Jan 11, 2022
Location: New York
Date: Friday 10th December
Project: Democratic primary for 2022 US Senate
election in Ohio
Role: Democratic
candidate
It is a common refrain that US politics is broken: a two-party system limiting serious debate, corporations corrupting politics via PACs and lobbyists, media monetizing rage, a polarised electorate demonizing the opposition. The themes are well worn, but nothing seems to change.
At the same time, society is beset by a growing list of material issues: rising inequality, a squeezed middle class, unprecedented levels of debt, impacts of technology on jobs, climate change, the rise of China, etc. etc. etc.
There are strong grounds to suggest that such issues can only be only mitigated or solved through coordinated action managed by the government. There are equally persuasive arguments that rather than fix things, the government actually exacerbates problems.
If we are to start to repair society, we need to fix politics. This starts with having politicians citizens can trust, politicians that are informed, politicians not beholden to corporations, politicians that make decisions based firmly on the merit of an argument.
Cynicism is justified, but it does seem there is a new cohort of budding representatives on both sides of the political spectrum who want to bring such change.
In this interview, I talk to former senior advisor at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and prospective Democratic candidate for the 2022 US Senate election in Ohio, Morgan Harper. We discuss her political motivations, removing corporate money from politics, how Bitcoin can help level the playing field, and taking politics out of policy.