Alright, let's get one thing straight. An imaginary entity should not have the same rights under the law as me - a real, living, breathing person. Legal teams working for individuals who run said entity should not be able to use laws that were written to protect me, (again, a real, living, breathing person) AGAINST me in order to protect its own interests. Okay, I know what you are going to say. "But Corvid, corporations are OWNED by real, live, breathing people and so it's the same thing." Well no, Mr. Plucky Pants, no it is indeed not the same thing. Not even close. Corporations are comprised of many, sometimes hundreds, sometimes thousands of individuals who work for said owner, or CEO and board, or what have you. They have diverse beliefs, goals, etc. For a single owner or CEO to say that he has the right to put the combined resources of all those people and of all the revenue they generate for that corporate entity behind his sole belief system, or to use those resources to gain a better position of power for the corporate entity regardless of the wants, beliefs, or effects on the people who generate said revenue for the entity... and then to pursue the right to do so in our highest courts using laws intended to protect individuals, mainly from the same types of entities is, in a word, reprehensible.
Our rights are at risk of being suppressed in favor of the corporate good.
Here are a few reasons why corporate personhood is a bad idea.
Corporations have way more resources than average citizens. They have far more resources legally, and it is difficult to bring a case against them and see it through to resolution. It is usually in their interest to lobby to weaken regulations that protect us against them, the concept of personhood enables this. Corporations can easily outspend just about anyone who tries to go up against them, they can buy media, propagandize, and undermine individual efforts. Right now under the law, corporations have the same rights as human beings, their right to free speech allows them to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, and their right to privacy means unannounced regulatory inspections can be challenged. It is my hope that you can begin to understand how this can put our rights and safety at risk.
So, how did it all happen? Whose brilliant idea was this?
Well, since 1819 the government has recognized corporations as having the same rights as people when it comes to drawing up and signing contracts. That seems reasonable, however... In 1886 a guy named Bancroft Davis was working as a court reporter for the Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS for short. Croftie, as he was known by close friends and fellows, was working the day the court heard Santa Clara County vs. the Union Pacific Railroad. He just happened to be a railroad man himself, President of the Newburgh and New York Railway Company. He made the decision to insert a comment by the chief Justice into the recording of the Headnote Opinion, which was not the official opinion of the SCOTUS, nor should it have stood as precedent for any future cases. The Chief Justice said that they were not there to argue whether a corporation stood as a person under the 14th amendment, he was under the opinion that it did. Railroad man Croftie made sure that unofficial opinion made it into the record. And although it was not officially heard as a case, or made as an official statement of a Justice, it has been reaffirmed in several cases since. Nice work Croftie, you get to go down in history as the douchebag that started this whole business.
Look, corporations have done nothing but grow in wealth and power since Croftie did his thing. I don't think even he could imagine the amassed weath and political influence today's big corporations wield. There needs to be protections for individuals... real, living, breathing people... set into the constitution that was written for the benefit and protection of us... real, living, breathing... you get it.
We need an amendment.
Move to Ammend
No comments:
Post a Comment