Who is running our Countries?

The unrepresentative World Economic Forum or the citizens? And please - spare us the royal 'We', the WEF is just another lobby and represents nobody but those working for it or supporting it. Therefore all these 'needs' must be subject to the ultimate say of the voters, not the governments that are all too often closely aligned with these lobbies that pose as think tanks and claim some sort of moral authority.

Why we need a global framework to regulate harm online 

Ex-politicians cashing in on their connections?

Ministers should be banned from lobbying for up to five years after leaving office and face possible fines if they break the rules, the anti-corruption watchdog will say this week. Lord Evans, chairman of the committee on standards in public life (The Times, Paywall).

Good idea but Direct Democracy would put another safeguard into place as all political decisions would be subject to an automatic or facultative referendum.

Concerned about Democracy?

Then what do you make of these two headlines?

senate-passes-military-funding-bill-that-would-reimpose-sanctions-on-chinese-telecom-zte.html

Linking legislation in this manner is blatant manipulation, should also be subject to full scrutiny by citizens

trump-told-apple-ceo-iphones-will-be-spared-from-china-tariffs-report.html

Cosy special deals on an arbitrary basis usually is the trademark of dictatorships. All communication of politicians with outside parties, esp lobbies, should be published in full. Not just the list of appointments.

Direct Democray will hold Lobbies at bay

Plutocrats control the Government in the United States, separation of powers goes not far enough, the history since independence is scandal-ridden despite the near-religious status of the Constitution. Direct Democracy on all levels, esp the top, will improve matters.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/28/carl-icahns-failed-raid-on-washington

Top Philanthropists Wield Power Through Their Donations

While the abuse of tax subsidies for "charitable" donations is most extreme in the USA this pernicious favoring of the wealthy is slowly finding its way into other 'Pseudo' Democracies. Let the 0.1% be charitable, by all means, but do not give them favorable tax treatment in return. And posing as benefactors also gives them special access to politicians and allows them undue influence on political decisions.
Wealth Matters: How Top Philanthropists Wield Power Through Their Donations

Unelected, Unaccountable lobbies disguised as 'Think Tanks', 'Institutes'

A particularly virulent form of lobby gets disproportionate attention in the USA political scene. As the ordinary voter is basically disenfranchised and cut off from formulation of politics (forget the crude and blunt instruments that are supposed to be 'democratic' elections) the Politocracy and the hangers-on among the Media are free to cook up crazy and irresponsible policies such as the Iraq war, inciting 'rebellion' in Syria (thank you CIA, another wonderful mess).
The Kagans Are Back; Wars To Follow | Zero Hedge

Think Tanks - Direct Democracy needed to dilute their influence

Like them or not, Think Tanks have sprouted all over the world and they have preferential access to policy makers in most states. Often they are actually sponsored by taxpayer-funded political parties as is the case in Germany and Austria. But making all legislation subject to the ultimate say-so of the electorate would go a long way to dilute the influence of unelected Think Tanks.

How Think Tanks Amplify Corporate America’s Influence (NY Times)

Average Citizen has no influence (Study)

"...economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence." (Testing Theories of American Politics: Elities, Interest Groups and Average Citizens, Gilens and Page)

While Direct Democracy would not be able to balance the excessive influence of Elites and Lobbies - it would even allow them another avenue to garner support for their policies - it would definitely give the average citizen more say on all matters.

See also Jeremy Grantham's "The Ten Topics that really matter"

10 outrageously pricey tax breaks 'gifted' by Congress (The Fiscal Times)
 Dysfunctional Parliaments in grip of Lobbies, Special Interests

Defective Constitutions support Oligarchies

A recent study from Princeton and Northwestern concluded that the United States is an “oligarchy” ruled by a small group of wealthy elites and interest groups. Is one of the 'fathers' of the US Constitution to blame for this? (Mises Institute).

USA an Oligarchy - but so are many other Countries

An interesting study throws light on how small 'oligarchies' control the levers of power in the United States. Maybe the Oligarchies in other countries are not just the product of superior wealth, they may be based on ideologies, class loyalties or ingrained power structures ossified by badly designed constitutions and electoral systems. But most countries share this: the wish of the ordinary citizens is routinely neglected in favor of small constituencies that gain from favors dished out by those they help to control legislation.

American Democracy - Unfit for the Purpose?

This brief look at the state of US Democracy gives a sobering insight into the sorry condition that democracy has been turned into by the flawed electoral process in that country. A strong dose of Direct Democracy at all levels of government and decision making would go a long way towards neutralising the nefarious effect that money and influence-peddling has on legislation

White House most expensive tourist attraction

"Donor lists and visitor logs show that of those who gave $100,000 or more, about three-quarters of them visited the White House" (New York Times). Dispersal of political decision making would make it much less attractive to concentrate political lobbying on single individuals - whether heads of government, ministers or parlamentarians.

Government for Sale?

Rich donors get invited to State Dinner. This abuse of privilege is perpetrated by politicians from all parties. It demonstrates the need for giving the citizens a safety valve so that all decisions made by government and influenced by lobbyists can be checked at the ballot box.

Super Rich control US Politics

"...we know America’s elite Super Rich gained virtual control over Washington the past three decades" says Paul Farrell (Marketwatch). Only radical reform based on comprehensive introduction of Direct Democracy will allow to neutralise the influence of Lobbies.

Wikileaks and the case for Open Government

In the age of the internet there is no reason why not all government communication should be published - ideally in real time. All contact with lobbyists for example would be brought out into the open, as would be internal discussions within or between government departments. The only exception should be items relating to national security or ongoing legal proceedings. Complaints about excessive volume of documentation miss the point - computer memory is very patient, cheap and requires very little maintenance. And no one has to read the files if they are of no interest to him.

USA: Political System protects existing parties

We do not always agree with Jeffrey Sachs but when he argues that the political system of the USA is corrupted by the influence of party donors and that only a new political force in the form of a third party offers any chance to improve the situation we can offer him a clear alternative: a political system of comprehensive Direct Democracy as advocated by DIRDEM will not completely eliminate the problem posed by the influence of political donors but it will reduce it to a large extent. No final decisions will be made by corrupted parliamentarians and government ministers that are beholden to special interests as they will have to consider the potential outcome of any referendum. Thus the influence of special influence groups will be diluted and a more rational debate on an issue-by-issue basis will become the norm.

Dirdem demands full disclosure of government affairs

Dirdem supports full disclosure of government affairs. The recent releases of US government documents by Wikileaks is only a foretaste of what the electorate should expect in a regime that brings the workings of lobbies and other pressure groups into the open. During the Renaissance, an Italian Republic locked up its ministers during their time in office to prevent illicit dealings and stop pressure groups from influencing legislation and the administering of the state's affairs. Apart from aspects of national security - and even there should be stringent controls - we see no reason why not all government matters should be subject to full disclosure. In a time of powerful and cheap computing resources this should not be too costly and if anyone complains about too much information the answer should be that no one is forced to trawl through all the information available.