As the saying goes, if you're not at the table. You're on the menu. So, Gen Z, let's take our seat in our democracy and cast our ballots this November for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. [00:00:15] If you're not at the table, you're on the menu. Okay. How much does it cost to get a seat at the table? According to the DNC, at least $100,000. And that gets you two passes to the honored guest super suite. [00:00:33] As you can see here, the sponsor tiers go all the way up to $5 million. Seems like a pretty expensive seat at this table. Now, organizers for the DNC told The New York Times that they raised a record 95 [00:00:49] million, largely from high profile donors for this year's convention. But they're not just donating, of course. They're looking for access, and they're certainly looking for influence. But over what specifically? [00:01:05] Donors said they wanted specifics for Kamala Harris's economic policies. These supporters are especially eager to hear more about whether she would continue President Biden's aggressive antitrust policy, her position on the capital gains tax, [00:01:22] given that the white House wants to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, and whether she would adopt a globalist as opposed to nationalist approach to trade. As for the cabinet, Wall Street donors are especially interested [00:01:38] in who becomes Treasury secretary. One popular candidate was Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary. Other possibilities emerged, notably Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase. Still, some donors wondered whether Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts [00:01:55] would ever let a banker sit in that role. Now, the Harris campaign will need to navigate a landscape While trying to appease their base and keep their donors happy. And mind you, these are the same donors that are responsible, in part for pushing [00:02:14] Biden out of the race to begin with. Now, Sharon, what do you think of some of these prices to get access and to get into these suites at the DNC? And does this set of policies that they're really interested in worry you at all? [00:02:31] Worries me a great deal, because obviously I and most Americans are not in that tier. It is an exclusive club, and by printing that menu that goes up to $5 million, it tells us that while there's so much hope and enthusiasm about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, [00:02:49] the ticket, there should be, well, a reality for us that in this way the parties are very similar. Hey, don't scroll away, come back, come back. Because before the video continues, we just want to urge you to lend your support [00:03:05] to tight You power our honest reporting. You do it at tight.com/team. And we love you for it. Yeah absolutely. You know this is part of what people are talking about when they say that both parties are the same. Both are beholden to big money donors. Both are up for purchase. [00:03:22] There is this illusion of democracy where every vote counts the same as the next. But we know that influence doesn't quite work the same way in Washington. And I mentioned this before a while ago, that AOC mentioned this back when she first got into Congress. [00:03:37] As soon as she had her office set up, the lobbyists were banging down her door. And how difficult is it for them to decline the money and the perks that they're offered in exchange for potentially pushing forward their agendas and making good on some of their promises? And it's easy to see how quickly that can become corrupting to a new young [00:03:57] congressperson or even a seasoned one. And it is really distressing because we like to think that we live in a democracy, and that we all get a say in the way things are run and the way our government works and the way that the United States operates not just here at home, [00:04:12] but also around the world domestically and foreign policy. But it's it's difficult and it's very disheartening, and it encourages people to kind of step outside of the realms of democracy, not participate in it as much because it is discouraging. [00:04:29] Yeah, absolutely. It turns a lot of people cynical, turns a lot of people off of the political process. When you see that a corporation or a lobbying group can just fork over 100,000 or 1 million or 5 million for access to these suites, [00:04:45] do you think that the major powerbrokers in the Democratic Party are hanging out in the bleachers, in the nosebleeds, with delegates or attendees? No, they're going to these suites and these people are going to get their ears. So while we see popular support for policies that would benefit [00:05:04] a vast majority of Americans, whether it's economic policy or healthcare policy or policies that people support, like ending the war in Gaza. If there's a financial stake in prolonging some of this suffering, or making sure some of these problems continue so companies can profit off of them, [00:05:23] that's who they're going to listen to. And it's like you like you've said, it's a problem in both parties, certainly. And at a time where we saw campaign framed around joy and freedom, it's disconcerting to see these companies do this, [00:05:39] to see these lobbying groups and special interests do this again and again and again. So this idea that if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. Well, obviously cannibalistic is very bizarre. I can't afford to sit at the table. How do I get my opinion included? [00:05:56] It's just it's frustrating and it turns a lot of people off of this system, this process, participating, volunteering, donating. When there's somebody with a with a much larger bank account who would have outsized influence relative to me. [00:06:11] So I don't know if either of you two have anything else to add, but this just really rubbed me the wrong way. Yeah, I think that overall there is a push to get money out of politics. I realistically don't know how, how or when that's even going to happen because the people who are benefiting [00:06:27] from all of this money in politics are the ones who are going to make that decision for the American people. We can just do our best to elect better people into Congress, into positions of authority where they can make those decisions for us. But my goodness, it is it is difficult to find even one candidate who is not liable [00:06:45] to becoming corrupt in that kind of way. We have Tim Walz now, and he seems he seems promising, so maybe he can do something there. - Any last words, Sharon? - Yeah, I mean, I agree with you. It's I was just thinking as you were both talking, I wonder if at some point his core, his background, [00:07:04] the way he's lived his life, a man who does not covet money, and has just real down to earth values where he'll fit in. I mean, obviously he's a governor, but he had some policies that people like Jamie Dimon just in his state would despise. [00:07:21] So you have Kamala Harris, who's running on. I took on the big banks and that whole thing. And I just think she's right. People don't want to participate unless they know you're saying we got a chance. And with all this money, the fact that Kamala Harris was able to [00:07:37] raise $300 million in a matter of days, or $95 million throughout the week at the DNC, tells the story of what's terribly wrong with our political system. Thanks for watching The Young Turks really appreciate it. [00:07:53] Another way to show support is through YouTube memberships. You'll get to interact with us more. There's live chat emojis, badges. 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