I’m a baby boomer. My generation has enjoyed the most personal freedom, the most upward mobility, the most financial success; in substance, the most privileged existence of any generation of humans since the dawn of man. Our numbers dominate the Congress, the Supreme Court, high ranking military leadership, corporate governance, union leadership and boards of directors. And on the whole, we have failed miserably.

Generations that follow do not have it better as we had it better than our parents. Home ownership is out of reach for many. Good jobs are scarce. Personal debt is off the charts. Out of control consumption, masterfully orchestrated by a media-powered, market-driven cultural decision process, threatens to make our earth a less hospitable place for human life. All this and more has occurred on our watch. How is it we are not profoundly embarrassed?

We’ve allowed our Democracy to be sold to the highest bidder and complain of the result. Judicial perversion of the First Amendment has enabled wealthy individuals, unions, and corporations to call the shots in D.C. and our state capitols. We know it but we do nothing because we’re complacent. We do nothing because we’ve grown selfish. We do nothing because we feel powerless. And we’re powerless because we do nothing.

When will the responsible adults in the room step up and take the reins of government back from big money special interests? Isn’t America about more than profits? Did our foremothers and forefathers struggle, fight and die for Dow Jones?

Politicians are caught in a supreme money trap, born in 1976 of Buckley v. Valeo, nurtured in 1978 by William Simon’sA Time for Truth, and allowed to take root and grow each election cycle by a distracted citizenry. Today’s candidate cannot win election without millions in campaign cash. But taking that cash creates indebtedness to the donors. So when important decisions are teed up, legislators, even well-intentioned ones, must consider the impact on big financial backers before