How Corporations Steal Your Voice in Elections
Corporate personhood
Those who came before did not envision corporate personhood. At the Gettysburg address, Lincoln declared “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Has this turned into “of the special interests, by the special interests, for the special interests?” How can democracy work with capitalism in a way that does not foster corruption?
Media Corporations
Our news sources are driven by profits, often at the expense of truth or objectivity. The distributors of “news” benefit greatly from two opposite sides talking about opposing viewpoints often without listening to the other. The closer the balance of power and the farther apart the viewpoints, the greater the stakes for viewers, readers, and consumers, leading to more advertising revenues. [sarcasm on] It is nice to notice that a species as collectively smart as humans is not easily manipulated. [sarcasm off]
Insurance Companies
Insurance companies derive their profits by acting as a wedge between consumer and provider of medical services. When I look at a “statement of benefits” from my insurance company, I am appalled. How can I feel good about services that cost a few dollars to provide, which are then marked up several hundred dollars so that they can be discounted a few hundred dollars and I can feel good that I paid a few dollars for the services. The write-offs can be accumulated towards a “tax break”. In the meantime, the profit margin of the insurance companies exists entirely between the gap they create by giving less to the providers and charging more for the policies. I think that we all can align on health care being affordable for all; no one should die or suffer because they can’t afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. That is the commitment we can align on.
The Pharmaceutical Industry
Is the pharmaceutical industry interested in “health care” or a market for “symptom management and maintenance”? Another way of asking this — which is more important to sustain: healthy humans or healthy profits? I suppose it depends on who you ask . . .
Citizens United
After Citizens United, not only were corporations declared to be people but corporations also now have the power to buy elections at will. The problem with this Supreme Court decision is that it goes against everything the founding fathers believed in. In the Constitution, it says “We the people”, not “We the corporations”. The founding fathers never addressed corporations in the Constitution because it never occurred to them that corporations would be perceived as people. And why would they have? Corporations don’t eat, they don’t breathe, they don’t vote, they don’t fight battles in wars. Remember all the limitations the founders placed on corporations mentioned earlier? In the Constitution, the founders speak only of the people. The founders did not limit lifetimes of people, nor did they outlaw a persons right to donate to political campaigns. They also did not limit people to specific life goals like they did with corporations. This should make it absolutely clear that the founders never intended for corporations to be people. The decision by the clearly activist, conservative majority of the court is an abomination that can never be Constitutionally justified.
Our Civic Duty
Now it is our duty to call on Congress to bring forward a Constitutional Amendment that bans corporate personhood and bans corporations from interfering with government and legal elections that only real people have the right to donate to and vote in. Because whatever these greedy, arrogant CEO’s and Republicans think, its the opinion of the founding generation that matters most. Corporations are not people. People are people.
What Really Matters?
How can we get back to what matters? What matters is that we explore what we are authentically committed to. When that commitment is clear, all roads will lead to the realization of that commitment as an outcome. That is the kind of vision that can create a future more in line with our potential.
In the day of Corporate Personhood, what is the probable future of “representation without taxation”? When elections cost so much, do our politicians really represent the people or the highest bidder? What is the real agenda and commitment of a politician?
Originally written August 14, 2011
Next threads to pull:
Profit Over People: Democracy has a Big Problem