The United States federal government is today a wholly owned subsidiary of a handful of powerful corporations. These corporations own our so-called "elected representatives" and write our laws. Things do not have to be this way, but unfortunately, barring a popular insurrection, things are very unlikely to change anytime in the near future. From the
Washington Post:
Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has vowed
to conduct a comprehensive review of our nation’s copyright laws to
determine whether they are “still working in a digital age.” That’s a
long overdue task. But there’s a danger that the process will be
dominated by a handful of special interest groups that have long been
reflexively hostile to technological progress [emphasis added].
Last year’s defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) caused industry
groups to intensify their lobbying efforts. And they haven’t been subtle
about it. In the wake of the SOPA defeat, Motion Picture Association of
America chairman Christopher Dodd warned legislators: “Don’t ask me to
write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don’t
pay any attention to me when my job is at stake.” . . .
There's a danger that the process will be dominated by a handful of special interest groups? What planet is this author from? It is a veritable certainty that any such process in the US Congress is dominated by a handful of special interest groups. Pretending otherwise is certainly not helpful.