You may not want to vote, but guess who does.

The tea-party crazies will be out in full force in this congressional election.  They are only 5-10% of the population, so if 15% of the normal people vote, we can drown them out and take out congress back.  Do you want a do-nothing congress?  Congress will make 158 million dollars over the next two years of YOUR money.  I want congress to get things done, but John Boehner will not let ANYTHING come to a vote because the 5-10% tea partiers want gridlock.  Don't let them cripple our country.  You are getting ripped off, your environment is being destroyed, your industries are being decimated.  And you have one vote to help change that.  Yes, your one vote doesn't change anything.  It takes millions of them to elect a President or Senator, and thousands of them to elect a Representative.  No one gets to call the shots with their one vote.  But when put together with others who think like you, your vote WILL make a difference.  Don't sit this one out.  As you sit there, the banks are stealing more of our money, the rivers and air are getting poisoned, and the promise of upward mobility in America is disappearing.  Get out and vote.  Do it now.  Don't wait for election day- anything could happen that prevents you from voting.  Take advantage of early voting and make sure your vote counts.  VOTE VOTE VOTE.  I did and it took only 10 minutes.

A vote for Rauner is a vote against voting

In Illinois, currently, it is very easy to vote.  Everyone can get a mail ballot; the early voting locations are many and have good hours; and the polls are adequately staffed and conveniently located on election day.  You don't need to show an ID, you just have to attest that you are who you say you are (who would risk going to jail for a felony just to cast an extra ballot??)  If Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor wins the election, you can expect that to change.  Republican governors all over the country have worked to restrict voting and make it harder for the people (all the people) to participate in our Democracy.  Quinn has not been stellar, but I expect Rauner will be terrible.  He wants to lower the minimum wage, end marriage equality, privatize social security and medicare; break up unions; and risk our environment with fracking.   He's given over 1.5 million dollars to the Koch brothers; and we know how little regard they have for people and the environment when there is money to be made.  So I'm voting for Quinn.  If you vote for Rauner and he wins, you can expect to have a harder time voting next time.

One problem with the corporate model

A corporation has one goal- to make as much money as possible.  So if I can make 100 million dollars by creating good-paying jobs in America and producing a product that is useful and good for the planet, that's great.  But if I can make 101 million dollars by sending all my jobs overseas, harming the economy, and making a product that destroys the environment, well...that's just business.  Screw y'all.  I'm taking my extra million and putting a helipad on my yacht. 

So, does that mean that we should get rid of all corporations?  No.  There just needs to be a balance between benefiting the private and the public. Corporations are indebted to their shareholders. Without them, they would not have the capital with which to conduct business. But they are also indebted to the environment (physical, political, economic, etc) in which they do business. Without a uniform currency, courts, roads, our natural resources,and an educated public, companies would not be able do business. So I think that if you can't make money while treating your employees and the environment right, then you shouldn't be in that business. And I don't think corporate profits should be the only measure of a company's value.