Is our Government Really Broken?

Our government works in the sense that the effects of its failure have not been felt yet. Let me explain myself. Our government is, for argument's sake, a democracy. The core principles of a democracy are equality, and a government serving the interests of its people. However, our country's government has become a failed attempt at this. Though our founding fathers' idea was strong, times have changed, as has our system of government. In an age where lobbyists, corporate campaign funding, and negative campaign ads run rampant, power has been stripped from the hands of the constituents. We do not have an educated electorate, and this fact relieves politicians from the responsibility of being answerable to the people. The full extent of this has only occurred in the past few years; therefore our government still seems somewhat intact. But as more and more companies and PAC's realize the newfound potential power they have over the elected representatives of the people, nearly every decision will be made not by transparency and open debate, but by money changing hands and lobbyists paying off Congressmen. So what has to be done? In my mind there are several flawed aspects of our politics.
Lobbyists are one of the biggest issues our political culture faces. Yes, some lobbyists are honest representatives who merely support a certain cause, but many lobbyists are crooked Washington insiders hired by mega-corporations to exert an unfair amount of influence and to persuade Congressmen to support legislature that would be beneficial to certain corporations. These lobbyists often bribe our elected officials with cash gifts, expensive presents, and fancy dinners.
On a related note, we must stop campaign funding from corporations, and extensive donations from wealthy donors and PAC's. How can we possibly expect our representatives to make unbiased decisions when the same people who provide our politicians with campaign funding constantly nudge them one way or the other on pieces of legislation? The answer is we can't expect that, and it doesn't happen. So how do we prevent this? Eliminate the need for excessive campaign funding. As our system currently works, wealthy candidates have a huge advantage over their less fortunate opponents. These individuals can use their own wealth to finance their campaign. This is an intrinsically unfair aspect of American politics, and leads to less-wealthy candidates desperate for funding (which the PAC's are all-to happy to provide). If we were to initiate a system of free advertisements for all candidates, this would remove the much of the need for campaign funding. If we were to increase the number of publicly televised debates this would also level the playing field for less wealthy candidates, lead to a more educated electorate, and guarantee political victories based on merit, not wealth. Political reforms are not moving at the pace they should be, and unless a call for change is made the status quo will continue and our political situation will worsen.
There are so many things that could be bettered about our government's workings, and I'd love to hear some of your thoughts. After all, that's what this blog is about; open debate. So leave a comment, send me an email (john.publius1@gmail.com) or join my new facebook group
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Thanks for reading