

broken over because of corruption allegations. It is evident to most as to why the government is

corrupt because lobbyists write laws, politicians get bought, and this leads to many of the closest

issues being affected by corruption. What is worse, however, is the conviction that people have

that there is nothing they can do, one of the biggest lies the people of America believe

concerning their politics. The problem, however, is not that crude politicians are involved in

corrupt deals, the problem is that there is no law for them to break in the first place (Fairbanks,

50).

An example of how corruption has become legal in America is when special interests and

billionaires give vast amounts of money to Congress members who regulate them

(Heidenheimer, 339). Those same members of Congress pass laws to help lobbyists who come in

handy when offering them an easy job when they leave the office. Notwithstanding, there are

other many legal ways that public officials are bought. The American Anti-Corruption Act 

comes in and introduces a set of strict rules and ethical standards to be followed. Furthermore, it

means that if one is elected an official say in the Senate Committee, these people cannot take

money from lobbyists. Also, it requires full transparency for the people of America to know who

is buying the elected officials. Therefore, it changes the funding of elections, and the few

uncorrupted candidates win without compromising or selling to other billionaires or special

interests. All this is done while protecting the interests of the American people and their rights as

free speech.

Corruption has, however, been destructive in the American political system. The government is

for the people, and the citizens pay for it. It is, therefore, only fair that the government works for

the citizens. It is even shocking when 4% of the citizens had great confidence in the Congress. It

is also not considered a full democracy because the country is in the middle of a political failure,

which is a system opposite to what the nations' founders had envisioned. But what is causing the

crisis, and how can the government be fixed?

With issues like education, health, or infrastructure, public opinion influences the laws made by

Congress. However, what has been happening for the longest time in American politics is that

even when issues as health and education are raised, there is usually zero support for such laws,

making there be a 30% chance of the bill getting passed by the Congress. In case such issues

were to get 100% support, though there still will be a 30% chance of the law getting passed, the

preferences of the American citizen will have some amount of impact on policy. Also, politicians

spend close to 70% of their time in raising funds for their re-election after they get elected into

office. The reason why is so that they can win a seat in the senate and some races, they have to

come up with $45,000 every day for six years to win. Also, it needs to considered that only

0.05% of Americans give a lot more than $10,000 to politics. It now becomes clear why

politicians are dependant on the .05% of Americans, including special interest groups and

billionaires.

All the while, lobbyists are writing laws and donating to the politicians suppose they pass. Such

vast influence over elected leaders makes up a corrupt system in which the Americans citizens

have a near-zero control over the government. What is worse, it is allowed to happen, causing a

failure in the most critical issues in the country. A lot in trillions is lost annually on abuse of

office and fraud, yet one in five American children is living in poverty (Fairbanks, 52). It is

unfair, as healthcare in the US is the most expensive. Prisoners are on the rise given that the US

has more per capita than in China and Russia or that jobs are getting lost to the world.

Notwithstanding, water and air are not as clean for the people of America. It hurts most, knowing

that America was created on the promise of provision and that of self-governance, yet it is not

the case today.

The question of how to make the system clean again arises. It is in fixing the system that there

will be more power to fix many other issues. According to the most brilliant people in the

country, passing laws to stop political corruption and bribery can work, as well as fixing broken

elections (Johnston, 339). Power will then move from those who are corrupt in the establishment,

back to the citizen’s hands. The way, however, to mend elections broken by corruption includes

ending gerrymandering, creation of ranked-choice voting for independents and the third parties

to also win elections, implementing automatic registration for voters as well as accepting voting

from the comfort of a person's home. When it comes down to stopping bribery in the American

political system, there should be an overhauling on lobbying and ethic laws as this closes

revolving doors making politicians not easily bribable, especially with the high paying jobs that

they are enticed with. Full transparency should be a mandate, especially in political spending, so

that it is clear who is trying to buy influence. Also, voters could be given maybe a $50 tax

voucher to prevent politicians from relying on the .05% of American citizens to get funds from.

It will make politicians spend time fundraising from their constituencies. As these are just among

some of the reforms that could help bring corruption to a halt, it will act by undoing the ring of

influence from politicians and begin to reinstate that the citizens are the most vital influences in

the government and over elected leaders.

All reforms make up what is called the American anti-corruption act, which has 87% of the

American citizens supporting its making. Though it is expected that Congress will pass it given

the support from the citizens, it gets tricky when though they won in the current system, they

have an incentive not to fix it. To fix this, however, the issue will need to go around Congress

and ought to get passed ni cities and states across America. As the US constitution gives States

the control on how to run elections, including Federal election, fixing gerrymandering or the

election laws will lead to the fixing of federal elections in each state. It also means that going

state to state, and there will be an immediate impact on how Congress is elected and will help in

holding them accountable. It has also been noted that, over time, major key events say court

decisions or grassroots campaigns have the most effect. Once they reach maturity, they trigger a

rush in State activity leading to the ultimate change in federal law.

Fixing the corruption problem in the United States is possible, and it needs progressives and

conservatives coming together to pass the anti-corruption law across the whole of America.

Three significant innovations can, however, be used, including calling out corrupt leaders and

corruption, right-left coalition, and the building of a movement to fix corruption. Also, all

Americans need to get enlisted to their respective parties to be able to support reforms. When it

comes to having a significant movement, it needs to comprise of all kinds of people across the

nation, all fighting for the same thing – against corruption or for the anti-corruption laws to pass.

After, they should make sure that the laws are implemented and protected. Liberals and

conservatives should come together and work against corruption by building a significant

movement to represent the people of America. It is also only fair that the people who elect the

politicians should have the same politicians working for them, and not just the billionaires or

special interests.

Works Cited

Fairbanks, H. “The Feudalization of the State.” Journal of Democracy. 10.2, (1999), 47-53.

Heidenheimer, A. “The topography of corruption: explorations in a comparative perspective.”

International Social Science Journal. 48.2, (1996): 338-347.

Johnston, M. “The search for definitions: the vitality of politics and the issue of

Corruption.” International Social Science Journal. 48.3, (1996): 321-335.