Dollar Democracy by Peter Mathews
Professor and author, Peter Mathews, spoke at Cypress College in Lecture Hall H-131 on Tues., April 21 to a crowd of approximately 100 people.
Mathews discussed with the audience the effect of money in politics on our society. Mathews is the author of the book Dollar Democracy with Liberty and Justice for Some: How to Reclaim the American Dream for All and a Political Science professor at Cypress College. According to Mathew’s, dollar democracy is “the millions and billions of dollars used by wealthy campaign donors and corporate lobbyists to legally buy influence over our members of Congress, which stops them from representing us, the 99 percent, and fighting for public interest.
Mathews spoke last month at El Camino College to an audience of approximately 200 people about the effects of dollar democracy on things that students deal with daily, like the cost of tuition and books, good paying jobs being available after earning a degree, and healthcare.
Scott Herron, one of Mathews Political Science students attended and said, “I’ve learned how deeply special interests are embedded in our government and in the reach of politics.”
Alexandra Searles attended the discussion as well. “It’s good for our generation to know what’s really going on in our government, and he reveals that in his discussions.” She hopes other students will attend his discussions because, “He opens our eyes to see the hidden agenda of our government with corporate tax loopholes, and how corrupt our Congress is because they take money from corporations.”
Herron said, “Students should go because it’s important to be involved in politics because all issues affect is either directly or indirectly.”
Mathews spoke on Wed., April 22 at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo in commemoration of Earth Day. The focus of the discussion was on how to rescue us from Dollar Democracy’s destruction of our natural environment and food supply, including GMO’s and pesticides, and was sponsored by the Environmental Awareness Club. Food from Chipotle Mexican Grill was served to those in attendance to highlight that Chipotle restaurants were the first to openly tell consumers which foods they served contained GMO’s and have now gone completely GMO free.
Mathews has been a political commentator on several news radio and TV shows, as well as having articles published online and in magazines and is currently working on the second edition of Dollar Democracy. This next edition will contain information on wasteful defense spending in our government. Mathews hopes to educate readers about the hugely wasteful way our government is spending our tax dollars.
