Media

Like so many young Americans, Derek Wetherell is stuck.

At 23 years old, he has a job, but not a career, and little prospect for advancement. He has tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, but no college degree. He says he is more likely to move back in with his parents than to buy a home, and he doesn't know what he will do if his car—a 2001 Chrysler Sebring with well over 100,000 miles—breaks down.

Progressive groups are warning that the Supreme Court may be on the verge of allowing federal candidates to collect multi-million dollar checks from donors.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, attorneys and representatives from the campaign finance watchdog groups Democracy, Public Citizen and Demos all raised the specter of candidates hosting $1 million-a-plate fundraisers in the near future if the Supreme Court strikes down a key provision of campaign finance law.

Over the past two decades, both political parties have basically embraced a low-wage economy in which paltry wages for millions of Americans is offset by favorable tax treatment: both through the EITC and other credits, and low or zero tax rates for earners at the bottom of the economic ladder. Toss in dirt cheap consumer goods at stores like Walmart and it all sounds almost workable. Sure, you don't make much per hour flipping burgers at McDonald's, but you can get a nice refund at tax time and can buy a flat panel TV for $199. 

Occupy Wall Street was born exactly two years ago today, and even as that movement reached its zenith later in the fall of 2011, it was easy to dismiss the activists who took over financial centers around the nation. Their policy agenda was amorphous and their organizational processes seemed maddening. Compared to the Tea Party, with its disciplined focus on winning elections, Occupy appeared fleeting and ineffective. 

Yet Occupy changed America in major ways, and is still changing it. Here are seven big ways Occupy influenced both U.S. politics and culture:

Five years after the fall of Lehman Brothers and the worst financial crisis since 1929, one thing seems certain: another meltdown of the financial system will eventually happen. Why? Because we still haven't fixed many of the problems that led to the last crisis. 

Have you heard of the Freedom Partners? According to a Politico investigation, the group raised and spent $250 million in 2012 to shape political and policy debates. According to IRS filings, the group has 200 donors, each of whom paid at least $100,000 in annual dues. And while its head, Marc Short, claims that, “our members are proud to be part of [the organization],” they refuse to be publicly identified. So, proud to be a part of it, as long as you don’t know who I am?

The Tea Party crazies are at it again in Washington, making John Boehner and Eric Cantor look like flexible moderates by comparison. While Boehner and Cantor want to avert a government shutdown—which is the last thing the GOP needs right now—extremist members of the House stand ready to bring the federal government to a standstill starting October 1 unless Obamacare is delayed for a year and Pentagon spending is increased.

Why are social justice organizations up in arms about an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case involving political contribution limits? It might have something to do with America's widening income inequality, which in many ways is being financed by wealthy campaign donors. A ruling in favor of lifting limits on the amount individuals can contribute would allow the wealthiest of the wealthy to control parties in ways that would make the Great Gatsby proud.

When it comes to financial products, the line between employee and consumer often becomes blurry. If your boss insists that you receive your wages on a pre-paid debit card that charges high fees to access your earnings or check your balance it’s clearly a serious employment problem. And yet consumer law may be workers’ best remedy.