A Painfully Funny Look at Representation in the US

A satirical article in the Onion [the site is slightly NSFW] mocks the representative democracy that has come to define the US. Here, the American people apparently have hired a high-powered lobbyist to "help advance their agenda in Congress." Tired of being a "low-priority fringe group," all 310 million Americans have decided to take the big business route to make themselves heard. The article is saturated with irony, making the reader take a good look at how the average citizen's interests have been pushed aside for private ones. Irony aside, some quotes hit too close to home like,

"The goal is to make it seem political advantageous for legislators to keep the American people in mind when making laws," Weldon said. "Lawmakers are going to ask me, 'Why should I care about the American people? What's in it for me?'"

Therein lies the value of satire: constructive social criticism. What is in it for lawmakers to help the average citizen, who does not have the influence or resources of a large corporation? Re-election? Not necessarily. Virtue? Maybe, but Stigler points out, "Unfortunately virtue does not always command so high a price." In a government where we find that money often equals votes, hiring a lobbyist for special interest group "American citizenry" is not as far-fetched as it sounds; looking at how much clout industrial giants and special interest groups hold, it might even be the rational choice. In the article, they're paying the lobbyist $795 an hour; if that were the only cost of organizing, then the latent group could awaken as well. If elected representatives are placing their constituents' concerns last anyway, what's the point of voting?

I think that, given the article's suggested direction that America is heading toward, there are also a lot of implications that need examining. It's no secret that special interest groups are influential, but do they have the potential to uproot our democracy? Does everyone need to be in a special interest group to be counted? How is this new representative system changing the US?