How much is democracy worth to you?

According to Wall Street, it’s worth approximately $4.2 billion.

That’s how much the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate (F.I.R.E.) sector has invested in political influence via campaign contributions and lobbying in the past six years.

In other words, that's $1,331 dollars spent every minute since 2006 to buy political power.

Global Exchange has just released a ground-breaking new report: Meet the F.I.R.E. Sector: How Wall Street is Burning Democracy.

This nonpartisan report contains extensive research tracking Wall Street’s investment in political power, and analyzes exactly how Wall Street has secured ‘industry-loyal voting practices’ of Congress using whopping amounts of money.

Using our new legislative scorecard, you can trace how legislators from your district voted on key issues such as the bank bailout, Wall Street reform, free trade agreements and more. Not only that, but you can also see for yourself how much money they received in campaign contributions from the F.I.R.E. sector, and their ‘industry loyalty voting rate.’

There are many complex factors that go into legislative votes, but corporate sponsorships shouldn’t be one of them.

It is up to us to reclaim and protect democracy.

Knowing is half the battle. So please, help us spread the word. Forward this legislative scorecard to family and friends. Ask them to take a look and let the numbers speak for themselves.

If you'd like a free color copy of the report, become a Global Exchange Monthly Sustainer (GEMS) and we'll mail you a copy.

Remember, we’re not telling you who to vote for. We’re asking you to follow the money. Our goals are not to influence the outcome of one election, but to spark dialogue about accountability, transparency, and to stop Wall Street from burning our priceless democracy.  

Be part of the solution with us.

Please, check out our Meet the F.I.R.E. Sector: How Wall Street is Burning Democracy report and scorecard, and let me know what you think. Also be sure to check out our updated 'Meet the F.I.R.E. Sector' infographic.

For democracy,



Hillary V Lehr
Elect Democracy
Campaign Director