Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular Government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both.

–James Madison

Many Americans have become disillusioned with our political system. We vote for the lesser of two evils, often without knowing what Evil Jr. really stands for. We need to arm ourselves with knowledge to combat the failings of our system. One way to do this is to start a scientific information movement, compiling relevant, impartial science in a nonpartisan journal that could be a trusted source for all voters – a scientific voter’s guide. Imagine a world where our politicians actually responded to our desires, instead of telling us one thing and doing another, or trying to convince us we want something else.

According to polls, most Americans want the following:

· More spending on needs such as healthcare and education instead of the 2003 tax cuts (67%)[i]

· Money directed toward a jobs program instead of the 2003 tax cuts (76%)[ii]

· Healthcare to be provided equally to everyone, just as public education is (84%)[iii]

· Federal funding of public education increased (65%)[iv]

· Stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment (82%)[v]

· An energy security plan based on more solar power, higher fuel efficiency standards, and fuel-cell technology (88%)[vi]

· U.S. cooperation with NATO and the U.N., using diplomacy to deal with international disputes (70%)[vii]

· The U.S. to work more closely with other countries to fight terrorism, in the wake of 9/11 (73%)[viii]

· The U.S. to participate in the Kyoto agreement to reduce global warming (71%)^viii

· Countries that are part of international trade agreements to maintain minimum standards for protection of the environment (93%)^viii

· The U.S. to sign on as a participant in the International Criminal Court (55% for vs. 21% against)^vii 

Even if we don’t all agree that the above policies are right for Americans, I think the vast majority of us can agree about some basic rights that ought to be shared by everyone (adapted from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1994 Draft Declaration of Principles on Human Rights and the Environment):

1. All human beings are born equal in dignity and rights.
2. All are equal before the law, and shall not be subjected to torture, cruel punishment, or arbitrary detention.
3. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his or her private affairs, nor to attacks on his or her reputation.
4. Authority of government is derived from the will of the people, and everyone has a right to participate in government.
5. Everyone has the right to economic, social, and cultural security.
6. Everyone has the right to fair and just employment with equal pay for equal work.
7. Everyone has the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood.
8. Everyone has the right to a free and fair education.
9. Everyone has the right to a sustainable, healthy, and ecologically sound environment.
10. Everyone has a responsibility to give back to the community, environment, society, and humanity.  

While we have made great gains in a number of these areas in the past fifty years, there are also significant failures, and there is room for vast improvement.

• There are 35.9 million Americans living in poverty (over 8% of the population, or almost 1 of every 12 citizens). 12.9 million of these are children. Upwards of 600,000 Americans go homeless each night.
• There are 45 million uninsured Americans. Lack of health insurance coverage may cost 18,000 unnecessary American deaths each year. There are 40 countries (including Cuba, Taiwan, Greece, and Ireland) with lower infant mortality rates than the United States.
• While average worker pay has risen slightly faster than inflation since 1990, CEO pay has gone from 42 times the pay of the average worker in 1980 to over 300 times the pay of the average worker today. Corporate profits rose 128% from 1990 to 2003, while average worker pay rose 49%.
• In 2001 the United States was number 22 out of 22 leading industrial nations in income equality. In 2003 women made 75.5 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Poor and minority schools receive less funding than other schools.
• Landscape alteration, resource extraction, over consumption, pollution, and introduction of invasive species are wreaking havoc on our environment. Species extinction may be 100 (or more) times greater than it was before humans lived on the earth. Climate change may pose the most serious risk ever to humanity.
• Worldwide there are 1.2 billion people living below the international poverty line (less than $1 per day). Of these people, 852 million are hungry. Over 30,000 children under five die every day from preventable diseases (ten times the number of people killed in the September 11^th attacks, every day). AIDS-related deaths claim 3.1 million lives per year. There are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today.

These ongoing problems might not make it into the news as much as the Scott Peterson trial, but we should all be aware of them. 

