Hip-Hop Legend Russell Simmons, Member of the 1%, on Why He Supports the 99% and OWS

"We don't want Wall Street to control our future, and that's why we're on Wall Street," Russell Simmons said, describing the constitutional amendment he is supporting that would ban private donations for U.S. politicians running for federal office.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Two months ago, legendary hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons was one of the first high-profile public supporters to come to the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan.

On Thursday's day of action, he was there again to speak to Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman. "We don't want Wall Street to control our future, and that's why we're on Wall Street. And what we'd like is for the people to control their future," Simmons said, describing the constitutional amendment he is supporting that would ban private donations for U.S. politicians running for federal office.

"We want to believe that the politicians are making decisions on the part of the people who elected them. And that's what's the flaw, fundamental flaw, in our democracy."

Click here to read the complete transcript.

Click here to download the audio/video podcast and for more information about "Democracy Now!," an independent, global daily news hour.

Join "Democracy Now!" on Facebook and share with a friend!

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot