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Sunday, February 7th, 2016

Corporate Interests Take Aim at Local Democracy

Author:     Brendan Fischer, Kim Haddow and Mary Bottari
Source:     Truthout
Publication Date:     Friday, 05 February 2016 00:00
Link: Corporate Interests Take Aim at Local Democracy
Stephan:   The legalization of bribery has corrupted the Federal level of government, almost everyone can see this. The effect of unlimited money at the state level is becoming increasingly apparent, although still much less known. It is now reaching local governance, and very few know this. Here is a good report on the situation.  
A demonstrator displays a flag decrying corporate spending in US political elections in front of the Waukesha Convention Center on July, 13, 2015, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Credit: Juli Hansen / Shutterstock.com

A demonstrator displays a flag decrying corporate spending in US political elections in front of the Waukesha Convention Center on July, 13, 2015, in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Credit: Juli Hansen / Shutterstock.com

Across America, corporate interests are taking aim at local government.

With Congress gridlocked and a majority of state legislatures controlled by right-wing interests, cities have become laboratories of democracy for progressive policies like a higher minimum wage, LGBTQ protections, or parental leave.

In response, corporate interests and groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have increasingly been turning to state “preemption” measures – some of them unprecedentedly aggressive – to override an array of progressive policy gains at the city or county level.

“2015 saw more efforts to undermine local control on more issues than any year in history,” said Mark Pertschuk, director of the watchdog group Preemption Watch.

Last year, state legislatures in at least 29 […]

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