So why haven’t we overcome some of these major problems? It’s what we the people want. Why isn’t our government getting the job done? These questions aren’t easily answered, but there are a number of contributing, interconnected factors. Our political system is set up in a way that makes money the prime motivator. Political candidates need money to communicate with the populace via advertising. Election expenditures were $1.6 billion for television advertising alone in 2004. The money candidates raise comes overwhelmingly from corporations, labor unions, special interest groups, and wealthy individuals. As of 2000, less than 5% of Americans contributed anything in individual campaign contributions, and less than 0.25% contributed over $200. If money talks, 95% of Americans say nothing. The more money you have, the more free speech you get. In other words, speech isn’t free anymore. Politicians have become increasingly beholden to their sponsors, often formulating policy with them and appointing them to positions of power. A disturbing number of former industry lobbyists and representatives go on to positions where they are supposed to be regulating their former industries. Then when politicians have to answer to the American people, they must use spin, bluster, and disinformation to hide the fact that they haven’t really been addressing our needs. Politicians have been reduced to mountebanks, selling snake oil to the masses. 

The media tend to go along for the ride, content to rake in advertising dollars while oversimplifying and reporting on events devoid of substance (such as who’s ahead in the polls, candidate personalities, controversy, and issues surrounding the campaign), while neglecting the more static issues (policies, platforms, plans). It is possible for a majority of the people to be wrong, especially when information and facts have been neglected as less than newsworthy. 

Politicians and the complacent media have made it hard for the American people to understand what’s going on. People don’t have the time to try and decipher all the poor information we’re fed. But we are also culpable in letting ourselves be duped. We have a responsibility to try and understand what’s become of our government, and to make our voices heard. 

The problem of money in politics, and the misinformation and misrepresentation that it buys, can and is being attacked on a number of fronts. Campaign finance reform remains high on the agenda for Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) – putting more muscle into the existing regulations, and pushing for further reform to close loopholes. Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford are part of an effort to push for free airtime for qualifying candidates in the months leading up to an election. A number of websites disclose candidates’ funding sources. There are also nonpartisan websites disseminating information about candidates and issues. These are all important steps for working toward more responsive government. 

Without reliable information about our politicians and their agendas, it is difficult to make good decisions about who and what to vote for. The information generally exists, but most people don’t have the time or resources to track it down. There ought to be a source for consistently reliable and comprehensive information about politics. Project Vote Smart is a nonpartisan website that presents some information about political candidates, but would benefit from more in-depth analysis of issues. This could be provided by an interdisciplinary journal that summarizes issues with political significance from peer-reviewed journals covering everything from economics to ecology to sociology to medicine to foreign policy. So, for example, a research article from the journal Oikos, examining the effectiveness of the Healthy Forests Initiative, might be summarized in the same issue as a study in Economic Issues projecting the effects of privatizing social security. 

If the journal developed a reputation as a fair source of political information, its findings might be reported in the popular media. Findings could also be distilled and disseminated via a website like Project Vote Smart’s. Additionally, prior to elections, the journal could publish a guide with a comprehensive review of past issues to aid voters in making a decision. With enough resources, this could also be distributed to all registered voters. 

Armed with this knowledge about what our politicians and candidates are really up to - about what their platforms might really accomplish for the good of our society - more of us will be inclined to choose better representatives. And in turn, the pool of good, honest candidates will deepen, responding to our desire. A scientific voter's guide won’t solve all the problems with our current system, but could empower enough people with the knowledge to help keep our government from becoming more of the farce or tragedy that James Madison feared.

Useful resources and links 

Campaign Finance

Campaign Finance Guide: http://www.campaignfinanceguide.org/

Russ Feingold on Campaign Finance Reform: http://www.russfeingold.org/cfr.php

The Reform Institute: http://reforminstitute.org/index.shtml

Campaign Finance Institute: http://www.cfinst.org/ 

Issues

Project Vote Smart: http://www.vote-smart.org/

Issues Pro & Con: http://www.issuesprocon.org/

Almanac of Policy Issues: http://www.policyalmanac.org/

Legislative Histories: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/legishis.html

Free Airtime for Candidates

Alliance for Better Campaigns: http://www.bettercampaigns.org/

Common Cause: http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=192076 

Funding Sources

Center for Responsive Politics: http://www.opensecrets.org/index.asp

Political Money Line: http://www.fecinfo.com/

Follow the Money: http://www.followthemoney.org/

Other Resources

The Center for Public Integrity: http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx

The Center for Voting and Democracy: http://www.fairvote.org/index.html

Political Search Engine: http://www.politicalinformation.com/

Washington Votes: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

1994 Draft Declaration of Principles on Human Rights and the Environment: http://www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/environment/envright.html