Stephen Colbert mocks Mitt Romney for his brave defense of corporations. Romney, at the Iowa State Fair, says "Corporations are people, my friend." (My what?) He then gets an earful from the crowd.
Actually, Mitt is right. The U.S. Supreme Court has declared that corporations are people and, as such, can donate as much money as they want to political campaigns. Unfortunately, the courts have not been so sympathetic to the rights of real people. Students, the elderly and the poor often can't get photo IDs from their state DMV and therefore can't cast a vote in an increasing number of states.
But here's what we want to know: If corporations are people, then how come they don't go to prison when they kill someone?
Oh wait, it's because they're big and powerful. Some say they're too big and powerful. Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa says the central political battle of our time is not between right and left, but between the individual and the corporation. Wrote Hoffa,
The fight is about whether the government should protect corporate power to enrich a few billionaires, or restrict corporate power to protect the liberty and property of the average American.
I'll tell you who is winning: It isn't the little guy.
Corporate power explains why the U.S. hasn't made the transformation to renewable energy. It's why we can't trust our food, drugs or toys to be safe. It's why we're struggling to develop new industries. It's why workers' wages have stagnated or fallen over the past decade and why so many families are losing their homes.
It's why so many jobs moved offshore so quickly. U.S. multinationals now employ one-third of their work force overseas.An alliance called Move to Amend wants to amend the Constitution to take away corporate personhood. Its goals are to:
* Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
* Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
* Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.Check out their website. There's a lot you can do to get involved.
