Transparency essential for democracy, capitalism

Remember the “information age”? Well, we can forget about that. We find ourselves instead in the age of misinformation, where there is too much fake news, too many rumors, too much going on “behind the scenes,” too many “anonymous” sources, too much about a “stolen election” without a shred of proof, too many companies hiding poison behind “trade secrets.”

Here’s the truth: Democracy, as envisioned by Jefferson, requires an “informed electorate.” Here’s another: The marketplace so loved by Republicans requires transparency so consumers can make “informed decisions.”

Do we see the connection here? So, from that catapult I now launch “I wanna know,” a passionate if grammatically flawed cry for some truth. Just a bit of the truth. It doesn’t even have to be the whole truth, so help me God. I wanna know what’s on Hunter Biden’s laptop.

I wanna know if money laundering through Florida condo sales by Trump Corp. has been investigated. Related: I wanna know what Donald Trump Jr. meant when he said Trump Corp. was flush with Russian cash.

I wanna know why the Washington Post / New York Times are pushing a liberal agenda instead of reporting the facts.

(Okay, now I want to hear YOU say “I wanna know” where it’s written here).

I wanna know to what depths the Murdoch family will go in poisoning democracy to make a buck off Fox hucksterism.

I wanna know, speaking of evil families, why is not one person from the Sackler family or Perdue Pharma going to jail after killing so many of us with Oxycontin?

Similarly, I wanna know why no one from Wells Fargo is in jail after their culture of fraud was exposed. And exposed a second time? And then exposed again?

I wanna know if Jeffery Epstein procured under-age girls for Bill Clinton. Or Prince Andrew. And, I wanna know if Epstein really committed suicide or was murdered.

I wanna know if Trump gloried in the January 6 assault on the nation’s capitol, and I wanna know what he did — and when — to stop it.

I wanna know why Gavin Newsom thought going to the Getty wedding was more important than going to a world environmental conference. Related: I wanna know why Newsom would go to a party at a hideously expensive restaurant while most of California was staying at home at his behest. Related: I wanna know if Newsom is stupidly privileged, just stupid, or just tone-deaf.

I wanna know if Kamala Harris will tackle an issue that benefits all Americans.

I wanna know what liberals say to waitresses in Anacortes or in Portland — working to feed their kids while also studying to get a real estate license — when they’re taxed to provide shelter for those … who … don’t … work … at … all …

I wanna know why we can’t know everything put in our food or what country that food comes from — and what’s in our water, too, dam it.

I wanna know if the oil industry is subsidizing misinformation about electric vehicles. Related: I wanna know why we still burn ethanol from corn in cars instead of in the stomachs of the malnourished (if corn is really nourishing. I wanna know that, too).

I wanna know why Republicans say giving tax money to billionaires creates jobs, but giving health insurance to working families causes unemployment. Related: I wanna know who really thinks turning our health care over to big business is good for our health.

I wanna know why congressmen and senators can walk out of the Capitol Building and into a million-dollar lifestyle working for the industry they were supposed to regulate.

I wanna know why we aren’t protecting our industries from the Chinese the same way the Chinese protect their industries from us.

That’ll do, for now. But I also wanna know what you wanna know. Drop me a line in the comment section for this article. I wanna know what you think.

For more of Erik Dolson’s writing, visit

erikdolson.substack.com.