Forum Post: Quick Simple Solution to curbing the power of corporations in our democratic system
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 17, 2011, 10:43 p.m. EST by chefxavier
(0)
from Rochester, MN
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Since the Supreme Court was unable or unwilling to support campaign finance reform, upholding that corporations are also protected by the first amendment, I think the Occupy movement should take up the following initiative: Promote passage of an amendment to the constitution clarifying that corporations are not people, and are not afforded first amendment rights.
Corporations are only considered people because of a legal fiction that is treated as reality. The courts created this fiction themselves. Therefore I do not think it would take an ammendment to the constitution to say that corporations aren't people. It will simply require that either a change in thier state charters or a statute within the Federal governement concerning campaign finance inorder to over turn the clasification as a person.
This soulution sounds good but the new law would be challenged in the supreme court eventually. I like the idea of the amendment. Remember this would not be an issue at all if the money used to produce the movie about Hillary Clinton was not anonymous PAC money. We Americans should come together. I am a Tea Party Patriot. The OCW and Tea Party have more in common than you think. We both are sickined by crony capitalisim and political corruption. Poverty and income inequity are in part symptoms of the corrupted system. Imagine the effect of a coalition between the two. Tea Partiers shedding large corporate political money and progressives tossing labor political money. We would not need this money to achieve the end goal. Both labor and business would benefit. The resources they put into politics would be available to them to advance thier agendas directly. Higher profits, better wages and benifits. There is a cold war going on in this countries political system. There is an arms race using political contributions. Labor steps it up, corporations recipricate. The politicians are the arms suppliers selling both sides weapons of mass destruction-power. Our power. Our liberty. Our security. The tea party has been effective weather you like it or not. Here is your chance America. Right now. Today. Don't blow it. Show us what democracy looks like.
There is nothing in the constitution determining a coorporation as a person. All that needs to be done is to have a statute dictate what a corporation is a property intrest and right that it stock holders have that functions as a protection for liabilty. There is nothing in the constitution saying that, that cannot be done. The courts will cannot just overturn something like that when there is no constitutional protection.
Ok then. Still both camps are dependant on labor and corporate money. We are slaves to the corruption of the system. They need us to fight one another. We are on the same team. Lets do this.
Have you ever read Plato's Republic?
No. Maybe I should. I have already been informed that I am a Troll to be tolerated.
You've been informed that you are a troll to be tolerated? That's quite an honor. Few trolls have achieved so much. Congrats. ;-)
In Plato's Republic, Socrates talks about the noble lie. It is a lie that is told to the various members of society about how they recieved thier social class. I think you should read it, you might enjoy it.
Im on the MIT web-site now. Thanks.