Say no to corporate personhood

[marmar]

from the Boulder Weekly:



Thursday, July 14,2011

Say no to corporate personhood
By Pamela White


On Tuesday, July 19, Boulder City Council will hear from members of Boulder Move to Amend, who are asking council members to place a measure on the November 2011 ballot that would call for the abolition of “corporate personhood” — the granting of constitutional rights to corporations as if they were people — and the notion that money is a form of speech. Let’s hope City Council is listening.

Boulder Move to Amend organized in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, which granted the same constitutional rights enjoyed by human beings to faceless corporations and declared that money in the form of campaign contributions is “free speech.”

But first a bit of history. It wasn’t long ago that corporations had to justify their existence. Formed by charter — a process that required legislation and robust public debate — corporations existed for a limited time and were constrained to specific purposes. They could have their charters dissolved if the corporation violated the law or was found to no longer be of benefit.

It used to take a lot of effort to become a corporation, because the American people, suspicious of power mongers and robber barons, were justifiably suspicious. Laws at the time protected the public, not shareholders. If a corporation broke the law or caused public harm, the human beings behind those actions were held responsible. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-5997-say-no-to-corporate-personhood.html

[arcane1]

1. Yeah!!!!

:bounce:

May it pass and spread!!!

[midnight]

2. City of Madison, Wisconsin, calls for reclaiming democracy via amending the U.S. Constitution...

SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN MOVE TO AMEND (SCWMTA) IS SPEARHEADING LOCAL EFFORTS TO ROLL BACK THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED DECISION.
SCWMTA is collecting nearly 20,000 signatures to place the following resolution on the ballot in Madison:
RESOLVED, the City of Madison, Wisconsin, calls for reclaiming democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate influence by amending the United States Constitution to establish that:
1. Only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and
2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.
Visit www.scwmta.org for more information or to get involved.


"This decision was a terrible mistake. Presented with a relatively narrow legal issue, the Supreme Court chose to roll back laws that have limited the role of corporate money in federal elections since Teddy Roosevelt was president." – Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)http://scwmta.org/informationalFlyer.pdf

[The Big Vetolski]

3. That was back in the day before Southern Pacific Railroad vs

Santa Monica, the Supreme Court decision in the 1880's that first established corporate personhood. During the Age of the Robber Barons. But the City of Boulder can't change Citizens United. Only the American people can do that.

I think we need a Constitutional Convention. The old one has been subverted.

[Ragnarok]

4. I can think no singular change...

...that would impact more areas of American life more positively that getting rid of this ridiculous concept of a corporation with constitutional rights.

[applegrove]

5. Corporations are in no way persons. Especially since they don't die of old age. A rogue corporation

that dominated could go on for hundreds of years.